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Locals shine in bowl games; BCS needs to go
By Michael Sudhalter
The college football bowl season is one of the more exciting times of the year to be a sports fan.
Between visiting family and friends and covering sporting events, I didn’t get much time to sit down on the couch and watch some good college football matchups – except for Rice’s historic 38-14 win over Western Michigan on Dec. 30 in the Texas Bowl, which I covered at Reliant Stadium.
Owls freshman defensive back Travis Bradshaw (a Cy-Fair graduate) had a team-high 7.5 tackles, senior defensive lineman Todd Mohr (a Cy Creek alum) had two tackles and junior kicker Clark Fangmeier, a Northland Christian graduate, made a 30-yard field goal and all five of his extra points in Rice’s first bowl victory since 1954.
On Dec. 28, Louisiana Tech sophomore quarterback Ross Jenkins (a Langham Creek graduate) completed 12 of 27 passes for 144 yards to lead the Bulldogs (8-5) to a 17-10 win over Northern Illinois (6-7) in the Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La.
Those three players weren’t the only ones making an impact during bowl season.
Oklahoma State (9-4) lost to Oregon (10-3), 42-31 on Dec. 30 in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from three local defenders. Junior safety Andre Sexton (Cy Falls) had a team-high eight tackles, junior linebacker Patrick Lavine (Jersey Village) finished with seven and senior defensive back Ricky Price (Cy Falls) recorded five tackles in his final collegiate game.
Houston senior offensive lineman Michael Bloesch (Klein Collins) blocked for sophomore quarterback Case Keenum and helped lead the Cougars (8-5) to a 34-28 win over Air Force (8-5) on New Year’s Eve in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth; it was UH’s first bowl victory since 1980.
Another pair of former Klein ISD standouts helped their respective teams to victory on New Year’s Eve.
Vanderbilt junior running back Jared Hawkins (Klein) had eight carries for 12 yards in the Commodores’ (7-6) 16-14 upset of Boston College (9-5) in the Music City Bowl in Nashville; it marked Vandy’s first bowl win in over 50 years.
Kansas sophomore receiver Johnathan Wilson (Klein Forest) finished with two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown in the Jayhawks’ (8-5) 42-21 win over Minnesota (7-6) in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.
No local players are competing on teams in the elite Bowl Championship Series, which features five elite matchups including Thursday’s BCS Championship Game in Miami between Florida (12-1) and Oklahoma (12-1).
I think it’s simply ridiculous that the college football season extends all the way to the eighth day of January. And it’s even more troublesome is that we still have mediocre bowls like the GMAC – between Tulsa (10-3) and Ball State (12-1) – being played this late in the bowl season – at 7 p.m. tonight in Mobile, Ala.
I long for the days when the average bowls were played in mid-December and the championship was decided by the end of New Year’s Day.
Unfortunately, the 11-year old BCS will be with us at least through 2014. I think the BCS has served its purpose, and it’s time to move on.
When the BCS was born in the late 1990’s, there was far less parity in college football. It seemed as if Florida State, Miami or Florida were in the championship game every single season.
The Big 12 South and the rise of Texas Tech this season – despite its loss to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl – proved that’s true. In simpler times, the Red River Shootout would have decided the national champion participant.
Florida and Oklahoma are both deserving contenders in the national championship game, but USC, Texas, Alabama and Utah would all be capable of winning a college football playoff this season.
Sure, debate over who should have and could have been national champions sparks interest in college football. But will the public truly consider the winner of Thursday’s BCS Championship Game to be the national champion? And will the Florida or Oklahoma players ever wonder what it would have been like to play USC or Utah in a playoff bracket?
The current system benefits teams from losing early and finishing strong. While I’m all for strong finishes (and the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I believe, also awards strong finishes), one loss equals one loss.
The Pac-10, Big 10 and Big East need to add conference championship games; In order to do that, each conference would need 12 teams.
I’d like to see the Pac-10 add BYU and Utah, the Big 10 (which really has 11 teams) add another team and the Big East take in some Conference USA teams like East Carolina, Marshall, and maybe even Houston and Rice.
I’ve heard the argument several times that a playoff would be difficult to schedule. I think college football fans (and players alike) would like to see that long hiatus from regular season finale to bowl game disappear.
As disappointed as I am in the extension of the college football season, I wouldn’t mind seeing the season extend into February if the powers that be in the NCAA implemented a 16-team playoff bracket.
