Since we're asked not to post whole articles, HERE'S a really good read on the season and bowl playoff.

Here's the part on the new college bowl system, which I agree with completely.

Lots Left to Play For

I am not a playoff proponent. In fact, I refuse to even call what college football has a playoff. When a committee invites participants based on criteria that are not known a priori, and without automatic bids for conference champions, what you have is a post-season invitational not a playoff.

If nothing else though, college football's rampant inequality is now entirely de-mystified. College football showers royalty programs with ENORMOUS legacy benefits while layering on disadvantages for middle-class programs. Things like recruiting, which is the lifeblood of the sport, can turn based on the program doing the recruiting. Three-stars become four-stars based on who is recruiting, which is a function of being seen in the first place. Then those rankings become self-propelling (if not self-aware) markers of program quality.

I used to get so annoyed by fans of royalty programs. But, in an odd way their obnoxiousness and seeming arrogance is the natural outgrowth of so much built-in advantage. Why would they be interested in anything less than a conference title, and eventually even kinda take that for granted? Even when royalty programs fall on legitimately hard times, like at Michigan, college football can be very forgiving. Who doubts that with a prudent hire they can't be back in the hunt for a B1G title in 3-5 years?

College football is far more hostile to solidly middle-class programs like Missouri. Every winning (i.e., bowl eligible) season is precious. Fans certainly do not have the luxury of taking any 9 or 10 win season for granted. Winning and developing pro talent are the only ways middle-class programs get to move to a better neighborhood, and even then it's not a sure thing.

Look at Auburn, an upper-middle-class program that's never been quite accepted by the blue bloods. On the other hand, not winning guarantees slippage. Texas can afford a down season while Charlie Strong cleans house. Even if he doesn't work out they'll bounce back if they hit on a QB. I'd go so far as to say Missouri had to win the East in 2013 to offset 2012, which was a near fatal blow to everything Pinkel had built.

For a program like Missouri, every trip to the Who Gives a Damn Bowl is invaluable in the program's development. Fans of this kind of program have to help build it. They have to show out when Game Day comes to campus, and sell out the bowl games. They don't get to sit back and grouse about why the championships aren't just rolling in. So, shake it off. Get your game faces back on. It doesn't matter who the team plays in the bowl game or where. We ain't got it like that yet. It's all about getting that extra win. That could be the difference in getting one more recruit's eyes on the program, or from straying.

(And would it kill you to send a note to Terry Beckner, Jr. to wish him luck on final exams?)