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With Two Losses in Last Three, Bowl Game Very Important

The Buffalo Bulls have had a great season. It is not easy to go 10-2 in the regular season and 7-1 in your conference, and I don't care what conference that is. For Buffalo, 2018 has been perhaps the finest season in school history.

That said, the Bulls have stumbled down the stretch. An ugly loss at Ohio was followed by a sluggish start against hapless Bowling Green. The Bulls went into the MAC Championship Game looking to re-establish their conference dominance. And, for a while, it looked like the "bitch was back," as they raced to a 29-10 lead. But, pesky Northern Illinois, a team that always finds ways to beat the Bulls, rallied back to win, 30-29.

Conference championship games, to me, are an enigma, and if I had a say, I would get rid of them. This weekend should be the first round of a 12-team playoff, or if that's too many, a 6-team playoff. I like the uneven number because it creates byes and keeps the importance of the regular season intact. In a 6-team playoff, today could feature the classic 3-6 and 4-5 games. Clemson and Alabama would have byes while Notre Dame battled Ohio State and Georgia would face Oklahoma. A 12-team playoff could be played over Friday and Saturday with 5-12, 6-11, 7-10 and the always intriguing 8-9 matchups.

What happened yesterday was the worse case scenario for conferences like the MAC. Its best team, the team with the glamour record, lost. Buffalo's 10-2 record looks pretty, much prettier than Northern Illinois' 7-5. But, Buffalo lost. It's kinda like those college basketball tournaments when the 17-13 team beats the 24-6 team in the Horizon final, denying the glamour team a berth while sending the winner to the play-in game or a 1-16 game.

If Northern Illinois can beat Buffalo, can Pittsburgh and Northwestern beat Clemson and Ohio State, too. What about Texas? The beat Oklahoma earlier; why can't they do it again? If this did happen, would conferences rethink conference title games?

The conferences think that title games help teams play their win into the CFP and while that may be true in some instances, it isn't always the case. Clearly, losses by Ohio State and Oklahoma will knock them out and if Georgia somehow finds a way to beat Alabama, a Clemson loss knocks them out.

That's the other point. Both Notre Dame and Alabama are going to make the CFP no matter what happens today. The only way Alabama doesn't make it is if they were routed 45-7 and that's not going to happen. Alabama won the CFP last year despite the fact that they didn't even make the conference title game and Ohio State made the 2017 CFP without winning its division. And, Notre Dame plays as an independent.

Buffalo is the MAC's best team and a loss to Northern Illinois doesn't change my mind. The Bulls look like a team that hit its peak in late October/early November and is trying to hang on. And, how important was the game to Buffalo last night. When he was needed most, Anthony Johnson was given a blow on the sideline. Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler are spinning in the graves as we speak. Would Magic Johnson, Mike Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James need a blow in the final 45 seconds of a basketball game? Seeing Johnson on the sideline made my blood boil and shame on he, and the coaches for making that decision.

Conference title games---friend or foe? The exposure is nice for sure, but the game is far from necessary. There was nobody at the game just like there was nobody at the Pac 12 title game either. The only title game that rakes in the dough is the SEC one and for that reason, they will probably stick around.

Buffalo has lost two of three now and shroud they lose their bowl game, a 10-4 record will still look good, but that would mean three losses in their last four games. Suddenly, the bowl game has become important and not just a reward for a great season.

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