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THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: More and more games, few of them meaningful

| December 1, 2022 1:30 AM

You know what we really need before the end of the year?

More college football games.

Yes, of course …


That was sarcasm.

Even if you love the sport, and you’re surgically attached to that recliner in your den.

It’s now officially too much.

And, as a bonus …

A lot of the matchups make no sense, or are totally unfair. Or stupid. Or all of those things.

If I’m counting correctly (and it’s not easy), there are 41 bowl games on the docket between now and the grand finale — the College Football Playoff title game on Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

But, wait …

Remember that the much-trumpeted final four teams battling for a spot in that match of the century must play semifinal games on New Year’s Eve.

You’d expect that would be the thrill-a-minute lead-up to the championship duel — but you would be forgetting the Citrus Bowl and the ReliaQuest Bowl on Jan. 2.

Actually, there are a couple of legit games that day: the Rose Bowl (featuring Washington, with a bit more chat on that later) and the Cotton Bowl.

OR, HEY, this is even better…

The Music City Bowl is on Dec. 31, the same night as the CFP semifinals.

Fortunately, nobody will notice what’s happening in Nashville (a tentative match between Iowa and Ole Miss) because the Sugar Bowl — Alabama against Kansas State — is scheduled for that same afternoon.

Just a second, you’re thinking.

Isn’t K-State playing TCU in the Big 12 title game this weekend?

What?

What?

Surely, the Sugar Bowl schedule would change if the Wildcats win and become conference champs.

Um, no it won’t.

The powers that be (and count the cash) in college football have decreed that TCU’s 12-0 record – and a 38-28 win at home over K-State – is good enough for the CFP semifinals, even with a loss attached.

And what happens to K-State (which was down to its third quarterback in that previous loss to TCU) if the Cats become Big 12 titleists?

Nothing.

Presumably, they get some piece of hardware to carry with them to the bowl meeting with Alabama.

What about TCU if it loses?

Probably a seeding drop from No. 3 to No. 4 in the semifinals, that’s what.

Then there is the issue of the Pac-12 title game, which matches Utah and Southern Cal (which currently is ALSO booked into the CFP final four).

If three-loss Utah wins that game, why wouldn’t USC (presently 11-1 and deemed to be more worthy than UW) get to play in the Rose Bowl – which currently has the Huskies and Ohio State etched in stone?

Is that a mess, or what?

In fact, maybe Southern Cal WOULD bump U-Dub with a loss to Utah.

Somebody in a suit somewhere knows the plan.

We don’t.

BACK TO the bowl games for a second …

Having 41 of these things is madness, obviously, but there’s no stopping the malignancy now.

Next year we’ll probably see 50.

Theoretically, you need only to be a bang-average team (six wins in 12 games) to qualify for a bowl.

However …

Some five-win teams, like Buffalo, Rice and UNLV, are waiting on news — because there may not be enough AVERAGE teams to fill all the necessary slots.

My head hurts.

Perhaps college football can adopt the plan that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has floated for basketball, and let every team play in a massive, endless NCAA tournament.

Do you have any plans for Dec. 27?

No?

Good, you can line up some chips and a few cold ones to watch the Camelia, Birmingham, Guaranteed Rate and First Responder bowls.

If you survive that, hustle up the NEXT day for the Military, Liberty, Holiday and Texas bowls.

You know, as ridiculous as the onslaught of bowl games has become, the whole circus isn’t as absurd as these conference “championship” games.

We’ve already established that TCU and Southern Cal have won the Big 12 and Pac-12.

Even in conferences with two divisions, the only reason to play these things is money.

And more money.

Georgia and Michigan are going to be in the CFP final four, win or lose, yet they have to rake in the bucks by playing essentially meaningless games against LSU and Purdue, respectively.

Boy, those are exciting matchups.

By the way …

There can be a potentially awful outcome with these things.

What if USC gets knocked over, and Ohio State or Alabama grabs the No. 4 seed — simply by virtue of staying home and watching on TV?

Is that fair?

A team is denied a spot in the playoff because it played an extra game and endured double jeopardy?

As Pat Forde wrote in Sports Illustrated …

“The best thing to do with conference championship games as we move into the 12-team playoff era is to fire them directly into the sun.”

Amen.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday.

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