Did you listen to Cook before the season?

Posted on: October 30, 2024 at 07:42:38 CT

He used those exact terms - playoffs or bust. If you don't think they are irrelevant now, look no further than the 63-3 Orange Bowl debacle last year or teams like Florida and LSU or Ohio State playing without key players or like 40 scholarship players in some of those games in recent years. I loved the bowl system. It was unique. I loved it that one sport was different and that "going to a bowl" was the goal and that 20 teams or so could finish with a win. When Mizzou made it back in 1997 I remember going to Harpo's in Chesterfield and the place was insane. Same for Pinkel's NYD bowl games. It's not the same. If a lot of the key players are sitting out or don't want to play, who cares about a "scrimmage" or "seeing freshman play"? I don't. Pinkel played for all out championships and so did the teams they played. Every healthy player played and it was exciting competitive football. The 12 team playoff has made it a farce. The fact is there wasn't any "12 team playoff" the last 50 years. That's the flaw in your logic. So the bowls meant something. Even if OU went to Orange Bowl and we went to the Insight bowl it was still just one bowl game and there was a certain equity and interest in these games. Plus the "playoff" now takes up every major bowl.