Bowl game inflation causing credibility problems around college football

There was a time when college football bowl games were exclusive. There was a time when college football bowl games were a standard of achievement.

Of course, there was also a time when the United States included only 48 states.

That was in the 1940s when the Rose, Sugar, Cotton, Orange and Sun Bowls were the only major bowl games. Playing in a bowl game required winning a conference championship or having an otherwise stellar season.

The number of bowl games expanded to eight through the ‘60s, reached 15 in the ‘80s, increased to 19 in the ‘90s and then spread like acne in adolescence to 40.

That requires 78 teams (two college football playoffs semifinalists play for the championship). There are 130 teams in the Football Bowl Series, which means more than half will play in bowl games.

Now, the shame of failing to reach a bowl game is greater than the acclaim of playing in one.

Obviously, bowl games are no longer exclusive. Playing in them isn’t necessarily a reward for a job well done, but a reprieve — or maybe a rebuke — for a mundane campaign.

In an effort to salvage a thread of credibility, a requirement of six victories was established to qualify for bowl games. Of course, that requirement has been waived when not enough teams qualified to fill all the bowl games.

That may be the case this season. Sixty-four teams are bowl eligible. Twenty-five are already ineligible. That leaves 41 still hoping to reach six victories. Twenty of those teams are in Power 5 conferences.

Here’s a quick look at those teetering 20, their remaining opponents and a quick prediction of whether they will attain six victories:

1. NC State (4-6); Georgia Tech, North Carolina; NO
2. Syracuse (4-6); Louisville, Wake Forest; NO
3. North Carolina (4-6); Mercer, NC State; YES
4. Duke (4-6); Wake Forest, Miami; NO
5. TCU (5-5); Oklahoma, West Virginia; YES
6. Texas Tech (4-6); Kansas State, Texas; NO
7. West Virginia (4-6); Oklahoma State, TCU; NO
8. Michigan State (4-6); Rutgers, Maryland; YES
9. Purdue (4-6); Wisconsin, Indiana; NO
10. Nebraska (4-6); Maryland, Iowa; NO
11. Stanford (4-6); Cal, Notre Dame; NO
12. Cal (5-5); Stanford, UCLA; YES
13. Washington St. (5-5); Oregon St., Washington; YES
14. UCLA (4-6); USC, Cal; NO
15. Arizona (4-6); Utah, Arizona State; NO
16. Colorado (4-6); Washington, Utah; NO
17. Tennessee (5-5); Missouri, Vanderbilt; YES
18. Kentucky (5-5); Tennessee-Martin, Louisville; YES
19. Mississippi St. (4-6); Abilene Christian, Ole Miss; NO
20. Missouri (5-5); Tennessee, Arkansas; YES

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

LSU QB Joe Burrow continues to show why he’s the favorite to win the Heisman.

Heisman watch (if my ballot was due today)

1. Joe Burrow, LSU, QB: Another game, another stellar showing from Burrow. He passed for 489 yards and 5 touchdowns and — for good measure — rushed for additional 26 yards in a 58-37 victory over Ole Miss. Burrow is third in the nation with 3,902 yards of total offense. He’s also accounted for 41 touchdowns (38 passing, 3 rushing).

2. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma, QB: Hurts threw 4 touchdown passes — 3 in a second-half rally from a 21-point deficit — to lift Oklahoma over Baylor 34-31. Hurts passed for 297 yards and rushed for 114 in the victory. He’s second in the nation with 4,022 yards of total offense. He’s accumulated 43 touchdowns (28 passing, 15 rushing).

3. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama, QB: This could be the last week to include Tagovailoa, but he had a strong game before his season-ending injury. In less than one half of play in a 38-7 victory over Mississippi State, he passed for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns. He is ranked seventh in the nation in passing. He’s thrown for 2,840 yards and 33 touchdowns with just 3 interceptions.

4. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin, RB: Taylor was dominant in a 37-21 victory at Nebraska. He rushed for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s now second in the nation in rushing with 1,463 yards. That’s despite facing six teams that are ranked among the nation’s Top 50 in run defense. Taylor has scored 17 rushing touchdowns and caught 4 touchdown passes.

5. Chuba Hubbard, Oklahoma State, RB: The national leader in rushing, Hubbard gained 122 yards and scored 2 touchdowns in a 31-13 victory over Kansas. That raised his year total to 1,726 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Predicted playoff participants

1. LSU: If the Tigers finish unbeaten as expected they can boast victories over Alabama, Florida, Auburn and Georgia. Nobody could match that résumé.

2. Ohio State: Still the most complete team. Star defensive end Chase Young rejoins the Buckeyes this week just in time to face Penn State.

3. Clemson: And the list of blowouts is now extended to six consecutive victories by at least 31 points.

4. Oklahoma: The Sooners are counting on the perception that the Big 12 is a stronger conference than the Pac-12. But Texas’ swoon is hurting OU’s cause.

This week’s best games

(Rankings are Associated Press)

No. 9 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State: Playoff implications at stake. Penn State is still in the discussion. The talk gets louder if the Nits get the upset in Columbus.
No. 24 Texas A&M at No. 4 Georgia: Georgia has won the SEC East, while A&M has won four in a row. The nee-beaten Bulldogs must win to stay in the playoff picture.
Texas at No. 13 Baylor: Believe it or not, the Longhorns have faint hopes of reaching the Big 12 championship game. Baylor has faint hopes of getting in the playoffs.
UCLA at USC: Crosstown rivalries are always interesting. Plus, USC still harbors outside hopes of winning the Pac-12 South.
No. 20 Boise State at Utah State: Boise State could land in a New Year’s Six bowl as a Group of Five representative, but they cannot afford another loss. Utah State is just one game back in the MWC West Division standings, so it still has conference title hopes.

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