The Bowls aren’t going away

[u/Inside-Drink-1311]

Despite some saying that this could be the end of the bowls or that they could move to the beginning of the season, I do not think that will be the case. Some of the bowls make too much money to go away. Like do you really think the Citrus Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Sun Bowl etc are going to go away? There’s no way that happens. Yeah, it will likely be against worse competition and players will still opt out but there are a lot of people who still care about the bowls and the majority of the G6 still cares about them. I think we will see some shut down, especially since 24 teams in the playoffs means 12 less teams participating in a bowl. I heard someone suggest that the first round losers in the CFP still play in a bowl but that will never work as the teams will not want to play.

Moving bowls to the start of the season is not going to work either. Maybe we will get some more neutral site kickoff games so I guess they are bowl games in that sense. The problem though is that the team who will play in this bowl is not the team who actually earned it. Yeah, there’s not a lot of loyalty in CFB these days but I’m sure there’s still some seniors who would want to play. Also, do we really want to play most of these bowls in the hot weather. You may have to do some more northern bowls if that’s the case. Not sure if anyone would want to play in the Sun Bowl in August.

I do think it is possible that they just throw bowl eligibility out of the window and the bowls just choose whoever they want. That, I can see happening. The bowls are already dead (as we know it) and have been for years. This will make it worse but the games will still happen.

[u/Dry-Ad1149]

Make them more regional when possible. Easier travel to not glorious destinations . Maybe have more G6 schools involved.

[u/Dry-Ad1149 → u/Dry-Ad1149]

Set up games between teams that are in the same state/region that are no longer in the same league together and don't play much anymore. Again I am thinking more along the lines of the Sun Belt. AAC, Cusa. But maybe the ACC where all the Tobacco Road teams don't play each other anymore in certain years.

[u/BigBubby305 → u/Dry-Ad1149]

There used to be bowl games in foreign countries

[u/eagledog → u/BigBubby305]

Japan, Canada, Bahamas, Cuba

[u/lowes18]

Bowls aren't going away because they are massive money makers for the gambling companies. Wouldn't be suprised if they save them by directly sponsoring them.

[u/That_Don_Guy_1 → u/lowes18]

Except, the one way the NCAA makes money from FBS football is by licensing bowl games - and the organization that goes to great lengths to make sure every sportsbook in Las Vegas doesn't use the term "March Madness" in its advertising is not about to let a sports betting company sponsor a bowl game. It's probably bad enough that they have to let schools that want to advertise these companies on their uniforms do it.

[u/Spiritual_Bourbon → u/That_Don_Guy_1]

I don't think the point is wanting to sponsor but rather being willing to sponsor in order to ensure the game. They could just work around the sponsorship and just purchase most of the commercials. Same result.

[u/blindythepirate → u/That_Don_Guy_1]

Every company is prohibited from saying the the phrase Super Bowl. Yet the NFL will take money from Coca-Cola to air ads even though Pepsi is the official sponsor.

[u/Greedygiddy8 → u/lowes18]

I’m shocked that people on this sub are mad about a 24 team playoff when they’ve been bitching for one for the past 2 years, “that March madness feel” what a joke. Should’ve stayed at 12

[u/don_keydick_42069 → u/Greedygiddy8]

Should’ve stayed at 12

i thought 4 was perfect. im not trying to see some cinderella run to the finals to get smacked by a juggernaut. they shouldve kept the final version of the bcs system to rank #1-#4 and run it.

[u/Frosty-Tiger-85]

Bowls won't go away (b/c ESPN still likes having that inventory for month of December). However, think there needs to be a revamp.

Reduce amount of bowl games to at least correspond with increase of CFP teams (ideally would like to see bowls have +.500 record cutoff again). If G6 teams aren't getting increased CFP access, then need to give them increased access to higher-paying bowls.

If they expect to keep current # or anything close to, idea I'd like to see tried out would be taking some of smaller/less prominent bowls & making them regionalized matchups featuring G6 vs FCS teams that missed making their playoffs (ex: have a 7-win Idaho/Idaho State who miss FCS playoffs, pick them to play in Famous Idaho Potato Bowl vs a G6 team)

[u/Strakedev]

I don’t think they are going away, I think they are more meaningless than they already are.

