Had Nebraska Been Bowl Eligible, Would Any Huskers Have Opted Out?

Husker Dan: The bowl games seem to be losing their appeal

Imagine if you will that Nebraska had been bowl eligible last season and gone bowling. Great dream, right? Dancing in the streets, right?

But what if some players who were able to play decided to sit this one out? Their reasons could have been because they wanted either to enter the transfer portal or the NFL draft.

Would any Huskers have done so? Probably not - at least in Nebraska's current bowl drought. It seems reasonable that players would want to soak up the experience of playing in Nebraska's first bowl game since 2016.

Of course we'll never know. Under the present bowl situation (43 games), sitting out will happen more often.

What would Husker fans think of players opting not to play? If they're like most, they wouldn't embrace it. Many might even feel betrayed.

What we do know is that this year's bowl season saw a lot of key players decide not to play.

I get it. If a star player gets injured in his team's bowl game, it could cost him millions of dollars in lost contracts and bonuses. Or an injury could end his career. Same thing with the transfer portal. As I said, I get it.

It's still alarming the numbers of football players who didn't play in this year's bowl. games. Here are just some of the quarterbacks who sat out their teams' bowl games:

• Caleb Williams, USC. The 2022 Heisman winner. Sat out the Holiday Bowl to enter the NFL draft.
• Jayden Daniels, LSU. The 2023 Heisman winner. Sat out the ReliaQuest Bowl to enter the NFL draft.
• Kyle McCord, Ohio State. Went 11-1 as a starter for the Buckeyes in 2023. Sat out the Cotton Bowl to enter the portal.
• Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland. Was the Terps' starter all season. Sat out the Music City Bowl to enter the portal.
• Will Howard Kansas State Started all 12 games for the Wildcats. Sat out the Pop Tarts Bowl to enter the portal.

There isn't enough room in this column to list all the players who chose not to play in this season's bowl games.

It used to be that playing in a New Year's Day bowl was a great accomplishment for a college football program. Through the years, those bowls attracted really good matchups. Fan interest led to lots of people showing up in person for the games.

That's all changed. Those of us expecting to see filled stadiums for some New Year's Day bowl games were disappointed.

There were plenty of empty seats at the Citrus and ReliaQuest New Year's Day games. It was a bit shocking.

I've heard from many football fans who are upset with the lack of participation by far too many players. Some fans are even calling for penalties for teams whose players are no-shows.

Of course there is nothing bowl committees can do to get kids to play. But what about coaches who opt out of bowl games? Should they be punished, too?

Case in point: James Madison University went 11-1 this past year in its first season as an FBS team. The players and coaches were rewarded with an invitation to the Armed Forces Bowl vs. Air Force on Dec. 23 in Ft. Worth, Texas.

What a great honor for the Dukes' football program. A bowl game in their first year in the FBS? Time for players and coaches to celebrate, right?

Not so fast.

Fifth-year James Madison head coach Curt Cignetti didn't coach in JMU's bowl. Nor did six of his assistants.

I'm not sure if not coaching in the Armed Forces Bowl was Cignetti's decision or JMU's.

This we do know: Coach Cignetti was offered and accepted the head coaching job at Indiana University on Nov. 30. Six of his assistants joined him. James Madison assistant Bob Chesney was named interim head coach.

With the bowl looming in three weeks, Chesney had to quickly find and hire new assistants. BTW, James Madison's opponent, Air Force, doesn't run just any ol' offense. The Falcons run the triple option better than anyone else in college football. Nevertheless, Chesney somehow was able to fill the coaching vacancies left by the prior staff.

Trial by fire.

And as expected, JMU lost the game. What was supposed to have been a proper reward for a great season turned out to be a disappointment.

At least Chesney was awarded the permanent job at JMU.

This brings us back to the topic of wanting to punish no-show players.

It seems to me that if coaches can opt out of bowl games with impunity, why shouldn't players be given the same opportunity?

Just sayin'.

In this week's episode, Will and I give our thoughts on Monday night's national championship game between Michigan and Washington. We also talk about Husker women's basketball commit Britt Prince. We opine on the status of the Husker men's and women's basketball seasons. We also jaw about the new Husker football commits and Husker volleyball star Ally Batenhorst's decision to enter the transfer portal.