Bowl season winners and losers

Far too much is often read into single games, which for each team the bowls are. However, over the course of the bowl games there are some who will do well, and some not so well. Here's a few thoughts on who may have 'Won' and 'Lost' during the bowl games.

Winners

 

Alabama and the SEC
Still the dominant force in college football. Alabama are now making a claim not only to be the best now, but also one of the best of all time with 3 titles in 4 years. The SEC also had a good bowl season despite high-profile losses by Florida and LSU. They won more bowl games than any other conference, ending with a 6-3 record.

ACC
The ACC had a good bowl season. They went 4-2 overall and, more importantly, won their high profile games. Florida State were expected to win, but Clemson weren't. Clemson's win over LSU and Florida State winning a BCS bowl game is a much needed boost to the perception of the conference.

Ole Miss
How many fans did they take to the BBVA Compass Bowl?

Louisville Cardinals
After that win in the Sugar Bowl they'll probably end up over-rated in the pre-season poll for nest season, but the win was impressive. They dominated Florida and completely deserved the win.

Northern Illinois and the MAC
Just for being in a BCS bowl game

Jadeveon Clowney
After that hit, surely he's now amongst the early front runners for next years Heisman.

Johnny Manziel
The legend of Johnny Football continues to grow.

 

Losers

 

Big 10
A 2-5 record is poor, especially for one of the major conferences. Ohio State will be eligible again next year but will they be ranked high enough even if they are unbeaten again? The performance of the Big 10 in the bowl games has made it harder for any team from the Big 10 to reach the top of the rankings.

Florida Gators
There was a good argument that Florida had the best regular season. They had an 11-1 record from one of the toughest schedules and were a Notre Dame loss away from playing for the national title. Then came the Sugar Bowl. There had always been a suspicion the team had over-achieved. They hadn't always looked impressive. Did this game confirm it? Next season will tell us a lot more.

The atmosphere at the smaller bowls
The smaller bowls are often being played in stadiums that are at best half-full. Should they move to smaller venues which would be more likely to be full and have a decent atmosphere?

The weather for Superbowl XLVIII
The snow bound Pinstripe Bowl should be a warning for next years Superbowl - snow is possible.

Eurosport
You have the rights to a major bowl game, the Cotton Bowl. So do you show it live? No. You show a re-run of boxing from 6 weeks earlier. So surely you'll show some highlights the next day? No, you don't show any of the game. Who on earth makes that decision to acquire the rights to something and not bother to use them?