THE CHEAP SEATS WITH STEVE CAMERON: For Cougs, it's just good to have a game

It was a bit of a shock.

No, not that Central Michigan would agree to hustle over to El Paso and tee it up against Washington State in the Sun Bowl this Friday.

The shock was that it took a full day to decide.

The Chippewas were in Tucson, preparing for a bout in the Arizona Bowl when their opponent, Boise State, had to beg off because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the program.

Meanwhile, the same thing had happened to the Cougs, who showed up in El Paso — only to discover that Miami also had COVID issues and wouldn’t be making the trip.

The vacancies occurred within 24 hours of each other, and way late in preparation.

Both bowls that had been left with just a single team immediately started trying to fill the other spot — with less than a week to find somebody who was still practicing in pads.

HOWEVER, it wasn’t really a fair fight.

The Arizona Bowl is relatively new (seventh year), will be seen only on streaming services and Barstool Sports, and pays out $355,000 total to its two teams.

The Sun Bowl, meanwhile, may now be named for Tony the Tiger — but it’s second only to the Rose Bowl in longevity (this is the 88th edition), and it pays $4.5 million to the participants.

Oh, and it will be televised nationally on CBS.

Gee, what a decision.

I’m guessing the phone call from Central Michigan AD Amy Folan to coach Jim McElwain was relatively short.

Folan: “So, Jim, you want to take a bus 300 miles to El Paso and play in the Sun Bowl for a few million dollars payout — or would you rather fly home?”

McElwain: “Gotta hang up, Amy, and start looking for some tape on Washington State.”

I’m sure the Central Michigan folks tried to avoid being rude to their temporary hosts in Tucson, but athletic programs don’t get handed a couple million bucks every afternoon.

So, the Chippewas are in, and Wazzu — after everything that’s happened in this insane football season — will get their bowl game reward, after all.

I mean, everyone likes to spend a few days in El Paso (you can get Hatch green chiles right up the road), but I suspect the Cougs were pretty hungry for one more football game.

NOT THAT Central Michigan is the Little Sisters of the Poor, now.

The Chippewas were 8-4 and missed winning the MAC West by a single game.

Not only that, but WSU will have the challenge of dealing with Central Michigan running back Lew Nichols III, who led all of FBS in rushing yards (1,710) and all-purpose yards (2,010).

CMU is not averse to throwing the ball, either.

Quarterback Daniel Richardson, a redshirt freshman like Nichols III, threw for 23 touchdowns this year against just five picks.

If you’re thinking these guys put up some points, you’d be correct.

The Chippewas won their last four games by double digits.

If there is a chink in the armor, however, Coug QB Jayden de Laura can probably find it.

Central Michigan leaked yards through the air (266 per game, 117th nationally).

By the way, forgive longtime Cougs if they have nightmares about McElwain, an Eastern Washington grad who was head coach of a Colorado State team that wiped out a 22-point deficit to defeat WSU in Mike Leach’s second season.

This Sun Bowl ought to be fun, and likely will produce a lot of points.

For the Cougars, though, the coolest thing is just playing in it.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published weekly during the season.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”