Questy Awards

It's been a week since the worst bowl season I can remember ended and only because the NFL playoff game is so awful I'm finishing up the blog with some Questy Awards.

My awards for the good, the bad, the ugly and the unusual of the 40 games that made up the two week schedule.

Biggest idiots:  The FBS bowl organizers who insisted on growing the postseason to 40 games, and then having them all played in a two week span.  Add in the absolute stubbornness of keeping the playoff games on New Years Eve and it's a perfect storm of crap.  How can there be so many games and so few are memorable?  Dial the bowl season back to about 30 games max (and that's too many) and try to get the playoff games off New Years Eve (not going to happen.)

Best Game:  That's easy, the Alamo Bowl with Oregon blowing a 31 point lead to TCU and then losing in overtime. The Ducks were utterly clueless after their starting quarterback Vernon Adams went out with an injury at half.

Rough night for that guy.  Runner up, Pinstripe Bowl with Duke and Indiana going to overtime.

Worst Game:  This is tough, so many games to choose from.  Most of them were bad or boring.  There was Cincinnati getting demolished by San Diego State in the Hawaii bowl, really ugly on Christmas Eve.  There was the St. Petersburg Bowl which was just mind numbingly dull.  Let's not forget Iowa refusing to defend Stanford's Christian McCafferty and getting knocked out in the Rose Bowl.  Of course, Michigan State getting blanked by Bama in the Cotton Bowl, I haven't forgotten that one.

 But the worst game was easily Boise State's destruction of Northern Illinois in the Poinsettia Bowl.  Northern Illinois had 33 yards of total offense - 33!  Their only score was on a kick return. The Broncos scored 21 in the first quarter and kept pouring it on.

 I think Northern Illinois paid ESPN to credit another school with the loss in the electrifying Hot Topic segment.

 I don't blame NIU, I'd try to make people think UNI jumped to the FBS.  And the thing is, Northern Illinois is a good team.

Best player name - for a second year, Ge'Money Brown from Western Kentucky.

 I may be wrong, but I believe Mr. Brown gave himself that name in honor of the movie New Jack City. He will be missed when he graduates.

Dumbest Play:  For every team that attempted a fake field goal, they all failed.  It's a bowl game, just go for it for God's sake.

Best Son:  Boy No. 2 stepped up and caught one of the 40 games.

 He took one for the team and watched the Heart of Dallas Bowl. He could have taken a few more.

 I'll give him a spot here to recap BowlQuest:  "I think it's time to stop.  Just watch the good ones."  I think he's right.

Best Thing I Ate:  If you're a serious BowlQuest reader you know I really forego any kind of nutrition during the games. I'll choose my go-to snack for many of these games, Snyder's of Hanover jalapeno pretzel bits mixed with Kirkland Virginia peanuts from Costco. 

Yeah, that's the stuff.  Those are easily the best peanuts I've ever eaten.  Just $6.59 for the 2.5 pound can, that is the best bargain in the store.

Best Thing I Drank - you'd think maybe strong coffee or Red Bull, possibly water to stay hydrated.  Ah, no.

There is only one way to get through BowlQuest and Wild Turkey got me through.

That's probably enough, this bowl season stunk.  I think this will be the last year of doing this, I'm actually ruining my down time from work.  Still one game to go, not technically a bowl game though.  I can't say there is much interest in the national championship between Clemson and Alabama.  I'll speak for most Americans because I'm that presumptuous - we're sick of Bama and no one cares about Clemson.  This game has the least hype and excitement of any championship game in many years.  It's a giant "who cares?"