Saturday, January 10, 2009

Winners and Losers of the Bowl Season

Wow the Bowl Season has finally ended and what a season it has been. From the TCU vs. Boise State game early in the season to the Ohio State vs. Texas Fiesta Bowl, there have been a ton of ups and downs. Here are the winner and losers from the bowl season.

Winners
  • Non-BCS Leagues: With Boise and TCU playing a high quality game early in the bowl season and Utah's win over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl teams from non-BCS leagues showed that hey can be a major part of the bowl season.
  • The Pac-10: For years the league was looked at as being soft. A bad national TV deal leads many in the media to think that they are less of a conference, but during the course of the bowl season they showed that they are force from Oregon's win over Oklahoma State to USC bitch slapping of Penn State.
  • Senior Big East QBs Pat White and Mike Teal: Two of the more successful players in the history of the Big East, both ended their careers with bowl win. White over North Carolina, Teal over North Carolina State. It was great to see White fathers singing after is son's bowl win, while Teal, who was the laughing stock of the conference at the start of the year, showed the class he had by bounding back and leading his team to another bowl win. As a season ticket holder at Rutgers, I can only say one thing to Mr. Teal, "Thank you."
  • Tulsa: They are the little school that could. Every year they do a great job in developing a great offense and this year was no different. With Todd Graham, the Golden Hurricanes will continue to grow.
  • Ole Miss and Vandy: Two of the lower SEC teams each won bowl game and the future looks bright for both teams.
Losers
  • The Big 10: No shocker their. Every year they look slow and not at pace with other teams it was no different this year. Outclassed in the Fiesta and Rose bowls. They need to go back to drawing board.
  • Miami: As a fan of the U, this was a hard bowl season from the loss to the California to the mess with QB Robert Marve and the firing of Offensive Coordinator Patrick Nix. It was not fun at all.
  • The Sun Bowl: 3-0, no it was not a game from the Barclays Premier League, it was a bowl game. Oregon State and Pitt played one of the worst bowl games in years.
  • The National Media: So an impressive win over Hawaii has made Notre Dame a national program again. Be careful what you wish for.

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