So this year it looks like this has become a hotter topic than usual, players opting out because they don't want to get injured or even play in meaningless bowl games. Now let's get down to the numbers….


There are 39 bowl games, teams only need to win six games to be bowl eligible. College football diluted the meaning of bowl games when you have the cheez it bowl or the tax slayer bowl or the Dukes Mayo Bowl.

There only bowls that really matter are the NY6, everything else nobody gives a rats ass. Can you blame players for sitting out in an exhibition game that mean absolutely nothing if you win but you risk your potential career, see Matt Corral.

If you really want to stop seeing players opt out then decrease the bowls allowed, they will mean more if it's harder to be eligible

End of rant

Feel better? Did the laxative help??

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There only bowls that really matter are the NY6

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4 of those don't even matter really per many fans & players.

again, its because the games are diluted. Get rid of all the crap bowls and only have five. The top 10 teams compete everybody else ****s off

Just think of all the bowls played to to Christmas as equivalent to the NIT. Feel better now?

Oh great, yet another thread complaining about bowls and opt-outs because goodness knows the first 572 just didn't quite cover every base

hedge said:

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again, its because the games are diluted. Get rid of all the crap bowls and only have five. The top 10 teams compete everybody else ****s off

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How many players actually opted out of the bottom tier bowls? Very few I'd say because most of those teams have very few elite NFL prospects.
Most of the opt outs were from Top 20 programs that missed the playoffs. With the exception of Carson Stong (UN-R) and Tyler Badie (Mizzou) there weren't many that skipped the bad bowls.. NYE & NY6 bowls had a ton of opt outs. So eliminating the bottom tiers wouldn't make much difference. If you literally went to just 5 bowls then it might, but that's not realistic.

Expand the playoffs to 16 teams. Conf champs + beauty contest winners from the rest to fill the field.
Give bowl games the playoff games. That's 15 bowls.

Opt outs solved.
Playoffs solved.
Regular season matters more solved.
Bowl games solved.


If someone wants to do other bowl games with non-championship implications between 6-6 teams with players opting out, WGAS.

I don't get it. The regular season is 'meaningless' for a team that is eliminated from conference and national title hopes too, right? Why don't they just opt out there?

TyperWoods said:

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Expand the playoffs to 16 teams. Conf champs + beauty contest winners from the rest to fill the field.
Give bowl games the playoff games. That's 15 bowls.

Opt outs solved.
Playoffs solved.
Regular season matters more solved.
Bowl games solved.


If someone wants to do other bowl games with non-championship implications between 6-6 teams with players opting out, WGAS.

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I agree with expansion of playoffs, but I still need to read a good justification for trying to keep the bowls involved in any of the playoffs. I understand why to possibly use a neutral site for a championship game, but after that keep the playoff games at the higher seed's campus.

It keeps money in the local community, significantly reduces travel costs for a fan base who would otherwise possibly need to travel to 4 random spots to follow their team. It significantly increases the value of the regular season knowing you get to host games at the higher seed. Plus, it greatly improves the atmosphere for the game as there would be a real home field advantage with a packed house instead of these playoff games that have 80% attendance with a neutral crowd.


The focus should be on improving the post-season, not keeping the bowls alive. For all the talk about the playoffs killing the bowls, the truth is the number of bowl games has increased since the start of playoffs, not declined. Playoffs on college campuses make the games more interesting and regular season much more valuable.

Iowaggie said:

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TyperWoods said:

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Expand the playoffs to 16 teams. Conf champs + beauty contest winners from the rest to fill the field.
Give bowl games the playoff games. That's 15 bowls.

Opt outs solved.
Playoffs solved.
Regular season matters more solved.
Bowl games solved.


If someone wants to do other bowl games with non-championship implications between 6-6 teams with players opting out, WGAS.

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I agree with expansion of playoffs, but I still need to read a good justification for trying to keep the bowls involved in any of the playoffs. I understand why to possibly use a neutral site for a championship game, but after that keep the playoff games at the higher seed's campus.

