Guys, I’ve pondered this bowl futility myself. Though I can’t say much for way in the past bowl games, I think what we’ve had lately is a mismatch in bowl placement and team ability that has led to losses.

2008 Cotton – Our win over LSU put us in a bowl game above our heads. We were more like a Liberty Bowl or Independence Bowl type of team this year. Missouri, obviously, deserved to be in a BCS bowl!

2007 Capital One – We had the misfortune of facing a Wisconsin team that was BCS worthy and having one of its best seasons on record. (We still should have won that game – SPECIAL TEAMS!)

2003 Independence – We didn’t have an amazing end of the season win, like this year, to put us in a bowl above our heads. The no Tony Temple version of Missouri was a good match. And, of course, we won. Plus, my father was in attendance. He was also at the 2000 Cotton Bowl when we beat Texas. But I don’t think his appearance in Dallas this year would have been enough to overcome that poor effort.

2002 Music City – This is a game we should have won because the match was in our favor. But mentally we weren’t there having lost the Championship game to Georgia and thought we were too good for the Music City bowl.

2002 Cotton Bowl – We faced an Oklahoma team one year off a National Championship season. Another mismatch for us in a bowl game.

2001 Vegas Bowl – A pre-view of the Music City Bowl in that we didn’t take the opponent seriously enough.

2000 Cotton Bowl – Well, it was Texas, so there were no questions of motivation. And, haha, my father was there!

1999 Citrus Bowl – Again, we faced a team that was one year off a National Championship season. Plus, they had some guy named Tom Brady at the helm.

      That was the last bowl I remember well enough to comment upon. I just think the general trend of late is that we get ourselves in bowl games where we are facing better teams. And better teams win most of the time. And when we get in games with teams that are underdogs to us, we don’t play the overdog role very well. Our best chances to win a game is when the porridge is just right and we face a 2003 Missouri team or a 2000 Texas team. And my father is at the game!
     That isn’t how it should be, and I hope Petrino can reverse things and get us to play well when we are overdogs and underdogs in bowl games, not just when the porridge is just right.

Kevin
PS: One other factor to consider. QB play. The Hogs have lately brought the poorer QB to the game. Hopefully, Petrino will equip us with the better QB in the bowl games to come.

Good thoughts, thanks Kevin. You have a good point about us facing really tough opponents in 2008, 2002 and 1999, but the rest were all games that were extremely winnable.

Maybe the law of averages will kick in and we’ll go on a nice winning streak soon. Or maybe your dad just needs to go to more bowl games…make it happen!

John