Stephen Tsai: The more the merrier for college football bowl season
Jun. 15—Of course, more is better.
That's why Twitter lists the number of each account's followers and Facebook publicizes "likes." That's why no trick-or-treatin' kid has ever said : "I have enough candy, let's call it a night." And that's why a lottery would be more fun with 50 $1 million winners than one $50 million winner.
College Football Playoff leaders are open to the approach, mulling an eventual expansion to 12 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Increasing the field makes sense. CFP's original two-team format was like "The Bachelor " with a pair of contestants. The current playoff setup is the Masters with only four golfers.
A 12-team playoff rewards all the Power Five conference champions and, at least, one representative from the Group of Five leagues. The University of Hawaii, which competes in the Mountain West Conference, is under the Group of Five heading. In theory, all 130 FBS teams would have a shot at the national title, at least through the season opener.
But there's a glitch to the proposal. In the fine print, there is a warning that an expanded playoff might lead to some bowls being trimmed from the schedule. As a guy who went to a relative for a haircut has learned, sometimes a trim can be a whack. Losing more than a few bowls would be a shame for supporters of several football programs and their communities.
During the 2019-20 academic year, there were 37 non-CFP bowls. That total drew criticism for allowing teams with.500—or worse—records to participate in the postseason. Bowl critics believe there should not be consolation prizes for 56.9 % of the FBS teams.
The theory is an expanded playoff will offer opportunities for less-funded programs. The reality is underdog stories rarely end well. Winthrop will never claim an NCAA basketball title. Even the ultimate Cinderella story, "Cinderella, " did not win Best Picture. While a dozen teams will compete for the CFP title in a few years, the power teams likely will win it all. Those slim odds accentuate the importance of retaining even the smallest non-CFB bowls. Play in a bowl, any bowl, and it helps recruiting, increases enrollment and donations, and elevates moods. One team can win a national title, but 37 others can end their seasons with bowl victories. There should be no shortage of feel-good stories.
Last year, the Rainbow Warriors learned new schemes under a new coaching staff without spring training or summer workouts. They had an abbreviated training camp, a league-only schedule, and underwent strict pandemic-related protocols in which they sat 6 feet apart in meetings and never entered their locker room. The Warriors were the only Mountain West team not to have a game canceled. The reward was an invitation to the New Mexico Bowl. It did not matter that there were no bowl-related activities, or that they ate their meals in hotel rooms, or that that game was played in Frisco, Texas. What mattered was the Warriors overpowered a traditionally good Houston team, rode the momentum into offseason training, and received bowl rings.
In 2001, the Warriors knocked off previously unbeaten Brigham Young in the regular-season finale. As the game clock ticked down, Aloha Stadium fans chanted for a bowl game and cable in the dorm rooms. Soon after, the Hawaii Bowl was created and, presumably, dorm residents could get ESPN. Bowl games are an example that, as a philosopher once noted, there is enough success for everyone.
