But we’ll wait another week to chime in on that debacle. For now, I’ll discuss teams that have no bowl game to look forward to, including my wildly successful Syracuse Orange.
For those of you who don’t know, the past three years have been the worst stretch in Syracuse Football history. A 7-28 record (with two wins against Buffalo), a 2-19 record in the Big East, and the first and second 10 loss seasons in the history of ‘Cuse football. Thankfully, these three years have fallen squarely on my sophomore, junior and senior years in Central New York. I’m not going to get into why the coach should be fired, I’ve gone over the reasoning too many times in my head and seen too many reasonable opinions posted online (see the Axeman on Syracuse.com or Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician). Instead, I’ll give a scenario that will give such horrifically struggling teams something to look forward this bowl season.
College football enthusiasts always look towards the Sundays when polls are released ranking the Division I teams. For fans at programs like Syracuse, Minnesota, Duke and Notre Dame, these polls have become obsolete, and attention turns to ESPN’s bottom 10 list. Those fortunate enough to struggle through their team’s merciless losing streaks read the list as it rattles off the ten worst teams in college football. Syracuse, and its uniforms, has made the list this year. With nothing to look forward to but acknowledged failure, maybe this list should be made an official poll.
Journalists, coaches, disgruntled fans and the lot will vote on these ten disappointments. Each week new rankings will be released just like the top 25 polls. By the end of the season, with winless and fledgling programs jostling for position, the poll will dictate the TBS (Tormented Bowl Series). No. 1 will play No. 2, No. 3 will play No. 4 and so forth.
Unlike the BCS, a playoff between the losers of the 1 vs. 2 and 3 vs. 4 games will dictate
the champion. That champion will be the loser of that playoff game. Not with me? Lose all your games and you’re in. Lose your bowl game, and then the championship game, and you’re ranked No. 1 in the TBS.
The intrigue of these games, which will be played in the fifteen months leading up to bowl season, will be how each coach will find a way for his team to lose. Granted, coaches will still be trying to win to maybe salvage just one more year at helm. But their buffoonery will provide that no win is guaranteed. Can Greg Robinson push his Orange out of the cellar? Or will he pack it in and try to win some sort of hardware, despite its connotation, by losing out? A loss is likely inevitable no matter which strategy he attempts. But hey, Duke can't be taken lightly either.
-Pat
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=bottom100711
(Although it hasn’t been updated 2 weeks and 2 Syracuse losses later)
No comments:
Post a Comment