When Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette sat out their respective bowl games in 2016, it raised the question- do bowl games even matter? Both players didn’t want to get hurt before the draft and decided to skip their team’s big day. The Bowl games have always taken a backseat to the fervor of the CFB playoffs and this year with an increased field, nearly all the attention has moved to the race to crown the national champion. But the heart of the bowl games is still beating.

With the playoffs now expanded to include 12 teams, there was always going to be a shadow cast over the worthiness of the bowl games. Moreover, the opening of the transfer portal in early December allows players with eligibility remaining to leave their teams and find their new school. On the other hand, others opt out to avoid risking further injury before entering the NFL Draft, further undermining the appeal of bowl games.

However, those thinking the bowl games go flat, have some unnecessary win-losses and lack the drama of a CFB playoff were handed an eye-opener during Sunday’s Go Bowling Military Bowl.

In the eleventh hour of East Carolina’s 26-21 victory over North Carolina State, the two teams were embroiled in a tussle. NC State turned the ball over on their final drive which allowed ECU to take two kneel downs and run out the clock. However, during this, the two teams were embroiled in a tussle. Benches emptied and several players from both teams got involved in the fight. Although none of them were severely injured, it was a referee that was left bloodied.

During the chaos, an ECU player pushed an NC State player in the back, causing him to fall forward into referee Rod Tucker and inadvertently headbutt him with his helmet. Tucker was left with a gash just below his left eye, with blood streaming down his face. Pat McAfee shared the violent visuals of the bloodied ref with a caption, ”Bowl Games still matter… emotions are high.”

The fight began when ECU receiver Yannick Smith appeared to grab the towel of NC State defensive Back Tamarcus Cooley. Cooley then ran after Smith and grabbed him and soon others got involved. It took a while to get everything in place and resume the game for the final 38 seconds. Eight players were ejected from the game after the melee.

The brawl took away from the game, which was an entertaining affair. The ECU was trailing with less than two minutes to go, but Rahjai Harris went on an 86-yard touchdown run to give them the lead. While the ugly scenes at the end dimmed the excitement of the game, it was a quick reminder that bowl games still carry importance, at least for those involved.

Despite the challenges faced by bowl games, given the importance of CFP, there is still a clamor for these encounters. During the 2023-24 college football season, 25 non-Playoff bowl games generated more than two million viewers, and 15 exceeded 3 million. The Citrus Bowl clash between Tennessee and Iowa, drew 6.8 million viewers, the highest among the non-CFP bowls.

The executive director of Bowl Season, Nick Carparelli has also talked about the interest in bowl games and why continue to be a staple for many fans.

“People love watching bowl games. It’s that unique time of year where people will turn on their TV set on a Wednesday night in December looking for a bowl game. They might not even know what bowl game they’re going to find. They just know they’re going to find one, and they’re going to watch it,” he mentioned. Yet, challenges remain.

Marshall pulled out of its Independence Bowl matchup against Army, six days after accepting the invitation. Their HC Charles Huff left and took up the HC role at Southern Miss, less than 24 hours after winning the Sun Belt championship. But more tellingly, their roster was left depleted in the aftermath of Huff’s departure.

More than 20 players hit the transfer portal and opted out of the game, leaving Marshall with no choice but to withdraw from their bowl game. This led to a last-minute scramble to find an opponent for the Army and eventually, Louisiana Tech was chosen. Can you imagine something like this happening for a college football playoff game?

The transfer portal being open while the season is technically underway does hurt the bowl games. “It’s a terrible system,” Mississippi’s former coach Lane Kiffin told reporters last year at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. “I wouldn’t think any other sports, professional sports, have ever set up a system where free agency starts while the season is still going. It really makes no sense.”

The coaches usually have their minds on recruiting high school prospects and dealing with the transfer portal while a bowl game lies in the waiting. For the fans, however, this is an opportunity to see an average season turn into one of celebration. But even that only happens if the logistics of attending a bowl game, especially on the road work out. The geographical convenience of a bowl game also plays a major role in its relevance for the fans and the program.

But for now, the Go Bowling Military Bowl has proved one thing- those who are involved will always care and it will bring out emotions in them. Just looking at the East Carolina players’ celebrations at the end of the win will tell you everything.

Meanwhile, NC State coach Dav Doeren apologized for the behavior of his players in the post-game presser.

North Carolina State coach came clean on his team’s misconduct

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium turned red-hot, and the rest is a dreadful history that might create a long-standing discussion for the off-season. How did the coaches see the game-turning fray?

NC State coach Dave Doeren issued a sincere apology in his post-game press conference for the involvement and actions of several players of his team and for overall how the match ended.

“I would like to apologize for our football team for how that ended, I’m embarrassed as a coach and I know our players are, too. That is not how people in this program, players in this program, and staff in this program want anything to do with something like that. To me, it was a terrible response to something that happened to one of our players and there’s no excuse for it. So I apologize to ECU and their team,” said Dorein.

However, the nasty finish is likely to weigh heavy when the two teams open the 2025 season against each other.