USA TODAY Sports commentator proposes one simple change to the bowl system

A USA TODAY commentator and football analyst has facts to back up a central point about the bowl system.

There are lots of good ideas floating around the internet for the improvement of the college bowl system. You might prefer one idea more than another, but this should be less about comparing ideas and more about incorporating all of them — or at least many of them — into a dramatically improved product.

It’s not as though we need to elevate Idea A over Idea B. Why not include both ideas — and others — to create a significantly better bowl experience than what we have now, with the transfer portal and opt-outs watering everything down.

At College Sports Wire, USA TODAY Sports football commentator and analyst Patrick Conn collected these facts:

“Below you will find a list of teams that made the bowl season with a record of 6-6.

  • AAC (Rice Owls)
  • ACC (Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Syracuse)
  • Big 12 (Texas Tech, UCF)
  • Big Ten (Rutgers, Minnesota)
  • MAC (Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan)
  • Mountain West (San Jose State, Utah State)
  • Pac-12 (California)
  • SEC (Auburn)
  • Sun Belt (Old Dominion, Georgia State, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Arkansas State, Louisiana, South Alabama)

“A total of 23 teams that finished their 12-game schedule with 6-6 records were awarded with trips to the postseason.”

Conn’s point: The bowls are the definition of mediocrity, not quality.

He makes a good argument.

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Gasparilla Bowl: UCF vs. Florida live stream, TV channel, time, how to watch bowl games

The UCF Knights will face the Florida Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday night from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL.

The UCF Knights will face the Florida Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl on Thursday night from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL.

UCF finished the year with an 8-4 record which was surprising due to how many injuries they had to deal with throughout the year. As for Florida, they finished 6-6 and almost didn’t qualify for a bowl game, they will look to finish the year on a winning note in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Tune in to the Gasparilla Bowl tonight, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action.

UCF vs. Florida

  • When: Thursday, December 23
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

How to watch College Football Bowl Season

fuboTV has complete NCAA college football coverage (CBS, FOX, ESPN) as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, ESPNU, Pac12, and more. fuboTV includes every network you need to watch every college football game in your market.
fuboTV is available on your phone, tablet, desktop, TV, connected TV Devices including Roku. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV plus many more.
*Regional Restrictions Apply*

NCAA Football Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds last updated Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET.

UCF vs. Florida (-6.5)

O/U: 55.5

Want some action on college football? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ, and WV.

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.


Additional college football coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama football / Auburn football / Florida football / Georgia football / LSU football / Michigan football / Michigan State football / Notre Dame football / Ohio State football / Oklahoma football / Tennessee football / Texas football / USC football / Wisconsin football

Frisco Football Classic: North Texas vs. Miami-OH live stream, TV channel, time, how to watch bowl games

The North Texas Mean Green will face the Miami (OH) RedHawks on Thursday afternoon in the Frisco Football Classic from Toyota Stadium.

The North Texas Mean Green will face the Miami (OH) RedHawks on Thursday afternoon in the Frisco Football Classic from Toyota Stadium.

North Texas comes into today’s matchup on a five-game winning streak after knocking off UTSA in their last game of the year 45-23. As for Miami, they come into this game with a 6-6 record after falling by one point to Kent State in their last game as they look to go out on a winning note.

Tune in to the Frisco Football Classic this afternoon, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action.

North Texas vs. Miami-OH

  • When: Thursday, December 23
  • Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

How to watch College Football Bowl Season

fuboTV has complete NCAA college football coverage (CBS, FOX, ESPN) as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, ESPNU, Pac12, and more. fuboTV includes every network you need to watch every college football game in your market.
fuboTV is available on your phone, tablet, desktop, TV, connected TV Devices including Roku. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV plus many more.
*Regional Restrictions Apply*

NCAA Football Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds last updated Thursday at 11:00 a.m. ET.

North Texas vs. Miami-OH (-2.5)

O/U: 55.5

Want some action on college football? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO, IN, NJ, and WV.

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.


Additional college football coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama football / Auburn football / Florida football / Georgia football / LSU football / Michigan football / Michigan State football / Notre Dame football / Ohio State football / Oklahoma football / Tennessee football / Texas football / USC football / Wisconsin football

Notre Dame to Reportedly Play Iowa State in Camping World Bowl

If you’ve been following Fighting Irish Wire you’ve seen us today go over the final projections by the experts as to who goes where and ultimately who will Notre Dame play in the Camping World Bowl? It appears we have our answer. Longtime college …

If you’ve been following Fighting Irish Wire you’ve seen us today go over the final projections by the experts as to who goes where and ultimately who will Notre Dame play in the Camping World Bowl?

It appears we have our answer.

Longtime college football reporter Brett McMurphy of Stadium says that it’ll be Iowa State who joins the Irish in Orlando.

Iowa State finished the regular season 7-5 and just 2-3 away from Ames.

They finished in a four-way tie with Texas, Oklahoma State and Kansas State for third place in the Big XII.

The Camping World Bowl will be played at noon ET on December 28 and will air nationally on ABC.