Elite College Players Should Sit Out their Meaningless Bowl Game

College football bowl season kicked off this past Saturday. Some notable teams played, like Arizona State, Eastern Michigan and Utah State. The "bigger" games will start ramping up very soon. In 12 days we have the playoff semifinals and the first of the New Year's Six bowls kick off. What I want to talk about today is the players who are skipping the game to prepare for the NFL draft.

This really became a thing a few years back. I remember when Christian McCaffery did it while at Stanford. I remember Jabrill Peppers saying he was hurt 2 years ago at the Orange Bowl, but I believe he sat it out to preserve himself. Leonard Fournette did it while at LSU. The common thread for these players was the fact that the teams they were on did not play in the playoff, so why risk injury in what is a glorified exhibition game? When Peppers did it, I was frustrated because I knew he could have helped Michigan win. When McCaffery and Fournette did it, I didn't really care. Now it has become a common theme. Big time underclassmen who declare for the draft are starting to sit out non playoff bowl games more and more. And, while I said I was frustrated that Peppers did it, I understood why.

Now, I fully support these players who skip a meaningless bowl game to get ready for the NFL. These kids are getting ready to go into their professional careers, so why risk a fluky injury in a pointless game? Jake Butt, a former Michigan tight end, played in that very same Orange Bowl that Peppers sat out, and in the fourth quarter of that game he tore his ACL. Prior to the bowl game he was a 2-3 round pick easily. After the injury he dropped to the late fourth round, and he has only played in a few NFL games. He also tore his ACL again. Peppers, on the other hand, is a starter on the Browns. He plays safety, nickel and returns kicks from time to time. He has not suffered any bad injuries either. He made the correct decision. I know that Butt had to prove a bit more, Peppers was a sure fire first rounder, but still, had he sat out that game, he could have easily been a second round pick. And look at what McCaffery is doing in the NFL this season. Sure, his rookie year was a struggle, but now, he and Cam are the focal point of that Panthers offense. I know they have struggled of late, but McCaffery has been putting up great numbers this year. Fournette was a huge reason why the Jaguars were so solid last year, and it was because he was fresh and healthy as a rookie. He logged a ton of carries last year and was the focal point of their offense. All of this happened because he had the time to get prepared for his career. He didn't waste his time with pointless practices and a pointless game.

This year a bevy of top prospects are siting out their bowl games. Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Clemson will have all their guys, but that is because they are in the playoff. Houston though will be without Ed Oliver. ASU didn't have N'Keal Henry for their game. Michigan will be without Rashan Gary and possibly Devin Bush. West Virginia won't have their star QB Will Grier. Memphis will be without their all purpose stud running back. Same for Kentucky. There are some others that I can't think of off the top of my head, but I know the number of players sitting out is well into double figures.

I cannot blame these kids. They are getting ready to go play a sport where the people in charge don't really care about you when you are past your prime. The NFL chews up and spits out players left and right. So why would these kids, playing in minor to non playoff bowl games risk any minimal future they may or may not have in the NFL? If they were to play in their bowl game they could end up with the same fate as Jake Butt. I don't think Rashan Gary or Ed Oliver or N'Keal Henry want, or should have to, risk that. Hell, and if the NFL doesn't care about them, the NCAA sure as hell doesn't care about these kids. To the higher ups in the NCAA, all these kids are are money makers for them. These kids don't see a dime for playing at their respective schools. When I was in Ann Arbor earlier this year for a game I saw a ton of people in number 3 Michigan jerseys. Gary didn't see a single dime of that money. It all went to the school. Sane thing for Houston games. I saw a ton of people in the crowd with number 10 jerseys. You think Ed Oliver saw a dime of that? No way. I respect these kids for doing this. You should preserve yourself so you are fully ready and healthy to play at the next level. This is a smart, forward thinking move. If you are not playing for a title, why risk the injury concern, especially if you are a sure fire first round pick? And for the kids that play in the bowl games, I do love it still. Some are seniors, and this is their last chance. Some will be getting time for the players that are sitting out, and this is their chance to shine. Younger players get a shot and more practice time.