They used to be the sign of a good season, now it’s like a participation event for the players who won’t be drafted.

[u/Bwhitt1 → u/Strakedev]

The playoffs are a participation trophy at 24 teams. Theres only 68 p4 teams. The rest of the schools are gonna get 1 bid a year so more kess everyone makes the playoffs every couple years. Its a fake accomplishment for going 8-4 with 1 ranked win

[u/Kurtomatic → u/Bwhitt1]

The bowls might just end up turning into a G6 playoff system at this point.

[u/KansasKing107]

Bowls will exist as long as sponsors are willing to pay and they get televised. That’s it.

[u/PronouncedNuculur]

I don’t actually care if the smaller bowls go away or stay. If teams want to go and the bowls want to pay, have at it. I do want the bowls as part of the playoffs to go away. Except the rose bowl which should be the NC played on Jan 1 every year, but otherwise, get the stupid bowls out of the playoffs.

[u/mukduk1994]

No of course not. They'll be the sponsors of each round just like they are now. I bet they'll find a way to force their way into the on-campus games. I'd honestly be surprised if they don't sue if they aren't allowed access to the same tier of game they were contractually allowed before this expansion was announced

[u/SirMellencamp → u/mukduk1994]

The bowl games that were part of the CFP before are still going to be part of it in a 24 team.

[u/mukduk1994 → u/SirMellencamp]

Yeah exactly. Those aren't just gonna vanish into thin air

[u/DeuceOfDiamonds]

Nah, bowls aren't going away. ESPN needs the content, and as others ITT point out, legal gambling makes a ton during bowl season. Just gonna see a lot more 5 (and maybe even some 4)-win teams getting bids.

I hate the expansion of the Playoffs (8 feels right to me), but it won't kill the bowls.

[u/That_Don_Guy_1 → u/DeuceOfDiamonds]

Then get rid of the neutral site bowls, and allow each team not in the playoff to play one additional postseason game, played at one of the two teams' home stadiums.

[u/8BittyTittyCommittee]

They need to get rid of bowl tie in and let them pick in some predetermined order that way they can make intresting matchups that people will want to watch and maybe just maybe some players will want to play in. For instance if Iowa State and Missouri are available have them play each other.

[u/Straight_Bed2763]

The bowls as we know them are gonna get Pro Bowled. Every 2 or 3 years will have a depressing update until they're just unrecognizable.

[u/SaltyTurdLicker]

Bowls need to be reconfigured, getting rid of tie ins for starters and just configuring the best match ups.

[u/anxiousauditor]

There will be handful left mostly for G6 teams and that’ll be it. P4 teams won’t give a damn about a bowl bid after missing a 24-team playoff field.

[u/Bu5hdid9l1]

Call me nuts but why can’t teams that lose in the first 2 rounds of the playoff go to bowl games?

[u/atypicalcarl]

Lower the bar to four games for bowl eligibility and we might get some sickos fun. Leave it as it is and most good teams will opt out.

[u/GhostDosa]

The bowl system itself probably doesn’t go away but the number of bowls will likely decrease and the top bowls probably get implemented into this playoff system.

[u/Portafly]

The Opt Out Bowl

[u/joehoejoe13]

Bowl games are going away. Y’all are delusional

[u/Random-AsianGuy]

Assuming the first-round CFP games will be held in the second week of December, I think they should consider allowing the first-round losers to still participate in bowl games.

It’s not very different from the current practice of letting CFP losers go to bowl games.

[u/Inside-Drink-1311 → u/Random-AsianGuy]

Since when have we allowed CFP losers to go to bowl games?

[u/Chicobean95]

Money money money love that money

[u/BoobieBountyHunter]

Bowls are glorified paychecks for the teams and vacations for the fans. They can do that in March/April as joint spring games. Better for development and self scouting than current spring games are by light-years.

The problem, as always, is people hate change. Instead of Louisiana Monroe vs Toledo on December 23rd, bowls could have Oregon vs Clemson in late March. People will still 100% travel to all the destination cities that created bowls games to drive tourism.

