By By Matthew Nascone
It is time to go bowling again. The college bowl season is upon us, and has been for almost a week. To me that is ridiculous.
The bowl season has become a money market and I believe that is the only reason bowls are on a week before Christmas. The only good bowl games are on Christmas Day or afterwards. And if you really want to get picky the only games that would be worth watching are after the new year, with the exception of a few.
In this writer's opinion all games before this time are toilet bowls. I mean when a team is 6-5 and is playing in the postseason that is not right. Granted, this year has Michigan facing Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl Dec. 28, but other than that game the rest of the bowls before the new year are only money makers for the schools involved and the companies sponsoring the bowls.
With 28 bowls, almost half of the nation's NCAA Division 1A schools get into the postseason. How can you expect to watch good football when you have two teams who barely won half their games squaring off ?
The college football bowl schedule is the most ludicrous example of getting money in any way possible. This is also the reason there is no playoff system to determine a national champion, but that is a whole different column.
I love college football and will watch about any game that is on because I am addicted to sports, but I still think some of the bowl games should be eliminated and never allowed to show their money-grubbing faces ever again.
The way the teams are picked for the bowl games is somewhat of a saving point for the system. The sponsors try to pick the teams who would play the best game and be the most competitive.
But that is enough about how there are too many bowls, now let's talk some of the interesting bowl games that should not be missed.
I don't see USC being dethroned as national champs in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Everyone is talking about how great a match-up USC vs. Texas will be. I have two words for those people, last year.
Last year's National Championship was supposed to be the best ever and it turned into a 55-19 blowout and the most boring national championship game I ever watched. And being an Auburn alumnus, I know the Tigers would have at least made it a better game, but the people who supposedly know all thought otherwise.
Boy, were they wrong!
Well this year's best game will come in the FedEx Orange Bowl. Penn State is an extremely quick team with a lot of talent and Florida State is equally talented.
Another interesting match-up can be found Jan. 2 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Two of the most storied schools in the nation square off as the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame battle the Buckeyes of Ohio State.
The Capital One Bowl, or credit card bowl, should be a good game with the Auburn Tigers taking care of the Badgers of Wisconsin. The AT&T Cotton Bowl pits Texas Tech against the Crimson Tide of Alabama. If Brodie Croyle can rebound from the bad game in Auburn, Alabama should emerge victorious.
This should be an intriguing bowl season, but I still think it should be about 18 games shorter.
Matthew Nascone is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123.