The bowl games are made for a good amount of the college players, just not the first rounders not playing in the playoff. I fully support the decisions of these players, and will continue to. Would I like to see Gary suit up and play in the Peach Bowl? Absolutely. Do I hold ill will because he is sitting it out? No way. He is the doing the best thing for him and his family. NCAA football players are smart and they are doing the right thing in saving themselves for the pros when they have a shot to make it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was going to sit out the SeedSing.com bowl, but we promised him a few kickbacks if he played. Welcome back Ty.

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Time to Get Ready for the College Football Postseason

The College Football Playoff is officially set. The 4 teams, from 1-4 are, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Dare I say, I think the committee got it right.

Georgia will complain, stating that no one can, or will, play Alabama any closer than they did. Well, maybe you should have won the game that you had a 2 touchdown lead in, and maybe you shouldn't have lost earlier in the season. No 2 loss team has made the playoff yet. 

As for the Big Ten contenders, the University of Ohio State may complain, saying that now, the past 2 seasons, the last 2 Big Ten champs have been left out of the playoff. Well, it was clear that the committee takes blow out losses earlier in the season seriously, and that has happened twice to that school. It doesn't matter how badly they beat Michigan or Northwestern, the University of Ohio State lost by 29 points to a 6-6 Purdue team. Michigan has no complaints whatsoever. They had it in their hands and they really, really blew it.

The only team that I think has a legitimate beef with this whole playoff thing is UCF. I mean, what else do they have to do to get in the playoff? They haven't lost a game in 2 years. They lost their star QB and went out and beat Houston. Then, after being down by as many as 17 points to Memphis in the AAC title game, they came back, scored 56 and won by 2 scores, with a backup QB and new coach. I mean, give them a shot. I know that their schedule isn't tough, but come on. They have beaten every team that has been placed in front of them, pretty handily, for the past 26 or so games, including Auburn in a New Year's 6 bowl last year. They should be in the playoff. The committee says they want the 4 best teams, and there are 4 undefeated teams left. The one that got left out, UCF. Who did Notre Dame beat that was so impressive? Michigan? We all saw what happened last week in their game. And as far as their "ACC schedule" goes, Notre Dame didn't face Clemson, so who cares. Alabama gets a pass because they have done the same thing as UCF, just with much better players. Clemson also. Oklahoma, they play zero defense, had to go to the limit with Oklahoma State, West Virginia, lost once to Texas, and barely beat them in the Big 12 title game. I'm not saying they are undeserving, I just think UCF is more deserving. I repeat, THEY HAVE NOT LOST A GAME IN OVER 2 YEARS! GIVE THEM A CHANCE! Okay, rant over.

As I said at the top, excluding the UCF stuff, I do think the committee pretty much nailed it. I like the matchups as well. In the 1, 4 game, we get Alabama and Oklahoma. We get the top 2 Heisman candidates facing off against one another in a playoff game. I think it will be high scoring, and both Murray and Taguviola, I can never spell that kid's name right, will put up big time video game numbers. In the end though, Alabama will win fairly handily due to the total incompetence of Oklahoma's defense. This is where they won't be able to just outscore another team.

I feel like the 2,3 matchup may be more of a blowout than the 1, 4. Yes, Notre Dame is good, yes they have won all their games, but I ask again, who have they played that is really good with the exception of Michigan in the first game of the season? FSU is 5-7 and home for bowl season. Virginia Tech is 6-6 and needed a miracle comeback against Virginia just to have a shot at a bowl game. Miami is a mess. Northwestern only won 8 games. Navy is having a very down year. I look at their schedule, and it just doesn't seem as tough as it could have been. Also, Notre Dame hasn't faced a team with as much pure talent as Clemson. Clemson is overwhelmingly good, and no one has really talked about them all year because of how good Alabama has been. That totally plays into their favor. I know they have a true freshman at QB, but that kid is awesome. They also have a great run game. Oh, and their defense is amazing. If Notre Dame thought Michigan was tough to begin the year wait until they see Clemson's front four. They are relentless. I like Clemson, and I like them to win big.