It keeps money in the local community, significantly reduces travel costs for a fan base who would otherwise possibly need to travel to 4 random spots to follow their team. It significantly increases the value of the regular season knowing you get to host games at the higher seed. Plus, it greatly improves the atmosphere for the game as there would be a real home field advantage with a packed house instead of these playoff games that have 80% attendance with a neutral crowd.


The focus should be on improving the post-season, not keeping the bowls alive. For all the talk about the playoffs killing the bowls, the truth is the number of bowl games has increased since the start of playoffs, not declined. Playoffs on college campuses make the games more interesting and regular season much more valuable.

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I'm fine with first round or two being played locally.

I actually like the bowls, even those that aren't "meaningful."

There are plenty of games during the regular season that don't mean anything.

You can count on one hand the teams that have a realistic shot of winning a national championship every season. Why does everyone else play? Might as well just shut it all down.

EclipseAg said:

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I actually like the bowls, even those that aren't "meaningful."

There are plenty of games during the regular season that don't mean anything.

You can count on one hand the teams that have a realistic shot of winning a national championship every season. Why does everyone else play? Might as well just shut it all down.

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I totally agree. Such a weak argument people like to use on here. Realistically only a few teams have a 'real' shot at winning anyway.

And to my other point, so many people on here use $$$ as a reason why players should opt out of bowl games.

My question is...for many of you on here saying players should opt out of bowls due to $$$ then why should players even play in the semis or championship game? Why they could lose millions if they get hurt, right???

Will these same people saying players should opt out of bowl games due to money suddenly change their tune and claim there are other things besides $$$ to play for???

I think opting out is a dumb thing for the kids to do and I hate that it happens. Its not good for the sport, but you can't really force them to play.

But even with opt outs, there were many great games. Rose Bowl was probably better because of opt outs. So while I don't like opt outs, its not nearly the end of the world so predict here.

If each team used 30 players that would be 2,340 that played. How many career ending injuries were there?

BMX Bandit said:

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I think opting out is a dumb thing for the kids to do and I hate that it happens. Its not good for the sport, but you can't really force them to play.

But even with opt outs, there were many great games. Rose Bowl was probably better because of opt outs. So while I don't like opt outs, its not nearly the end of the world so predict here.

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Good point.

I enjoy watching good bowl games. Get tired of people on here saying the non championship bowls mean nothing and then these same people are on here commenting about the games.

If the non championship bowl games mean nothing then so do 99% of all other regular season games.

My other rant...

People like to argue that NFL prospects should opt out of bowls because it is just too risky and they could get hurt and lose millions.

Yet some of these same players who opt out then go on a skiing trip, play pick-up basketball or do other risky activities during their time off.

Here's a little secret CFB never figured out. The games that matter are the ones that lead to a championship. All the rose parades in the world won't change this fact. Let's create a system where we have more of those.

rootube said:

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Here's a little secret CFB never figured out. The games that matter are the ones that lead to a championship. All the rose parades in the world won't change this fact. Let's create a system where we have more of those.

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heres a little secret you can't figure out: there is a perfect league for you already. the NFL. go watch it.

stop trying to NFL my college football.

BMX Bandit said:

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rootube said:

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Here's a little secret CFB never figured out. The games that matter are the ones that lead to a championship. All the rose parades in the world won't change this fact. Let's create a system where we have more of those.

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heres a little secret you can't figure out: there is a perfect league for you already. the NFL. go watch it.

stop trying to NFL my college football.

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This. There is a league that has a big playoff system, paid players, parity, everything y'all want college football to be, it's called the NFL.

Yet everyone says NFL sucks, but they want to turn college football into the same thing. Doesn't make sense.

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LSU heads into Tuesday's Texas Bowl with a depleted roster.

The Tigers recently released their depth chart for the game against Kansas State, and 247Sports reporter Shea Dixon noted that they will have "barely 40 guys available who arrived at LSU on scholarship."

