I don't know about you guys, but I say the amount of time off after the

[volsboy]

regular season until the bowl games is the biggest reason a lot of teams come out flat as hell and looking like crap. Plus I honestly believe that schools that are in the NC hunt the last few weeks of the season and don't make it to the Championship game just don't have much motivation in the bowl they do play in. The bowls should start 2 weeks after the season at the latest. How do they fix this?

[WoodstockVol]

16 team Tournament like the FCS division has

[droner]

8 Team playoff, let the others go to the Insignificance Bowls. Start the whole thing two weeks (maybe 1) after the conference championship games. End it on New Year's day.

I think it's odd that one reason the NCAA doesn't want a playoff is that it makes the season so long and yet the BCSCG is on January 7th.

[73Volgrad]

I think it is less about the time off before the bowl games than it is the heart of the players.  If you are a thug player and expect to win by reputation (see Fla and LSU this year), when you play a team that refuses to back off or has a blockhead for a coach (see TN this year), you tend to lose when you really have to try.  Most people blame the coach when a team comes out flat.  I blame the players.  If any of them expect to go the NFL, they better learn real fast that if you dog it in NFL in "meaningless" games, you may end up on the waiver wire or practice team.  I think bowls are just meaningless to casual fans that are not excited because their team is not playing for BCS championship. Did TA&M look unmotivated or flat?  How about GA & SC?  Miss State was not flat, hell, they play like that all year when they play someone with equal or better talent.  It is more about individual character in bowl games. Florida took on the character of their coach and suffered a melt down.  LSU, well 3rd and 4th down and Chavious with a running QB (I have seen that horror show too many times).

So no I do not buy into "All bowls except BCS championship is meaningless" BS.  True character is demonstrated going to work every day and doing your job to the best of your ability when you have to.  Getting beat by a better team is no shame.  Giving up because things do not go your way and acting like a punk when you are losing.


 

[Black Diamond Vol]

Obviously, it depends on the respective teams' state of mind.  But I think that generally the long layoffs have helped the SEC teams, especially those in the Title game.  This is such a physical league that our teams are often pretty beat up coming off the regular season, and the layoff gives them time to get healthy.  For example, remember the two loss LSU team that barely beat us in the SECC and then went on the win it all?  They were without several key players when we played, including Glen Dorsey.  Do you think those guys, in that state of health, could've beaten a top ten team if they had to play them in the next week or two?  I don't.  Getting closer to home, remember how we had to pick our spots to play a banged-up Al Wilson in the 2nd half of the 98 season?  But he was ready to go against FSU. 

Teams in other leagues just don't face the season-long meat grinder that we do in the SEC, and usually come out of the regular season better for the wear.  The layoff has helped us to somewhat negate that disadvantage.