Bowl eligibility or not, UCF’s inaugural Big 12 season is already a success | Commentary

Running off at the typewriter …

It seems to be the consensus that UCF must beat Houston on Saturday and become bowl eligible in order for their inaugural season in the Big 12 to miraculously be transformed from a disappointment to a success.

Puh-leeze, can we stop with the contrived ramifications of a game between a 5-6 team (UCF) and a 4-7 team (Houston)?

Don’t get me wrong, becoming bowl-eligible would be nice, but if you ask me UCF’s season already has been a success simply by being a member of the Big 12 for the first time. As I wrote before the season, UCF’s won-loss record doesn’t really matter because “Knight Nation should just enjoy the journey of their inaugural season in a Power 5 league.”

I believed that then and I believe it now.

This might seem like sports blasphemy, but if you ask me, “bowl eligibility” is just a manufactured end-of-the-season goal that college football programs (and fan bases) come up with to make them feel good about a mediocre record. In the grand scheme of things, does bowl eligibility really matter in any meaningful way?Especially in this day and age when a good portion of team rosters, including many star players, already will have entered the transfer portal by the time the bowl game rolls around.

Unless UCF could get an attractive bowl matchup close to home — like, say, against Miami in Tampa’s Gasparilla Bowl or against USF in Orlando’s Cure Bowl — is it really a big deal whether your team is sitting home for the holidays or playing Texas State in the Independence Bowl? Is there really a meaningful difference between your team going 5-7 overall or 6-6? Does it really matter whether you’re 2-7 in the Big 12 or 3-6 in the Big 12?

I get that coaches love going to bowl games because it gives them 15 more practices to evaluate players, but 15 extra practices shouldn’t determine whether your season is a success or a disappointment.

I’m here today to tell you that no matter what happens on Saturday, UCF fans (and Houston fans, for that matter) should be euphoric about their historic first season in the Big 12.

UCF fans, players and coaches got to experience what it’s like playing in a Power 5 conference with Power 5 talent and depth in front of Power 5 crowds. They got to experience some unbelievable highs (see 45-3 home victory over Oklahoma State) and some inconceivable lows (see historic collapse against Baylor).

For this one season and one season only, I say just forget about the wins and losses and don’t be a prisoner to the scoreboard. The true victory of this season was the collective journey and experiencing the passion and pageantry of big-time college football. …

Short stuff: Well, well, well, did you see what happened a few days ago? The blowhard administration at the University of Michigan not only halted its lawsuit against the Big Ten and accepted the conference’s three-game suspension of head coach Jim Harbaugh amid a signal-stealing scandal, the school also fired its linebackers coach Chris Partridge. Question: Why is the linebackers coach fired and the head coach still employed? If you believe Harbaugh didn’t know anything about the cheating, I’ve got a unicorn-drawn chariot and a bridge to the moon I’d like to sell you. … Washington jumped over Florida State to No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings not because of quarterback Jordan Travis’ season-ending injury but because the Huskies have a better body of work. Not that it matters. If FSU beats Florida Saturday, the Seminoles will be back at No. 4 — ahead of the loser of this weekend’s game between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan. …

Mikey likes: Florida State over Florida by 10, UCF over Houston by 21, Miami over Boston College by 9, Dolphins over Jets by 14, Bucs over Colts by 3, Jaguars over Texans by 5, Yours Truly over all of the leftover turkey and pumpkin pie by Sunday. … Three bad-dad Thanksgiving jokes: (1) What do sweet potatoes wear to bed? Yammies. (2) Why did the cranberries turn red? Because they saw the turkey dressing. (3) What kind of music did the Pilgrims listen to at the first Thanksgiving? Plymouth Rock & Roll. … Speaking of Rock & Roll, did you see where the Rolling Stones are coming to Camping World Stadium in June? I’m not saying octogenarian Mick and the boys are getting old, but I hear they have remixed one of their most famous songs and renamed it, “I Can’t Get No Early Bird Special at Golden Corral.” … Can you believe Deion Sanders actually thought Mount Rushmore was in Los Angeles? In related news, Coach Prime also believes that Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Dora. …

Orlando City will be playing in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the MLS Cup playoffs on Saturday and the Orlando Magic are looking more and more like a legitimate playoff contender. As a sports fan in Orlando, I haven’t been this jacked up since Spectrum Cable threw in the RedZone Channel for only $3 a month! … Speaking of Orlando City: During an interview on our radio show Wednesday, team owner Mark Wilf said he is confident that coach Oscar Pareja and Luiz Muzzi, the executive vice president of soccer operations, will soon sign new contracts with the club. … RIP, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, who once said: “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go but ought to be.” … Speaking of first ladies, my favorite of all time was Dolley Madison. Her snack cakes are still the best. … Shame on Fox’s Charissa Thompson, who stupidly went on a podcast last week and admitted she had fabricated information as a sideline reporter — and acted like it was no big deal. As if the public needs any more of a reason to distrust the media. … True story: In last week’s game against the New York Jets, a Buffalo Bills fan was seen wearing a No. 32 O.J. Simpson jersey. However, on the back of the jersey, it did not say “Simpson” but instead said “Allegedly.”

Last word: “Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Halftimes take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence.” — Erma Bombeck