[NU Sports] B(C)S ratings and attendance ...

[Mike Nolan]

> All of the other BCS stuff aside, I think that this was a very enjoyable 
> football post season.  NU and UM were the only games where I had a dog in the
> hunt, but many of other games were just good football - more so than in 
> recent memory.  The BCS game was a dud, but it usually is.  If we can use the
> quality of play on the field as any gauge of how the system is working, 
> IMHO the system worked well this year.

The bowl matchups we got were a mixed bag, Penn State and Boise State
deserved better opponents, Northwestern deserved a lesser one.
(But I think 4 bowl games in a row, even if we lost all 4, is having 
a positive impact on recruiting.)  

There were fewer blowouts than I was expecting, which is a good thing,
especially for the advertisers.

The NC game was OK if you like to watch drives stall out, understand 
what motivates field goal kickers or enjoy hearing Brent Mushmouth try 
to turn the game into something it wasn't.  

The Iowa game will probably be remembered more for the crash of
the Sky-Cam than the outcome of the game.   (BTW, the absence
of an explanation for why it crashed is intriguing.)  

The high scoring games were for the most part more interesting than the low
scoring ones, even if Washington did fire its defensive coordinator
after theirs.  

I so prefer the NCAA's overtime rules to the NFL's, the overtime bowl
games were exciting and dramatic.  The best thing that can be said about
Sunday's OT game is that it was over quickly.

The NFL's newest OT rule still hasn't gotten tested (at least when it counts,
I think it MAY have been used in a pre-season game once.)
--
Mike Nolan