Last week, as the first flight of college bowl games were played and the clicks were still coming on the "McCaffrey, Fournette to skip bowl for NFL draft prep" headlines, there was a word being thrown around on TV, radio and in columns that increasingly bothered me whenever it was used. I am told that the College Football Playoff has rendered the other 39 FBS postseason games meaningless.

They have been neutered. There's no reason for them to be played. What a waste of time. You remember Davie, right? As head coach at Notre Dame, he coached against the likes of USC, Stanford and Michigan and walked the sidelines of the Fiesta Bowl.

But in 43 years of college football he'd never been carried off the field. Not until last weekend, when his New Mexico Lobos outlasted Texas-San Antonio to earn their first bowl victory since But you look in the eyes of my seniors, who have worked so hard.

You look in the eyes of New Mexico alumni who love football and have kept supporting this program through a lot of losing. You see the looks on their faces and tell me this is meaningless. Look into the eyes of Tanner MangumBYU's year-old sophomore quarterback who was the hero ofstepping in for Taysom Hill and then relegated to the bench this season, even as Hill struggled.

When Hill suffered his fourth season-ending injury, Mangum was once again called upon to step in. He answered by leading the Cougars to a storm-drenched victory over old WAC-rival Wyoming. After the victory, the 21 BYU seniors posed for a picture in the rain, reflecting back on a ride that included the literal wild west of transitioning into becoming an FBS independent, Hail Mary wins and losses, and losing their head coach.

Hill and Mangum embraced, crying. The social media feed of the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl has been a parade of fun. The Old Dominion Monarchs didn't even have a football program a decade ago.

This year they won nine games. From to the Eastern Michigan Eagles won seven games over four seasons. This year they went during a season that included a dramatic win over Wyoming that was overrun by a student protest about racist graffiti, just seconds after the clock hit zero.

The Bahamas Bowl was defensive end Pat O'Connor 's record-tying 49th appearance in an EMU uniform. The Eagles lost 30 of his first 37 games. Earlier in the week, he recalled a February meeting at the home of head coach Chris Creighton. The team's seniors gathered in Creighton's basement and agreed on their goal for We said we were going to win a bowl game. On Friday afternoon, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, some 1, miles south of Ypsilanti, Michigan, O'Connor ran through a smashed cinder-block wall and took the field wearing that EMU for the final time.

His face painted, the senior hustled, joked with the refs and registered a half-sack, a pass breakup, a QB knockdown and two tackles for a loss. But it was the last tackle that summed up his career. He got his hands around the ankles of ODU running back Ray Lawry on a third-and-6 in the waning seconds The game was over, and the Eagles lost their first bowl game in 29 years by a score of The team took forever to finally board the bus, choosing to linger in the locker room.

O'Connor, his face paint now streaked, didn't want to take his college uniform off. Editor's Picks What to watch for during bowl season Will the Big Ten maintain its dominance? Can the SEC rebound? Does Deshaun Watson have what it takes to stop the Crimson Tide's dynasty? There's a lot to look forward to as bowl season heats up. Here's a look at the entire College Football Playoff and college football bowl lineup for This is not how we wanted it to end.

There was Idaho, being dropped by the Sun Belt inentering Thursday night's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl a double-digit underdog to Colorado State and holding off a furious fourth quarter comeback by the Rams to win I think we were just tired of losing. Meanwhile, beat writers with teams ranging from Iowa and Michigan to USC and Auburn asked players with likely NFL futures about whether they considered sitting out their final collegiate game.

He did so to honor his brother Armon, who was killed in a robbery gone wrong during King's final year of high school.

That was to come back and get my college degree. And I also wanted to come back for my team. We had unfinished business. I support those other guys [Fournette and McCaffrey] making their decisions. But for me, I want to stand with my brothers one more time, in the Capital One Bowl against another great program in Florida. What a way to go out, right? It will mean so much to us as a team. There is a natural tendency for sports fans, and yes, those who make their living in the press box, to swing our collective attentions toward the shiniest light.

But that doesn't mean what's happening elsewhere is without merit. Are there too many bowl games?

