International Clocks Should Be Turned Back One Week

Rutgers, and Ray Rice, dominated the International bowl. But guess what? I didn't see it. The NCAA can be criticized for bowl tie ins bringing poor matchups, and they can even come under fire for the BCS selection process, but nothing irks me more than the International and GMAC bowl games. I have nothing against Rutgers, Ball State, Tulsa or Bowling Green. It's just that I don't want to see these teams after New Year's day, unless they're playing in a BCS game.

The whole idea is to start slow, giving us a teaser after a two week layoff, and then progressively become more attractive, as we work our way towards the National Championship game. In other words, you don't put together and All Star musical event, and then put William Hung on stage, just before the final act. The scheduling of the International and GMAC bowls equate to an intermission. Those games are scheduled during the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs, as if they were asking to be overshadowed.

I'm guilty. I'm a college football fan that didn't watch the International Bowl. I watched the Under Armour High School All American game, but didn't watch Rutgers play. I preferred to watch the nation's next group of talent, rather than watch a current talent in Ray Rice. I anticipated the announcements of high school seniors to college programs, and didn't care much for the announcement of the final score in Canada.

If the GMAC and International bowls were scheduled earlier in the season, I certainly would have watched from beginning to end. But seeing that I've been mathematically eliminated from my bowl pick'em pool, I honestly couldn't give two $h!ts about it. On December 29th, I needed a Rutgers victory, but on January 5th, it didn't matter if they played. Isn't it time to turn back the International clock?