[u/reno1441 → u/BoobieBountyHunter]

and vacations for the fans.

They can do that in March/April as joint spring games

I mean a huge part of it is a vacation in the crappiest weather time of the year.

March/April isn't that. Nor would it be a reward for a program since it wouldn't even be the same team (transfer portal/graduation).

[u/Kryzl_ → u/reno1441]

The failure of the UFL to reach any kind of cultural relevance is proof that football is a strictly seasonal sport. Late summer-fall-early winter is the only time of year it should be played.

Football is not a spring child sport. Spring games are just objectively lame and I don’t care if Iowa state plays ourselves, Iowa, or the Guangdong Tigers in it. The spring game is the definition of lame, and if we’re going to move thr bowl games, it is to be in weeks 1-2 of the following season,

[u/Cerebral__1 → u/BoobieBountyHunter]

Toledo catching strays, just up I-75 from you. 

[u/EnvironmentalBed7369]

A few thoughts:

1. I won't complain about more College Football. So as many bowls as want to stay around, feel free.

2. That said, I don't really care. Have them, don't have them, meh.

3. I'll watch if the occasional interesting matchup occurs, even if between two mediocre teams - especially if they have a history. For example, I likely wouldn't watch Michigan State vs UCF. Don't care. But I would watch something like James Madison vs Virginia Tech or Colorado State vs Air Force.

[u/oranggit]

Bowls used to be the end game. They were important. They were a reward for a successful season.

Now they're just a stepping stone. Just another game.

[u/Ok-Can-4258]

I won't partake in fighting against the 24 team format. That feels like a waste of energy. But I would like to see marquee (the ones I like) bowl games be added to the new games in the playoff format. Like at least give me a poptart bowl or dukes mayo bowl first round. I get that it would really only be moving the name over but I would still like to see it

[u/imthesqwid]

Wouldn’t it make sense to incorporate at least some of the bowls into the new playoff format?

[u/Humble_Milk8629]

Can't you just combine the Bowl games into the CFP? Instead of "round one", have 8 Bowl games. It's not rocket science.

[u/TwoLiterHero]

So they aren't going away, they will just be worse and some will go away. Okay lol

[u/cyberchaox]

I agree that the bowls won't go away...which is why now more than ever I feel we should abolish the subdivision system entirely. The "bowl" subdivision is literally planning to make a championship bracket the same size as the one the "championship" subdivision has. Meanwhile, the bottom-tier bowls already pretty much always need a few teams with losing records to fill out the slate.

32 teams, competing for the NCAA Division I National Championship. Same number of rounds as now, just without the byes. Autobids for every conference. And the whole thing is run by the NCAA, not by ESPN and the bowls. The bowl sites can host playoff games, because postseason tournaments frequently are played at neutral locations, but the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, are not going to be playoff games. They're going to go back to being the exhibition games they used to be.

But wait, how does that fix the problem of too many bad teams in bowls, when it's going to throw six more bowls into the ring of contending with non-playoff teams? Because the subdivisions merged, and because the P4 are going to be sucking up all the at-large bids most years and at least most of them every year. So all those teams that were getting at-large bids to the FCS playoffs--and all of the 6-6, 7-5, and in some of the weaker conferences 8-4 teams that weren't even making the playoffs in the FCS--those are all potential bowl teams now. In fact, while the bigger conferences are going to have more bowl tie-ins (which the P4, at least, will usually fail to fill all of anyway since they have so many playoff teams, giving the weaker conferences a shot at the back end of their slate anyway), we're going to make sure that every conference has at least one tie-in. If you're the top team in your conference that didn't make the playoffs, even if that conference is something weak like the OVC-Big South, you're going to a bowl.

[u/hawksnest_prez → u/cyberchaox]

Auto bids make zero sense in college football.

[u/Dry-Membership3867 → u/cyberchaox]

I agree we need to eliminate the subdivision part. That would help big time here. Also make it top 2 from each conference makes it into the playoffs and only the semis are bowl games.