Sebastabear said:
southseasbear said:
I know this won't be received well but a team that finished .500, with a losing conference record, and which did not beat a single team with a winning record does not belong in a bowl game.
Of course, the extra practice time is helpful . . ., or is it? After all, it is more practice time with this coaching staff.
lol. You've just described the process through which the vast majority of the SEC has qualified for bowl games over the last 20 years.
The players absolutely deserve this recognition. They've worked hard and sacrifice more than you can know. Traveling across country to the south three times and winning 2/3 of those games is an accomplishment. If it doesn't meet with your personal standards, you're free not to watch.
For all the pain and suffering, this season did have several incredible moments. The Auburn win, despite turning out to be a bit of early season fool's gold, felt pretty epic at the time. Auburn thought they'd run Cal out of the stadium, and yet Cal was clicking on all cylinders early and turned Payton Thorne into an interception machine. The excitement of College Gameday lived up to all the hype and then some, and then for most of 3 quarters on that very warm October night, Cal looked like world-beaters against Miami. The comeback to beat Stanford, "98 yards with my boys," and Mendoza's emotional post-game interview -- that was a joy to be there and witness all the Big Game festivities in that glorious old bowl that we love so much.
Players absolutely deserve to go bowling. The level of commitment these guys put into being college athletes is incredible. These guys laid it all out there for all of us fans to watch and enjoy all Fall. I'm frustrated with the 6-6 mark, but the players shouldn't suffer just because Wilcox gets conservative and coaches not to lose.