That would give us Alabama and Clemson in the title game. This would be the fourth time they have matched up in the playoff, and the third time in the title game. This is where the freshman QB will hurt them. I like Alabama in the title game. They are the best team, by a wide, wide margin in college football. They are the Warriors. They are the Yankees of the late nineties. They are the Patriots. They are the best team. They will win back to back titles. That's how I see the College Football Playoff playing out.

As far as some other bowl games I'm interested in, of course the Peach Bowl. Michigan will be facing off against Florida for the third time in 4 years. I'm curious to see how they rebound from their last game. That was an abomination. I want to see how they respond, and Florida is much, much better than the last couple times they faced off. I am also very curious to see if UCF can do it again. I think they can, and they will do it in convincing fashion. LSU is good, they have a stout defense, but their offense is just as average as ever. I feel like UCF will be able to put up points, and get enough stops to go into next season without a blemish on their record for a second straight year. I'm curious to see how many points Missouri and Oklahoma State put up against one another. Neither of those teams play defense. I want to see Kentucky's stud rush end go up against Penn State's running QB in their bowl game. I want to see how low scoring the Wisconsin-Miami game will be. I'll be curious to see if Georgia gets over themselves and disposes of a porous Texas team like they should. I want to see how many yards Pitt will give up to Bryce Love in his final collegiate game. West Virginia and Syracuse will provide a ton of points. I want to see how Gus Malzahn gets his Auburn team prepared, what with all the rumors swirling about his job, against a very inconsistent Purdue squad.

That's about it for me. I love bowl season. I'm looking forward to the games I mentioned, mainly Michigan. And, unfortunately, I think it is pretty easy to predict another title for Alabama. Bowl season is here folks. Get amped.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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All Hail the ACC, Kings of the College Football Bowl Season

The crown is not that heavy

After yesterday's 2 bowl games, I am quite disgusted in how my conference, the Big Ten, has performed, but it is not just the Big Ten, most other power 5 conferences, except for the ACC, have been pretty mediocre.

Let's get the Big Ten out of the way.

First off, the top three teams in the conference all lost their bowl games. Michigan, my team, played piss poor defense all game, didn't wake up until the fourth quarter, and they lost the lead as quickly as they took it from Florida State. Michigan was clearly the better team, but 4 or 5 plays were the difference in that game. I'm still so angry at how they performed and how unprepared the coaching staff had them at the start of that game. It was brutal.

But, not as brutal as Penn State blowing the Rose Bowl yesterday. They blew 14 point leads twice in the second half. In fact, they had those leads in the fourth quarter, and still found some way to lose the game. They looked overmatched in the first half, but came out guns blazing in the third quarter. But, none of that mattered because of poor play calling and terrible defense, by both teams, for them to blow it. Also, Penn State should not even have a program after what happened there, but I have talked and talked about that whole situation enough. But, with a 7 point lead late in the fourth, they could not get a first down after running all over USC all game and gave them the ball back with 2 plus minutes. They then proceeded to get 2 pass interference calls against them, and then give up a 27 yard TD pass. So, I figured overtime, but Trace McSorley, who is not nearly as good as he thinks, chucks the ball in the air with 40 seconds left, and naturally, the ball was picked and returned to put USC in field goal range. Of course USC made the kick, and of course people said it was a "moral" victory for Penn State, but all in all, it was a terrible game, with no defense played and piss poor play calling, but hey, it was a "moral" victory. What a crock.

Then, there was the abomination that was the University of Ohio State(you all know what I'm doing by now). They had no business in the playoff, and I'm more than thrilled that Clemson absolutely crushed this team. They looked over-matched in every area of the game. Clemson is ten thousand times better, and they proved that tenfold.

In fact, the only Big Ten teams to win their bowl games were 6-6 Northwestern, 8-4 Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wisconsin's win was forgettable, but they won. That almost hurts more than anything else. The Big Ten laid a big, big egg this bowl season, going 3-7.

