A Grip on Sports: College football’s teams and players are just trying to get through this convoluted bowl season

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is one thing the Pac-12 can be thankful for this holiday season. College football’s TV ratings are way off. Few people seem to be watching. Thank goodness. Those who tuned in last night saw one of two conferences representatives being run out of the Alamo Bowl.

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• Tell me again why it was so important to play a college football season this year? Oh, right. Money. The eternal answer.

Funny thing, though. The networks – read, mostly, ESPN – that wanted the games can’t be making the money they usually do. The eyeballs aren’t there. And they won’t be there for most bowl games. This is from Jon Wilner in an email yesterday looking at the season’s ratings:

“TV viewership for college football was down in 2020.

And it was down everywhere, despite Notre Dame’s best efforts. (The Irish did big numbers, in large part because of their two showdowns with Clemson.)

‘For the season, only five games cracked a 4.0 rating or seven million viewers,’ wrote Jon Lewis, who operates SportsMediaWatch, a website that provides weekly ratings data.

‘That compares to 14 and 12 games respectively last season.’ ”

In other words, all the work, all the time, all the risks the players went through to play wasn’t really being appreciated or consumed by the fans who, supposedly, clamored for it.

But the show went on. Sort of. Take last night’s Alamo Bowl for instance, won 55-23 by Texas.

Colorado looked disjointed and overmatched. There was a reason. Many of them, actually. It only had 49 scholarship players available to play. That’s four below the Pac-12’s limit to cancel, but the show went on.

Karl Dorrell, who is in his first year in Boulder, didn’t sound all that happy about it in the postgame, the first postgame in memory in which Colorado didn’t make any players available for the media. Maybe the administration was worried some would rip the school. Maybe not. But we don’t know.

We do know Dorrell made it clear playing was out of his hands. 

“I don’t make that decision,” he said. “That’s the people – the medical people, our doctors, the (athletic director), all that stuff. I just try to do the best I can with what I have.”

It’s besides the point that Texas was shorthanded too. Actually, maybe that’s precisely the point. The Longhorns came in thin at certain positions then lost their starting quarterback to injury. (So did Colorado.)  

Two schools with 85 scholarship players each, a roster of usually at least 100 and they are playing a bowl game with maybe less than half those players available? Sounds like the right thing to do.

You know, if you have the players’ best interests at heart.

Sarcasm aside, it makes no sense to be playing even a partial bowl season this year. But the show has gone on, even if hardly anyone one is watching.

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Gonzaga: Jim Meehan was probably a little lonely last night. Neither John Blanchette nor myself were available to add to his coverage of the Zags’ blowout of Dixie State. Sure, Jesse Tinsley supplied a photo gallery and there is the usual recap with highlights, but none of the usual columns. No matter. Jim has his analysis and the difference makers. He also had a story earlier in the day about the national title, oddsmakers and the Bulldogs. … There is little doubt the Zags are headed for a top seed wherever the NCAA tournament is played. … The women have another WCC game today in Malibu, facing Pepperdine. Connor Gilbert has a preview. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU’s Alex Barcello is garnering a lot of attention. … The Cougars, and everyone else in the conference, are still chasing GU.

WSU: If you were looking forward to watching the undefeated Cougar basketball team open conference play on New Year’s Eve, it isn’t happening. You didn’t think 2020 would leave town without taking another contest, did you? Arizona State had to cancel due to COVID-19 issues. Theo Lawson adds more in this story. There is also more coverage from Phoenix. … Liam Ryan will be back for a sixth year. As Theo’s story tells us, the left tackle anchors the offense with his leadership. … Around the Pac-12 and college football, the conference needs a lot more than an Oregon win in the Fiesta Bowl to begin regaining stature on the national landscape. … The Ducks have a lot of questions for next year, including if they will need a new defensive coordinator. But for now, they seem ready to face Iowa State in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl. … As we mentioned above, Colorado opened the bowl season last night for the Pac-12, though the Buffs were missing more than half their team. So many, in fact, they could have opted not to play. But they did and were blown out by Texas. But they may have found their quarterback. … Another important Washington player is coming back. … Arizona State is losing a coach. … Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson won another award. … One of Stanford’s best offensive linemen is headed to the draft. … UCLA learned a lot of its key players are returning and they picked up a transfer quarterback from Washington. Oh, and the Bruins’ athletic director believes in Chip Kelly. … Another USC player is transferring. … Utah will have to bounce back from an awful 2020, though the Utes were not that bad on the field. … In basketball news, the conference has not done well in nonconference play overall. It is reflected in these power rankings. … Don’t look for Arizona in the NCAA tourney this year. Or maybe beyond. The Wildcats self-imposed a one-year postseason ban, hoping to mitigate other penalties. The big news? The school did admit to “lapses in judgment” by a staff member. That doesn’t bode well for head coach Sean Miller, as the NCAA will hold him responsible, fair or not. … The Wildcats have some players excelling statistically. … USC returned to the court with an easy win over Santa Clara. … UCLA wants a refund of its travel expenses to Oregon because the Pac-12 was unable to supply officials. … The defense has to improve for Colorado. … Is Mike Hopkins the second coming of Andy Russo?

EWU: Former Eastern star Cooper Kupp is sidelined by the coronavirus. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Southern Utah is on a COVID-19 hiatus. … Weber State scheduled a game to fill a gap created when Idaho State couldn’t play.

Preps: Three North Idaho schools sent their boys and girls teams to a tournament in the southern part of the state. Dave Nichols has the results.

Chiefs: A couple Spokane players are playing in the World Junior tournament in Edmonton. Dan Thompson takes a look at how they are doing. … Larry Weir talked with the voice of the Chiefs, Mike Boyle, yesterday for the latest Press Box podcast.

Indians: Former manager Tommy Lasorda is still hospitalized in California.

Seahawks: The Hawks’ goal-line stand against Los Angeles keyed the NFC West-clinching win. What was behind the key series? … You have questions. There are answers.

Mariners: A lot of M’s fans were clamoring for the team to bring Seattle native Blake Snell home. They didn’t (the lefthander ended up being traded from Tampa to San Diego). There are good reasons for that.

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• Oh my. This was a busy morning. Lots of news. Some good, some bad. But you know what? When Saturday comes, it will all change. Thanks to an arbitrary day on a calendar, everything will change. That’s how it works, right? You know what, to ease your disappointment, we’ll make sure we are here for you. After all, I’ve seen enough New Years it isn’t important to stay up late the night before. So I ask one thing of you. As you celebrate tomorrow night, please don’t shoot off fireworks. It will destroy my dog – and millions of others. The poor thing can’t deal with them. And yes, even though Spokane has a ban, we have a block away “neighbor,” who believes it is their right to set off huge ones. If you are contemplating joining the Legion of Boom, please think about those who the fireworks might impact. OK, rant over. Carry on. Until later …