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The depth chart #LSU released for Tuesday’s Texas Bowl.

Drives home just how depleted the roster is. Barely 40 guys available who arrived at LSU on scholarship.

CB is most notable. Freshman Damarius McGhee, Nicholls transfer Darren Evans + walk-on Lloyd Cole only ones listed. pic.twitter.com/QOXYDoFadU

— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) January 2, 2022

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Cornerback and quarterback are 2 of the thinnest positions. A total of 3 cornerbacks, including a walk-on, are listed on the depth chart. The QB position has been one of the top storylines heading into the game. Freshman Garrett Nussmeier is the only scholarship quarterback available, but he has reached his 4-game redshirt limit. LSU requested a special waiver from the NCAA to allow Nussmeier to play a fifth game and still redshirt for 2021.

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Link

Onionman said:

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EclipseAg said:

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I actually like the bowls, even those that aren't "meaningful."

There are plenty of games during the regular season that don't mean anything.

You can count on one hand the teams that have a realistic shot of winning a national championship every season. Why does everyone else play? Might as well just shut it all down.

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I totally agree. Such a weak argument people like to use on here. Realistically only a few teams have a 'real' shot at winning anyway.

And to my other point, so many people on here use $$$ as a reason why players should opt out of bowl games.

My question is...for many of you on here saying players should opt out of bowls due to $$$ then why should players even play in the semis or championship game? Why they could lose millions if they get hurt, right???

Will these same people saying players should opt out of bowl games due to money suddenly change their tune and claim there are other things besides $$$ to play for???

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That was a point that Kirk made. Why not opt out of playing against a weak OOC opponent in week 2 or 3? These guys take a risk every time they step on the field.

kirk is a poon. he complains about opt outs, all the while pushing the narrative that the only games that matter are playoffs. during peach bowl, all they talked about was playoffs. kirk part of the problem.


was that too harsh? I don't want him to cry if he reads it.

nu awlins ag said:

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Onionman said:

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EclipseAg said:

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I actually like the bowls, even those that aren't "meaningful."

There are plenty of games during the regular season that don't mean anything.

You can count on one hand the teams that have a realistic shot of winning a national championship every season. Why does everyone else play? Might as well just shut it all down.

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I totally agree. Such a weak argument people like to use on here. Realistically only a few teams have a 'real' shot at winning anyway.

And to my other point, so many people on here use $$$ as a reason why players should opt out of bowl games.

My question is...for many of you on here saying players should opt out of bowls due to $$$ then why should players even play in the semis or championship game? Why they could lose millions if they get hurt, right???

Will these same people saying players should opt out of bowl games due to money suddenly change their tune and claim there are other things besides $$$ to play for???

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That was a point that Kirk made. Why not opt out of playing against a weak OOC opponent in week 2 or 3? These guys take a risk every time they step on the field.

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Or sit out the rest of the season after your team gets its 2nd loss?

Exactly. If you look at the stats, there are very few guys that get serious injuries during bowl season. Just look at the high school all-star games. You don't see any kids opting out of these and the risks are just the same for them.

TXAG 05 said:

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BMX Bandit said:

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rootube said:

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Here's a little secret CFB never figured out. The games that matter are the ones that lead to a championship. All the rose parades in the world won't change this fact. Let's create a system where we have more of those.

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heres a little secret you can't figure out: there is a perfect league for you already. the NFL. go watch it.

stop trying to NFL my college football.

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This. There is a league that has a big playoff system, paid players, parity, everything y'all want college football to be, it's called the NFL.

Yet everyone says NFL sucks, but they want to turn college football into the same thing. Doesn't make sense.

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If the NFL does in fact suck it isn't because they have a playoff system. Go back a few years and watch video of Mike Leach on his thoughts about how CFB decides their champion vs NFL and other college sports.

