Kevin Scarbinsky (AL.com) references Hogs in his latest update...

[Doug]

No such thing as too many bowl games

Even Power 5 Conference teams can get a boost by breaking even and reaching the postseason. Look at last season's Texas Bowl where 6-6 Arkansas met 6-6 Texas.

A cynic might've looked at that game as an insult, the next step in turning college football into T-ball, with juice boxes all around. In truth, it was an appetizing meeting between two former Southwest Conference rivals on the rebound, two tradition-rich programs under relatively new head coaches in need of a sign that better days were ahead.

That 31-7 Arkansas victory has a lot to do with the optimism surrounding a program that won exactly two SEC games last season. Bret Bielema has been to multiple Rose Bowls, but none of them may have meant more to his Wisconsin program at the time than that Texas Bowl did to the Hogs.

LOVE that he cited the Hogs as an example of a team that benefited from the myriad of bowl games now available.

[nwahogfan1]

BOWL games do matter.   I hope CBB will continue to motivate his kids to make sure they never forget that.  We fans hate to spend our money and go to bowl games just to have our team lay an egg. That has been the case way too often.
   Some of our past coaches took Bowl Games as strictly rewards so they did not get the kids ready to play and it showed at the Bowl game.  They did not take Bowl games as important as they should and it really effects February recruiting and Spring practices.

So far 1-0.  Lets keep this train rolling down hill.

Woo Pigs

[ZERO]

I also personally think that there are too many Bowl games. But that's never going to change, so I just embrace them all and participate in Bowl picks. It's a nice way to get yourself excited about the G5 conferences duking it out.

[hawginbigd1]

I also personally think that there are too many Bowl games. But that's never going to change, so I just embrace them all and participate in Bowl picks. It's a nice way to get yourself excited about the G5 conferences duking it out.

I personally have never understood this mindset. As a fan I have never once said, you know, I wish I had fewer college football games to watch. What is it that makes one think this way?

[Pig in the Pokey]

I also personally think that there are too many Bowl games. But that's never going to change, so I just embrace them all and participate in Bowl picks. It's a nice way to get yourself excited about the G5 conferences duking it out.

"ALSO"??

[onebadrubi]

He referenced the hogs to belittle them, yet did not care to bring up the schlacking of Ole Miss then LSU.

[DeltaBoy]

He is correct there is never too many bowl games for me.  The Wife well that another issue all together unless her UNT Mean Green is playing.

[ZERO]

I personally have never understood this mindset. As a fan I have never once said, you know, I wish I had fewer college football games to watch. What is it that makes one think this way?

I knew the next response was going to be someone claiming "more football > less football." As another football fan, I can see the reason for this argument. In my mind, I don't care about just more football, I care about more meaningful football. I also believe most people feel this way, because if everyone really believed more is better, then the Arena League would be a boomtown, since their season conveniently takes place in the NCAA/NFL offseason. But no one watches Arena League because it kind of sucks, like a good deal of the Bowl games.

Again, the fact that these lower-tier Bowls exist doesn't upset me or anything, I just think that if the Bowls are supposed to be a reward for superior play, then the requirement would ideally be a little higher than winning 50% of your games. If we sent every team that went 8-4 last year to a Bowl game, the following teams would go:

Georgia, Missouri
Alabama, Mississippi State
Ole Miss, Auburn
LSU, Florida State
Clemson, Louisville
Georgia Tech, Duke
Baylor, TCU
Kansas State, Oklahoma
Ohio State, Michigan State
Wisconsin, Minnesota
Nebraska, Oregon
Washington, Arizona
Arizona State, UCLA
USC, Utah
Marshall, LA. Tech
Memphis, Cincinnati
UCF, East Carolina
Boise State, Colorado State
Air Force, Utah State
Georgia Southern, Louisiana
Bowling Green, NIU
Toledo, Western Michigan
BYU

Obviously, those wouldn't be the matchups, but just by increasing the win requirement to 8, we can already fill up 22 or 23 of the already existing 35 Bowl games.

[ZERO]

"ALSO"??

