(02-25-2018 02:02 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-25-2018 04:31 AM)_C2_ Wrote:  The national title though was awarded by the polls. It wasn't until later on that the bowls actually affected the national title race, as the champion would be awarded before the bowls initially, which explains some quirky things and why a few champions actually lost their bowls games.

Yes, the polls eventually gave in and acknowledged the power of the bowl games by picking the poll winners after the bowl games.

And the system still bends to the power of the bowl games. What we have now is just a minor tweak on the traditional bowls with a "plus-one" game tacked on afterwards. In many ways the bowls are more influential than ever, because every coach and diehard fan now thinks their team "deserves" a bowl game just for going 6-6. So the group who wants to preserve the bowl system -- and not have a 16 or 24 team playoff that would pretty much kill the bowl games -- includes all those coaches and ADs of teams who see the "DXL Frisco Bowl" or the "AutoNation Cure Bowl" as a huge accomplishment warranting greater job security or a contract extension. All of the FBS coaches and ADs whose teams are not perennial top-10 material fear that a larger playoff would mean that more coaches and ADs would get fired for never making the playoff. Having 38 bowl games is their security blanket.

The security blanket for the smaller P5 coaches and ADs has become the massive salaries which have become so high to the point where the school cannot afford to fire them.

The realization is becoming greater at these P5 schools that they cannot compete with the heavyweights. The BCS era offered a glimmer of hope and the smaller P5 programs expanded their stadiums in hope of reaching parity with the heavyweights but they just can't justify 8-10 million dollar salaries half as big as the TV money they are receiving for head football coaches.

The faustian bargain of enormous coaching salaries is key to job security.