By Sonny Jones
(Sung to the theme song from Rawhide)
Rolling, rolling, rolling,
it’s almost time for bowling.
It’s college football bowl games.
Do you care?
We’ll start it in the Bahamas
with little time to see your Mamas.
It’s college football bowl games.
Do you care?
A champion will be crowned in Cali,
before then there’s too many games to tally.
It’s college football bowl games.
Do you care?
Games and games and games and games.
It’s college football bowl games.
Do you care?
The 43-game college football bowl game schedule kicks off Friday with 6-6 Miami (Ohio) playing 6-6 Alabama-Birmingham in the Bahamas Bowl. That’s followed by No. 24 Troy (11-2) against No. 25 Texas-San Antonio (11-2) in the Cure Bowl. It ends Jan. 9 with the national championship game inside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
In between, aside from the national semifinal games New Year’s Eve featuring Texas Christian against Michigan and Ohio State against Georgia, there are 38 games about as meaningful as a game of cornhole played in the PNC Arena parking lot prior to a Carolina Hurricanes game.
With several top players rightfully opting out and declaring for the NFL draft and others choosing to enter the transfer portal looking for a better opportunity elsewhere, the non-College Football Playoff games are little more than glorified exhibitions.
Coaches probably love the bowl games because of the extra few weeks of practice. Returning players probably are thankful for a chance to leave a good impression for next season. A few players are likely grateful to be able to play one final game before their college eligibility expires. But, for us fans, it’s difficult to get excited about any of the non-playoff games.
Many times over the years I’ve thought about trying to watch every game in this bowlapalooza. Now retired and with on-demand streaming options it could be done. Do I want to? Do you want to? Do we care to watch 40 non-playoff bowl games?
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
• 2007 — Appalachian State, which kicked off the football season with the stunning upset of Michigan, ends the season with a historic victory. The Mountaineers are Division I-AA’s first three-peat national champion with a 49-21 win over Delaware.
POTATO PICKS TO WATCH TODAY
• WORLD CUP SEMIFINAL: France vs. Morocco, 2 p.m., FOX
• BASKETBALL: Appalachian St. at Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACCN
• NHL: Detroit at Minnesota, 7:30 p.m., TNT
• NBA: New York at Chicago, 7:45 p.m., ESPN
• NHL: Vancouver at Calgary, 10 p.m., TNT
• NBA: Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 10:05 p.m., ESPN
Sonny Jones can be reached at wibbyj@gmail.com.
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