Are There Too Many College Football Bowl Games? We Say YES!

It's because of TV and sponsorship money, exposure and the like. But has what once was a reward for being a good team turned into a reward for mediocrity? We think so, and we're football geeks.

At least this year, there won't be any teams participating with losing records. At last count, the NCAA college football bowl season (which kicked off last weekend and was highlighted by Boise State beating Oregon in the Las Vegas Bowl) there are 40 bowl games for Division 1, or FBS teams this season.

WSU is headed to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego (again) to face Michigan State, the Cougs went there back in the very early 1980's and have gone there since. At least it's a bowl people have heard of. The Huskies will face Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, also a major one.

But when you consider there are 130 Division 1, or FBS teams as the NCAA calls them, and 80 are playing in bowl games, you'd have to be pretty bad not to make it. 80 teams go, 60 don't get one.

Some bowl games still retain their famous traditional names that date back 40-50 years, such as the Rose Bowl, Fiesta, Holiday, Orange and others. But after looking over the list, would you watch the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl? That's an actual game being played Tuesday at the home stadium of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.  If the name doesn't compel you to watch, the teams--well, they wont' either. It matches Florida Atlantic vs. Akron. Yes, FAU gets a bowl game in it's own stadium.

Even Boise State didn't get to play in their own blue turf field, that was reserved for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 22, matching Wyoming vs. Central Michigan.  Whee!