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We're smack dab in the middle of the middle of college football season, and the race for the College Football Playoff is on. A lot of critics like to claim that playoff has made the rest of the bowl games meaningless, but that is not the case for dozens of teams and hundreds of players out there.
35 bowl games are scheduled for the 2025-26 season, in addition to the 11 games of the CFP. That means numerous opportunities to showcase your skills in front of a wider audience. Especially so if you're from a Group of Five program.
Yes, it is unfortunate that more and more of the sport's top players are opting-out of bowl games these days, in order to focus on NFL Draft preparations, or to find their best fit in the transfer portal.
However, the non-CFP and non-New Year's bowls aren't really made for the blue blood programs, nor the blue chip NFL Draft prospects. They're for everyone else.
If you're 2-4 or 3-3 right now, at midseason, a lower tier bowl means your season is not over, because you still have something to play for. If you're a fringe draft prospect, or a draft prospect with a lower grade, then a bowl game is a great opportunity to show the country what you can do.
Versus if you're a top-rated NFL Draft prospect, then yes, it makes sense to opt-out, and avoid the risk of potential injury.
However, pretty much every bowl game gets decent or better television ratings, so they provide a player with professional aspirations a chance to get on the radar at least, make a real name for himself at best.
The 15 extra practices that come with securing a bowl berth are good for the football careers of everyone on the team. Sure, bowl games were basically created, at least initially, as an excuse to sell hotel rooms during a period of the year that usually saw a slump in the tourism industry, and there is a historical record, of sorts, chronicling this.
But for the smaller bowl games, these days, it's about providing hope. There is hope that the extra practice will make the team better next season. Players hope they can put in a dominant performance and augment their draft stock.
This same principle is at work in other sports too. Let's first look at European soccer, and their "continental competition."
UEFA Champions League replaced the European Cup as the top tier tournament in 1992. For those who didn't qualify, the Europa League became the tourney to aim for in 2008.
Then came the tertiary competition, the Conference League, in 2021. The point of these secondary and tertiary tourneys? To reach a higher level.
Or as Ratings.org points out: "UEFA’s decision to initiate a third-level competition, specifically designed to increase participation among members of so-called “minnow” leagues, has undoubtedly provided an easier qualification pathway."
Another example is college basketball, where yes, it's all about March Madness (the NCAA Tournament), but you also have the consolation bracket, known as the NIT.
What are these competitors striving for? SB Nation says it best: "A trophy and all that — they cut down the nets and everything! — but mainly some hope for the future. Since the NCAA’s 1985 expansion, NIT champs are slightly more likely to make March Madness the following year than not."
Again, it's about hope.
In the NBA, 16/32 teams make the playoffs, plus four more in the play-in tournament. MLS has a similar format, with 18/30 getting in. For the NHL, it's also 16/32.
So for anyone who says there are too many bowl games, well...not if you're a guy looking to improve his game and maybe get to the league.
And for those who say that college football has a massively over-bloated postseason, well, it's no different from most of the other sports.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: More bowl games means more chances for players to prove themselves
Continue reading...
35 bowl games are scheduled for the 2025-26 season, in addition to the 11 games of the CFP. That means numerous opportunities to showcase your skills in front of a wider audience. Especially so if you're from a Group of Five program.
Yes, it is unfortunate that more and more of the sport's top players are opting-out of bowl games these days, in order to focus on NFL Draft preparations, or to find their best fit in the transfer portal.
However, the non-CFP and non-New Year's bowls aren't really made for the blue blood programs, nor the blue chip NFL Draft prospects. They're for everyone else.
If you're 2-4 or 3-3 right now, at midseason, a lower tier bowl means your season is not over, because you still have something to play for. If you're a fringe draft prospect, or a draft prospect with a lower grade, then a bowl game is a great opportunity to show the country what you can do.
Versus if you're a top-rated NFL Draft prospect, then yes, it makes sense to opt-out, and avoid the risk of potential injury.
However, pretty much every bowl game gets decent or better television ratings, so they provide a player with professional aspirations a chance to get on the radar at least, make a real name for himself at best.
The 15 extra practices that come with securing a bowl berth are good for the football careers of everyone on the team. Sure, bowl games were basically created, at least initially, as an excuse to sell hotel rooms during a period of the year that usually saw a slump in the tourism industry, and there is a historical record, of sorts, chronicling this.
But for the smaller bowl games, these days, it's about providing hope. There is hope that the extra practice will make the team better next season. Players hope they can put in a dominant performance and augment their draft stock.
This same principle is at work in other sports too. Let's first look at European soccer, and their "continental competition."
UEFA Champions League replaced the European Cup as the top tier tournament in 1992. For those who didn't qualify, the Europa League became the tourney to aim for in 2008.
Then came the tertiary competition, the Conference League, in 2021. The point of these secondary and tertiary tourneys? To reach a higher level.
Or as Ratings.org points out: "UEFA’s decision to initiate a third-level competition, specifically designed to increase participation among members of so-called “minnow” leagues, has undoubtedly provided an easier qualification pathway."
Another example is college basketball, where yes, it's all about March Madness (the NCAA Tournament), but you also have the consolation bracket, known as the NIT.
What are these competitors striving for? SB Nation says it best: "A trophy and all that — they cut down the nets and everything! — but mainly some hope for the future. Since the NCAA’s 1985 expansion, NIT champs are slightly more likely to make March Madness the following year than not."
Again, it's about hope.
In the NBA, 16/32 teams make the playoffs, plus four more in the play-in tournament. MLS has a similar format, with 18/30 getting in. For the NHL, it's also 16/32.
So for anyone who says there are too many bowl games, well...not if you're a guy looking to improve his game and maybe get to the league.
And for those who say that college football has a massively over-bloated postseason, well, it's no different from most of the other sports.
This article originally appeared on Draft Wire: More bowl games means more chances for players to prove themselves
Continue reading...