But, the Pac 12, SEC and the Big 12 have not fared much better. The SEC does have Alabama, and Florida and Tennessee and LSU had good wins, especially LSU, but other than that, they have been ho hum. Alabama will probably win it all, but other "blue bloods", like Auburn, Arkansas and Texas A&M looked rough. Auburn played good for one half last night, then proceeded to get crushed by Oklahoma(more on Brent Musberger's ridiculous Joe Mixon stuff tomorrow). Arkansas looked great in the first half, racing out to a 24-0 lead, but then got outscored 35-0 in the second half to Virginia Tech. I do love watching Brett Bielema lose though. And A&M got housed by a not so good Kansas State team. A&M was in the top 10 at various points this year, climbing all the way up to 4 in the initial playoff poll, but they looked awful against Kansas State. Overall, the SEC is 6-6 in bowl games.

The Big 12 was a bit better, at 4-2, but they only sent 6 teams to bowl games. Oklahoma roughed up an outmatched and very injured plagued Auburn team last night. K State crushed A&M like I said, and Oklahoma State cruised over Colorado. Baylor somehow won, but screw that team and everything that team should get punished for, Baylor is a bunch of slime bags and they do not deserve to have an athletic program, much like Penn State. But TCU got out played by Georgia. They made it close, but in the end, they did what they have done all year, and could not close it out. And West Virginia looked terrible. People thought this was when WVU would announced that they'd be a force next year, but instead, they got crushed. Sure, the Big 12 has a winning bowl record, but Baylor should not be playing, Oklahoma's star last night, I will write all about this tomorrow, should not be playing and Oklahoma State played an overrated Colorado team. Kansas State's victory is the only decent thing from the Big 12.

The Pac 12 has been up and down. USC won, but they gave up 49 points and needed a miracle last night, and they gave up a million rush yards. Utah barely beat a very mediocre Indiana team that fired its head coach before the bowl game and Stanford let UNC back into the game and needed a big stop on a 2 point conversion to win. Colorado, as I have mentioned, got hammered by Oklahoma State. That wasn't even a game. Washington State inexcusably lost to Minnesota, only scoring 12 points. This was the same Minnesota team that needed a late TD to beat Rutgers, Rutgers people. And then there was the unfortunate "playoff team", Washington. They do not belong on the same field, or even a field within 50 miles, of Alabama. That game was atrocious and boring. Terrible performance by them, but every team lays an egg when they play Alabama, especially when they have over a month to prepare for you. Washington was a paper tiger.

The ACC, the conference I am usually hardest on, has had a wonderful bowl season. I need to say, I picked an ACC team to win the title this year, Clemson, and that is still in the air, but the rest of the conference has had the best bowl season, by far, of the power 5 conferences. Where we sit now, they are 8-3 during bowl season. Clemson crushed the University of Ohio State, as I have mentioned, and they had a legit shot at Alabama next Monday. Florida State made the necessary plays and beat Michigan, who was much better than them. FSU just made the plays at the right time. Miami hammered what was supposed to be the coming out party for West Virginia. Virginia Tech dominated the second half and pulled away from Arkansas. Georgia Tech won their game fairly convincingly. Wake Forest, now that teams did not know what was coming, beat a much better Temple team. I mean, even the teams that lost played well. UNC fought all the way to the end with Stanford and Pittsburgh blew it against Northwestern, but they had just lost their offensive coordinator, and they still kept it close. Louisville was the only ACC to look really bad, but they had to play a swarming LSU defense and that defense absolutely shut down Heisman winner Lamar Jackson. Look, Clemson still has a shot to win it all, and that would be really, really big for the conference that everyone, including me, craps all over all the time. The ACC has been far and away the best conference during bowl season, and I can't believe it.

Good for you ACC, and I will be rooting for Clemson on Monday night to knock off the juggernaut that is Alabama football. Go Tigers.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Michigan losing by one was tough, Ohio State getting destroyed and embarrassed was glorious. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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