Between visiting family and friends and covering sporting events, I didn’t get much time to sit down on the couch and watch some good college football matchups – except for Rice’s historic 38-14 win over Western Michigan on Dec. 30 in the Texas Bowl, which I covered at Reliant Stadium.
Owls freshman defensive back Travis Bradshaw (a Cy-Fair graduate) had a team-high 7.5 tackles, senior defensive lineman Todd Mohr (a Cy Creek alum) had two tackles and junior kicker Clark Fangmeier, a Northland Christian graduate, made a 30-yard field goal and all five of his extra points in Rice’s first bowl victory since 1954.
On Dec. 28, Louisiana Tech sophomore quarterback Ross Jenkins (a Langham Creek graduate) completed 12 of 27 passes for 144 yards to lead the Bulldogs (8-5) to a 17-10 win over Northern Illinois (6-7) in the Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La.
Those three players weren’t the only ones making an impact during bowl season.
Oklahoma State (9-4) lost to Oregon (10-3), 42-31 on Dec. 30 in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, but it wasn’t due to lack of effort from three local defenders. Junior safety Andre Sexton (Cy Falls) had a team-high eight tackles, junior linebacker Patrick Lavine (Jersey Village) finished with seven and senior defensive back Ricky Price (Cy Falls) recorded five tackles in his final collegiate game.
Houston senior offensive lineman Michael Bloesch (Klein Collins) blocked for sophomore quarterback Case Keenum and helped lead the Cougars (8-5) to a 34-28 win over Air Force (8-5) on New Year’s Eve in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth; it was UH’s first bowl victory since 1980.
Another pair of former Klein ISD standouts helped their respective teams to victory on New Year’s Eve.
Vanderbilt junior running back Jared Hawkins (Klein) had eight carries for 12 yards in the Commodores’ (7-6) 16-14 upset of Boston College (9-5) in the Music City Bowl in Nashville; it marked Vandy’s first bowl win in over 50 years.
Kansas sophomore receiver Johnathan Wilson (Klein Forest) finished with two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown in the Jayhawks’ (8-5) 42-21 win over Minnesota (7-6) in the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.
No local players are competing on teams in the elite Bowl Championship Series, which features five elite matchups including Thursday’s BCS Championship Game in Miami between Florida (12-1) and Oklahoma (12-1).
I think it’s simply ridiculous that the college football season extends all the way to the eighth day of January. And it’s even more troublesome is that we still have mediocre bowls like the GMAC – between Tulsa (10-3) and Ball State (12-1) – being played this late in the bowl season – at 7 p.m. tonight in Mobile, Ala.
I long for the days when the average bowls were played in mid-December and the championship was decided by the end of New Year’s Day.
Unfortunately, the 11-year old BCS will be with us at least through 2014. I think the BCS has served its purpose, and it’s time to move on.
When the BCS was born in the late 1990’s, there was far less parity in college football. It seemed as if Florida State, Miami or Florida were in the championship game every single season.
The Big 12 South and the rise of Texas Tech this season – despite its loss to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl – proved that’s true. In simpler times, the Red River Shootout would have decided the national champion participant.
Florida and Oklahoma are both deserving contenders in the national championship game, but USC, Texas, Alabama and Utah would all be capable of winning a college football playoff this season.
Sure, debate over who should have and could have been national champions sparks interest in college football. But will the public truly consider the winner of Thursday’s BCS Championship Game to be the national champion? And will the Florida or Oklahoma players ever wonder what it would have been like to play USC or Utah in a playoff bracket?
The current system benefits teams from losing early and finishing strong. While I’m all for strong finishes (and the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I believe, also awards strong finishes), one loss equals one loss.
The Pac-10, Big 10 and Big East need to add conference championship games; In order to do that, each conference would need 12 teams.
I’d like to see the Pac-10 add BYU and Utah, the Big 10 (which really has 11 teams) add another team and the Big East take in some Conference USA teams like East Carolina, Marshall, and maybe even Houston and Rice.
I’ve heard the argument several times that a playoff would be difficult to schedule. I think college football fans (and players alike) would like to see that long hiatus from regular season finale to bowl game disappear.
As disappointed as I am in the extension of the college football season, I wouldn’t mind seeing the season extend into February if the powers that be in the NCAA implemented a 16-team playoff bracket.
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