Have the Ute fans who made ESPN’s Paul Finebaum into Public Enemy No. 1 for a few days calmed down yet?
As far as fans (and, apparently, players) were concerned, Finebaum dissed and dismissed them. Which he did. But those comments were largely misinterpreted. Finebaum delivered them clumsily, but he was, ahem, right. Because his comments didn’t have anything with the Utes’ on-field play.
You’ll recall that, during an appearance on ESPN, Finebaum was asked what would happen if then-No. 4 Georgia lost and both then-No. 5 Utah and then-No. 6 Oklahoma won. “Oklahoma’s getting in, because let’s be honest, the country does not want to see Utah in the College Football Playoff,” Finebaum said. “I mean, it’s Utah!”
It was an insult, but he wasn’t saying Oklahoma was better than Utah. Finebaum went on to make it clear he thought neither the Utes nor the Sooners could win a playoff game.
We’ll never know if he was right about Utah’s on-field chances. But in terms of TV and the CFP, he was right.
If a TV producer is casting a show and has a choice between an unknown who’s a gifted actor and a major star who’s less talented, the part will go to the star. That’s unfair, but it’s also true.
Even if Utah had been the better team, Oklahoma is the bigger star. It’s not fair, but the CFP, bowl games and college football in general are largely about TV ratings.
A lot of what happens in major college football is inherently unfair. I mean, it’s a system in which half the 130 FBS teams are eliminated from title contention before the season begins because they don’t play in the “right” conference.
Had the Utes beaten Oregon, I think they should have gotten into the playoff. But I have no confidence that the CFP committee would have put them there — because the Sooners are bigger stars. I’m not surprised Utah wasn’t invited to the Cotton Bowl — that bid went to another traditional star, Penn State. (Yes, PSU is ranked 10th; Utah is 11th, so there’s that.)
Frankly, I’m a bit surprised that the Alamo Bowl chose Utah over No. 22 USC, because the Trojans are clearly bigger stars than the Utes. The Alamo Bowl’s executive director told ESPN that picking Utah over USC was “not a sure thing”; the bowl’s CEO told Sports Illustrated USC is a “key brand name in college football.”
There are rumors the Pac-12 pressured the Alamo Bowl to take Utah. If that’s true, good for the Pac-12.
Finebaum’s comments were clumsy and obnoxious, but he wasn’t wrong. Major college football really is more about TV than it is about fairness.
BYU COULD BE NO. 1 • For the first time in a long time, the BYU football team could be No. 1 at something. It could be part of the No. 1 show on cable TV on Christmas Eve, when the Cougars face Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl on ESPN. There’s no sports-on-TV competition that night; there’s not much competition, period.
It’s not a sure thing, however. The 2017 Hawaii bowl (Fresno State-Houston) drew nearly 2.1 million viewers, easily outdistancing the cable competition. The 2018 Hawaii Bowl (Louisiana Tech-Hawaii) tanked, however, drawing just under 1.2 million viewers.
The 2018 game didn’t kick off until 8:30 p.m. MT — 10:30 p.m. ET — which explains a lot of the dropoff. That and, you know, the presence of Louisiana Tech.
This year’s game is at 6 p.m. MT/8 p.m. ET, which will help.
2018 BOWL NUMBERS • Last year, Utah vs. Northwestern in the Holiday Bowl drew 1.8 million viewers, 36% more than BYU-Western Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (1.2 million) and 46% more than Utah State-North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl (968,000).
WHY SO MANY BOWLS? They’re programming for ESPN. They fill a lot of airtime. That’s the easy — and accurate — answer. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will air 34 of 39 bowls through Jan. 6, plus the national championship game.
That’s also why ESPN owns 14 bowl games, including the Frisco Bowl. Which explains why Utah State (7-5) will play Kent State (6-6) in a 20,500-seat soccer stadium in Texas on Friday (5:30 p.m., ESPN2).
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