Yes, also. As in I feel reasonably sure that there is one more person alive who feels that the 6-6 matchups between G5 teams are too watered down, have no stakes, and wouldn't be missed. There are talks of adding even more Bowls because we can't currently select all of the 6-6 teams that qualify.

This opinion of mine is completely benign and speculative. I don't mind more Bowls, I just think that what we have is superfluous. Much like when people like to say that the "Super Conferences" would be a better idea. It's the same thing - less football, but better football.

[Hoginsavga]

Yes, also. As in I feel reasonably sure that there is one more person alive who feels that the 6-6 matchups between G5 teams are too watered down, have no stakes, and wouldn't be missed. There are talks of adding even more Bowls because we can't currently select all of the 6-6 teams that qualify.

This opinion of mine is completely benign and speculative. I don't mind more Bowls, I just think that what we have is superfluous. Much like when people like to say that the "Super Conferences" would be a better idea. It's the same thing - less football, but better football.

I have two comments regarding the number. (1) Let the free market decide and (2) it sure is a long time between the last bowl and September.

[KlubhouseKonnected]

He referenced the hogs to belittle them, yet did not care to bring up the schlacking of Ole Miss then LSU.

Sensitive.

[presidenthog]

He referenced the hogs to belittle them, yet did not care to bring up the schlacking of Ole Miss then LSU.

I almost felt like he was trying to make it seem like that bowl win was the only reason we are feeling good about the hogs right now. That beating a bad Texas team was the only positive that came out of last season which just isn't the case.

[onebadrubi]

I almost felt like he was trying to make it seem like that bowl win was the only reason we are feeling good about the hogs right now. That beating a bad Texas team was the only positive that came out of last season which just isn't the case.

I took it as you can schedule 4 OOC cupcakes and just get two conference wins and be bowl eligible, Hogs being an example.  Yet if this was his intent is was poorly researched.  Not being sensitive, just we aren't a good example of that theory. 

[ZERO]

I have two comments regarding the number. (1) Let the free market decide and (2) it sure is a long time between the last bowl and September.

Hey, fair enough. It's offseason and it's just something to discuss that I haven't heard brought up in awhile.

I will say this in the defense for more Bowls: without these little Bowls, we wouldn't have gotten that awesome game between Central Michigan and Western Kentucky. The last quarter of that game was probably the most exciting thing in all of the post-season.

[Doug]

He referenced the hogs to belittle them, yet did not care to bring up the schlacking of Ole Miss then LSU.

That may be your interpretation of what he said, but pretty sure that's not it.

I read his wording more along the lines of this: After the major down years that both the Hogs and Shorthorns had, had there not been a litany of bowls, they wouldn't have been rewarded for the solid turnarounds they had last year.

Let's also not forget that he noted UAB's crappy situation... and said they deserved to go out on a happy note, as well.

Stop being a negative Nancy and pessimistic. Look for the better/nicer/happier things in life. Trust me, it's much more enjoyable.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I also personally think that there are too many Bowl games. But that's never going to change, so I just embrace them all and participate in Bowl picks. It's a nice way to get yourself excited about the G5 conferences duking it out.

It really doesn't matter what any of us think, there will be more bowl games until they get to the point that they have saturated the market and people start turning the channel instead of watching and sponsors start locking down their checkbooks. Until then it is all about the money. And most true football fans are going to watch the bowl games because they know that the time is coming that their addiction will not be able to be fed until Spring football and the opening of summer camp rolls around again.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

No such thing as too many bowl games
LOVE that he cited the Hogs as an example of a team that benefited from the myriad of bowl games now available.

The LSU and Ole Miss games were big for the Hogs, but that dominating bowl win, after a loss to Missouri to end the regular season, has given this team complete faith that things are going to be different this season. It was a major league springboard for this team.

[ChicoHog]

He is correct there is never too many bowl games for me.  The Wife well that another issue all together unless her UNT Mean Green is playing.

You don't have to worry about that scenario much!

[DeltaBoy]

You don't have to worry about that scenario much!

Yep they canned a good coach ,(Dickey) Tried Todd Dodge and now got another solid coach that should turn the corner this fall.