They used to be a mechanism for ESPN to continue selling ads into December when people had nothing else to watch. CFP drives so much higher ratings, there is no longer need for the bowls. ESPN doesn’t need to have its cake with the CFP and eat it too with the tax slayer bowl
Baylor aside, why do we still have non-CFP bowls?
They do not mean anything. Portal and NIL have accelerated offseason management. Nobody cares about watching a bunch of 7-6 teams play an exhibition that anyone good opts out of, just to make a negligible sum from a mid-tier corporate sponsor.
As teams get left out of CFP, they’re pissed and have no reason to play. Bowls are a relic of the BCS days and need to go.
You can’t be serious. You watched this whole season and thought we were a few fumbles and turnovers away from an 8 win season?
I will never buy the argument that coaches have no control over fumbles, mental errors, etc. Winning coaches develop players who play clean ball—whether that’s drilling fundamentals, attention to detail, or simply putting the fear of God into someone coming back to the sideline after making an unforced error.
Zoom out and look at the Aranda era as a whole. The trend is down. We’re more than just a few plays or recruits away from being a contender. We’re free falling and there’s no silver lining.
@mcbaylor Even if it does, we already have talent so the benefits will be marginal. It will be the same result - underperformance, regression, mediocrity
@baylorbigxii You can drink it in private, just not in public or before running the Baylor line with 43 other people. We need to keep the tradition safe
Notable takeaways from the full interview:
Linda seems to be unilaterally calling the shots on athletics right now. Does not define who her “circle” includes for the search. She cited her extensive athletics leadership roles across the NCAA and Big 12 as a reason she is in perfect position to make a hire. It is interesting that we extended our soccer coaching today in the absence of an AD.
Her answer about the donors makes it seem conversations with them have been minimal, and she expects them to dissent from her “retain Dave” decision but will ultimately get on board. Also seemed reluctant to acknowledge the relationship with the fans is strained.
It seems like she is way too close to this situation and making decisions either in isolation or with heavy confirmation bias. Ironically, maybe it is good that we get an AD in place before finding a new HC because it will buffer her involvement.
The Baylor athletics department is in flux.
I sat down with Baylor President Linda Livingstone to discuss Mack Rhoades, Dave Aranda, the future of the football program, the ongoing AD search and more.
📺🎧Watch/Listen: https://t.co/agVfhPnCnY
📰Read: https://t.co/JpO5rifdfL
@oilallaround@T_REX1991 Linda said point blank in the interview with Waco Trib that internal candidates won’t be consider and the two interim ADs fully supported that when they were informed of that fact. Still weird though
What exactly do the players deserve?
I lost sympathy for the players when Linda and Sawyer come out and say the players love playing for this coaching staff.
Everyone seems to be having a good time! What difference does it make if the stands are full?
Win or lose, they are having fun out there. As a fan, I don’t have fun when they lose, so don’t blame me if I don’t show up.
It is so concerning that our team loves playing for this guy.
Ever wonder why we cannot execute, alway fumble, come out slow? Maybe there’s no accountability from the players to the coaches. Maybe there’s no fear to make a mistake or motivation to execute because you’ll get a juice box and bedtime story when the game is over. It’s okay, we still love you!
Sometimes it’s not always fun playing for a great coach, because they have expectations for you. They yell or make you run or do an insane amount of reps. Like Herb Brooks in miracle. You don’t love the expectations and accountability, but you love winning, and know the coach respects you enough to push you, so you push through it.
I am genuinely concerned that the players love playing for this lousy regime. Lose the country club mentality. We are truly in for dark times.
@ScottDrew_OF I think it would be absolutely hilarious if Dave took an open job after we come out and say we think he sucks but can’t do anything about it. Would screw us over even worse and we’d deserve every bit of it
@ScottDrew_OF Still pondering this. Makes absolutely no sense. Even if their minds were already made, how could the messsge from today possibly be productive?
@mattmosley@Baylor@LindaLlivings Matt have you had a BAD boss? Cut the guy slack. His boss checked out months ago with not attending Baylor group sports meetings. The way Mack dressed as a power 4 AD should have been a Red flag
@GrayGrundhoefer What good is it? Can’t even make a bowl game with a “culmination roster”. We’ve rifled through coordinators. We’ve watched every player regress. It reflects how low we are right now that we’re celebrating having the 29th best group of guys who *might* play for us in 2028