Bowl Games Are Not Always Winners For Schools « CBS Miami

Will we see more NFL draft prospects bail out of bowls in seasons going forward? Could the financial model of the bowl system, in which more often than not participating teams lose money, use an overhaul? No doubt about it. But that's bbma forex trading the conversation here. The issue here is that, while the pre-New Year's games will certainly have no impact on the four teams playing for a national title, let's watch ourselves when it comes to that word, meaningless.

They do still award a trophy to the winner of these games. They do still give the participating players rings and watches and, more importantly, memories. The same people who complain that student-athletes deserve more will also complain that this reward -- one more game barter trade system in ghana, for so many seniors, one last chance to play football how to make camera dollar bill origami is a waste of time.

No, what's a waste of time is acting like these games don't matter just because they don't matter to Alabama, Washington, Introducing broker asia forex State or Clemson.

But here's the thing: I've been in all four of their football offices. And money making profession wow what they have displayed right alongside their mementos of their national championships?

The trophies they brought home from the Blockbuster, Humanitarian, Fight Hunger, Heart of Dallas and Mastercard Alamo Bowls. Somebody tells you that game is meaningless, well, they clearly didn't do college football teams lose money bowl games in that game. Actually, it isn't cornhole at all, but rather fowling, a combination of football and bowling played on a cornhole-ish board setup. As part of the buildup to Monday's Quick Lane Bowl 2: ET, ESPN old ACC foes Boston College and Maryland squared off in fowling.

BC long snapper Len Skubal won the night with a walk-off Hail Mary that might have even been better than Doug Flutie's. LenSkubal50 with the best walk off win in the history of fowling BCFootball pic. Speaking of lanes that are quick The Auburn Tigers did a little pre-Allstate Sugar Bowl Jan. ET, ESPN warming up at the bowling alley. Some of these dudes the current spot exchange rate is $1.55 to think they were supposed to throw the ball all the way down to the pins.

We've been tracking him all season, so naturally we had to file a final DP Watch chapter. My man crush contributed rushing yards to San Diego State's rout of Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl presented by Geico, reaching 6, for his career to break Ron Dayne's FBS record. Yes, as Dayne politely reminded in his congratulatory tweet, Pumphrey's number includes postseason games while Dayne's does not.

Pumphrey also overtook Texas' D'Onta Foreman for tops in with 2, for the year. AND he teamed with backfield mate Rashaad Pennywho rushed for 1, yards on the year, to help the Aztecs become the first team in Definition multilateral trading system history to have rushers of 2, and 1, yards in a single season.

Penny returns next season. We'll see if he's do college football teams lose money bowl games enough to earn a Flipping The Field Rashaad Penny Watch. How did your family handle its Christmas decorations this year? Did it follow a Process? Submitted without comment this is not photoshopped: Brecon market livestock coworker and hero, Holly Rowe, with a little reminder that any football coach anywhere who might be watching the Alabama-Washington College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta Dec.

ET, ESPN would behoove themselves to take copious notes on how to coach a football team. Just a little fun research. From the Ridonculous Stats Department: Colorado State scored 36 points in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's Famous Idaho Potato Bowl BYU tied an NCAA record with its seventh game in a single season decided by three points or less.

Their record in those games was Their final record was Western Kentucky's blowout of Memphis was the Hilltoppers' 23rd win in two seasons, tops among all FBS teams. And no, it has no problem still bragging on the very Vandals that earlier this year the conference decided it would no longer need after See you on the SCTop10 Jordan Frysinger! This is how we have a bowl party at Troy!! ET, ESPNThe U will be trying to snap a six-game bowl losing streak.

The Canes' last postseason victory was over Nevada in the MPC Computers Bowl. That was so long ago that this stock market part 1987 gold starters were in kindergarten and the company who sponsored the game now the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl no longer exists.

If you're going to a fried chicken island bowl Isn't that right, Eastern Michigan at the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl? Who likes PopeyesChicken more? The ODUFootball player or the EMUFB player? If you're going to a bowl in Idaho in December Isn't that right, Colorado State? I'm told that the guy auditioning for our ESPN Magazine Body Issue is lineman Tomas Rivera. A lot of Rams went down the mountain shirtless, but Rivera was the only guy who did it repeatedly.

The CSU football team enjoying a day of tubing at Bogus Basin. Stephens MattStephens December 20, Bowl week's version of "The Nutcracker"? After all, it is the holiday season. But instead of your local ballet studio, the Wyoming Cowboys didn't intentionally do this move.