It took awhile for CFB to go from strictly bowls and polls then to BCS then to 4 teams where we are now. Each change lead to improvement and nobody ever said hey we need to go back to the old way. Expanding to 6, 8, 12 or 16 can only help. It's also ok to keep the lower tier bowls for 6-6 matchups. It lets the teams get extra practice, enjoy the bowl experience and it must be popular enough because ESPN keeps paying for thd TV rights.

Boy, how pumped up is everyone for the Montana St./North Dakota St. championship game? For those who only care about parity and purity in naming a true champion LIKE EVERY OTHER SPORT!!1 this must've been another thrilling FCS championship series for the ages! And no opt-outs!

BMX Bandit said:

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rootube said:

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Here's a little secret CFB never figured out. The games that matter are the ones that lead to a championship. All the rose parades in the world won't change this fact. Let's create a system where we have more of those.

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heres a little secret you can't figure out: there is a perfect league for you already. the NFL. go watch it.

stop trying to NFL my college football.

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You mean the NFL and every single other sport and division of college football?

You can take your perfect system where players and teams would rather skip playing than participate in exhibition games. I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted because the SEC getting two teams in the playoffs pretty much sealed the fate of the current system.

BMX Bandit said:

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kirk is a poon. he complains about opt outs, all the while pushing the narrative that the only games that matter are playoffs. during peach bowl, all they talked about was playoffs. kirk part of the problem.


was that too harsh? I don't want him to cry if he reads it.

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Good grief dude….he spoke the true you just don't agree with it.

Yet everything I said about him remains true.

I don't like opt outs either. But getting rid of a game because 2% of players opt out of it isn't a solution.

Herbstreit still a poon & part of the problem.

Bowls are garbage now. Anyone that watched a bowl game this year must have an incredible boring life. But that's why they still exist; pathetic people giving money to ESPN.

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If you really want to stop seeing players opt out then decrease the bowls allowed, they will mean more if it's harder to be eligible

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This really is the bottom line. Bowls meant more when there were fewer of them AND there was less emphasis on crowning a national champion (which was an archaic, suboptimal setup born of a time when college football was far more regional).

BMX Bandit said:

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kirk is a poon. he complains about opt outs, all the while pushing the narrative that the only games that matter are playoffs. during peach bowl, all they talked about was playoffs. kirk part of the problem.


was that too harsh? I don't want him to cry if he reads it.

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Steven Godfrey had a great analysis to Gameday's rant about this subject. When Herbie and Howard were playing there were only ~15 bowl games. You cared because you had to earn it. Nowadays ESPN simultaneously owns most of the bowls (which now number 40+) while also pushing the narrative that the ONLY thing that matters is a CFP berth. When you treat the Rose bowl, the GD granddaddy of them all, as a consolation game of course you'll see young men on the cusp of generational wealth make a business decision.

This whole "old man yells at kids these days" schtick is a bit ridiculous when ESPN essentially telling players that the games are worthless, not to mention when their coaches are doing the exact same thing. Multiple scheduled bowls this year had matchups between two interim coaching staffs because the head guys essentially abandoned their teams before the final game.

Spare me the boo-hooing of the athletes (which honestly sounds like it's coming from Dabo, given he and Kirk's connections) unless you are similarly going to call out the mercenary nature of much of the "adults" in this sport.

He was projected the 6th overall pick. It will be interesting to see if he falls any. It's hard to fault these kids for sitting out when millions could be a stake.

Alabama WR Jameson Williams tore his ACL in the CFP championship game, but is expected to make a full recovery, per @AdamSchefter. pic.twitter.com/usBS2AWkux

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 12, 2022

BMX Bandit said:

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kirk is a poon. he complains about opt outs, all the while pushing the narrative that the only games that matter are playoffs. during peach bowl, all they talked about was playoffs. kirk part of the problem.


was that too harsh? I don't want him to cry if he reads it.

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Like women do, Kirk enjoys a good cry. Makes him feel better.