The new year is a bittersweet time. Most people take this time to better themselves and become happier and healthier. For me, however, it is a gloomy time, as the end of the college football season is imminent. The 2023 season may have been full of many controversies and butthurt fans, but the bowl season did not disappoint, nonetheless. From edible mascots to streaking fans, the 2023 bowl season was not one to forget.
Going back to the start, the year started off with the greatest controversy the sport has ever seen in recent years. The conference championship results led to a tough decision from the College Football Playoff Committee, with eight teams suitable for the playoff. With this decision, the team chose Michigan (BIG-10 Champion, 14-0), Washington (PAC-12 Champion, 14-0), Texas (BIG-12 Champion, 13-1), and Alabama (SEC Champion, 13-1). This decision left Florida State in a state of shock. Their stellar year which led to an undefeated season and an ACC Conference Title was stopped right in their tracks with the ‘snub’ of not being chosen for the CFP. The decision to leave FSU out was met with a multitude of different opinions on whether or not they were “worthy”. The point left out of this summary was that their starting quarterback, Jordan Travis, would suffer a season-ending ankle injury that left many questioning whether the Seminoles were still elite, per ESPN. Despite this loss, FSU still beat Louisville in the ACC Championship to finish the undefeated regular season. After the decision was made, many people took to X (Twitter) to express their hatred toward the CFP committee and are currently working on a lawsuit against the NCAA and ACC respectfully. After this year, the selection committee is granted a break from the hate with an expansion of the playoff to twelve teams, rather than the old four. The news led to many players sitting out of the Orange Bowl they would play against the former number one team, Georgia. The ones who stayed, however, knew they had something to prove.
As the schools entered winter break, the smaller bowl games led off the promising series of games that many look towards over the holidays. The one problem with these smaller games is they have turned into corporate sponsorships that worry more about a paycheck rather than a game. A common theme with these games is the length of their titles, which was seen this year with the “Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl” and the “Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl”. Since these games are just used for their titles, their results are not usually cared for by the general public. All of this corporate greed was met with a perfect break with the “Famous Toastery Bowl” which perfectly expressed how fun bowl season can be. Western Kentucky University baked the Old Dominion defense in an overtime thriller that ended with the score thirty-eight to thirty-five.
As Christmas was rolling around, a very storied bowl game kicked off that would lead to the “Cinderella story” James Madison University going home empty-handed in the “Armed Forces Bowl”. JMU was a very dominant force in the lower level FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) division of D-1 College Football, which led to them transferring up to the big dogs for the 2023 season. Programs will usually struggle the first couple of years of this switch and try to hang on for the years to come. JMU is not one of those teams, however, finishing with an eleven-win season and a conference title in their first year. The problem is that the NCAA has a two-year clause that bans the newly transitioned teams from making the postseason. The team lost hope until the final week of the regular season when South Carolina lost their final game to become non-bowl eligible and caused there to be less than the required number of teams for the bowl season. This opened up the doors for JMU and Jacksonville State to be active bowl teams. The winner of the “Armed Forces Bowl”, Air Force, was a storied franchise in itself. Air Force started off with eight straight wins and was the highest-ranked military program in NCAA history, per ESPN. As the gimmicky bowls closed, the best was left for last. The newly introduced “Pop-Tart Bowl” lived up to its name. With an edible mascot and back-and-forth play, this bowl game was very much a crowd favorite. Kansas State took home the title and was crowned the true Pop-Tart champion.
As the New Year’s Six Bowls started, SEC dominance still stayed true. Missouri and Ole Miss (The University of Mississippi) dominated the BIG-10 teams and brought home a Cotton Bowl Title (Missouri) and Peach Bowl Title (Ole Miss). The storied game, however, was the Orange Bowl matchup. Former number one team, Georgia, faced the “snubbed” team of Florida State. FSU walked in with a chip on their shoulder and ended up with none at all as Georgia manhandled the Seminoles with a score of sixty-three to three. This embarrassment of performance led many FSU fans to create hundreds of more excuses that helped them keep their pride and let them sleep at night. Another team that was put out of their misery was Liberty, who won a New Year’s Six bid with their conference title in C-USA and undefeated season. This fire was put out as soon as Bo Nix stepped on the field as Oregon won forty-five to six. This victory truly shows the divide between the Power-Five conferences and the Group-of-Five conferences.
Once the ball struck midnight, the focus turned to the College Football Playoff. The first game to take place was the Rose Bowl, which featured Alabama and Michigan in a very close matchup. Alabama had an interesting year with their quarterbacks, as they suffered an early loss to Texas and barely won a close game with Southern Florida. Nick Saban turned to Jaden Milroe to lead his tide to shore and won the SEC, despite their hardships. Michigan, however, was on the other end of the spectrum. Their “suffering from success” attitude helped them keep composure when Head Coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for six games over two separate cheating allegations. Their dominant year was led by their star running-back, Blake Corum, who rushed for twenty-seven touchdowns and led the Wolverines to an undefeated season and a third-straight BIG-10 title, per Fox Sports. As both teams fought in Pasadena, neither was backing down. The game stayed so neck-and-neck that it took overtime for the Wolverines to pull ahead and leave Saban and his Tide gasping for air. Once the Rose Bowl was ending, a shootout in the Bayou was only getting started. With an explosive third quarter, former IU quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., would lead his Huskies to a comfortable lead over the Longhorns. Washington’s defense stepped up as well, stopping Quinton Ewers with only five yards to go, and sealing the victory for the purple and gold.
The road ends here. The National Championship was getting set in Houston, and everyone had one thing on their minds, “Who can stop Harbaugh?” The controversies and investigations have led to this. His job was on the line, and he needed to show up and show out. This game means more than life to this man, as he was the lonely Harbaugh with no ring. As his victorious father (Western Kentucky 2002) and brother, Jon (Baltimore Ravens 2013) watched, Jim Harbaugh would go on to stamp the Huskies thirty-four to thirteen and win the first national championship for Michigan since 1997.
Whether Michigan is allowed to keep this title is still in question. College sports were built on teaching the young core values through teams and recreations, despite the modern-day scene full of bling and cash. Cheating may win championships, but does not build character, and character creates more in life rather than just a title and a trophy. The success may feel refreshing right now, but down the line this feeling of accomplishment will turn into guilt. The sense of guilt grows and grows in people, and their “suffering from success” will turn into just suffering. This season is the start of a college sports scene full of greed and no integrity, so did Michigan win anything at all?