Access Denied

When your teammate is actually giving a chest bump to the guy behind you Danny Ford Scientific Rocket Quote of the Week: He did manage to say a couple of semi-weird things and dug hard to convince everyone in the room that this was his dream job. But for the most part it was a pretty bland exchange.

At one point he even paused and said, "This is a boring press conference. Weston Steelhammer Name of the Week: Lion KingDL, Eastern Michigan. His full name is Lion King Conaway, but he liked the first two parts so much he had it legally changed to simply Lion King. His parents, Rudy and Diane Conaway, had no problem with that. After all, they gave him the name, right? But on the day he was born in Southfield, Michigan, did they go on the roof of the hospital and hold him in the air with two hands like Simba?

Frank Reich Backup QB Of The Week Award: Once again Mangum was asked to step in for Taysom Hill and did just enough96 yards, one TD, one INT, plus a TD run to help the Cougars hang on for a rain-slopped Poinsettia Bowl win over former WAC rival Wyoming. The Cowboys are used to seeing second-string signal-callers. This season Wyoming faced backup QBs in their games against Eastern Michigan, Colorado State, Nevada, Utah State, UNLV and BYU. The Team You Should Know About, But Probably Don't: If you're reading this on Monday, then you still have time to check out the Redhawks in the St.

Petersburg Bowl 11 a. ET, ESPNso do it! Win or lose, their story is remarkable. They started the seasonearning an ironclad spot in my Bottom Then they wentearning a spot in the game at Tropicana Field, to face Mississippi State. Should it win, Miami will become the first team in NCAA history to start and come all the way back to win a postseason game.

The Game You Should Be Psyched For But Probably Aren't: Valero Alamo Bowl Dec. As per usual, the Alamo Bowl has landed one of the best if not the best pre-New Year's weekend matchup. The Pac's perpetually weak tree of non-Rose Bowl postseason ties keeps sending great teams to San Antonio. This year it's the season's Cinderella, the Colorado Buffaloesvs. If -- and this is not a small if -- the Cowboys and QB Mason Rudolph aren't too bummed about landing in this game, this could very well be the most entertaining shootout of December.

If nothing else, I wish I was going to be at the coaches' media conferences with the Mikes, Gundy and MacIntyre. Last week I was once again honored to be asked to join Ivan Maisel for the annual "In Memoriam" edition of the Championship Drive podcast, when we remember those from the college football community that we lost during the year.

As a college football history junkie, it's one of my favorite shows of the season. You can listen to it here. But I am still kicking myself over a name we missed, someone I was reminded of while watching the first week of bowl games, instinctively reaching for my phone with a rules question and then realizing that he wasn't there to answer.

Former ACC officiating coordinator Doug Rhoads passed away in the spring after a shockingly short cancer battle. I believe I forgot about Doug during our podcast because I am still in denial that he's gone. You can read my column written after his passing in May here. We use cookies to offer an improved online experience.

By clicking "OK" without changing your settings you are giving your consent to receive cookies. Golf Tennis NCAAM MMA WWE Boxing esports Chalk Analytics NCAAW WNBA NASCAR Jayski Racing Horse RN FB RN BB NCAA LLWS Olympic Sports Special Olympics X Games Cricket Rugby Endurance CFL.

Think bowl games don't mean anything? Think again New Mexico Lobos. That time Jim Harbaugh became Michigan's most famous law clerk Michigan Wolverines. Names that may surprise in Big Ten West this year Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Names that may surprise in the Big Ten East this fall Indiana Hoosiers. Center Justin Dedich to USC USC Trojans. Who will lead Big 12 in sacks in ?

Tennessee president hires Fulmer as adviser Tennessee Volunteers. The SEC's best receiving duos and trios in Auburn Tigers.

WVU QB Grier to be eligible after 1-year ban West Virginia Mountaineers. Oklahoma's Sunderland suspended indefinitely Oklahoma Sooners. Sam Darnold finds new receiving target from a moving boat USC Trojans. WR Warren Thompson to Oregon Oregon Ducks. Sooners QB Mayfield reaches plea, pays fine Oklahoma Sooners. The SEC's best backfield duos and trios in Auburn Tigers. Close Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.

ABOUT COOKIES We use cookies to offer an improved online experience.