Music City Bowl was a blast, start to finish

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Jan. 6—There is a lot of talk these days about the new College Football Playoff system. How many teams should there be — 12? 16? 24? Why was Notre Dame left out of the playoffs? Should schools like James Madison and Tulane have been included this year?

The other question frequently asked: Are bowl games really necessary?

After last week's experience in Nashville, Tenn., with the Illini, my answer is .

My overall feeling in recent years has been that are too many college football bowl games. If I were in charge, I would require teams to win at least seven games to get into a bowl game. That would eliminate some of the bowl matchups between mediocre 6-6 teams that I don't think are necessary.

However, I was reminded again last week how much fun bowl games are for teams and their fans. The atmosphere on Broadway in Nashville the night before the game with Tennessee in the Music City was outstanding.

The Marching Illini were winning the Battle of the Bands, with thousands of Illini alumni and fans cheering them on in the street. Restaurants and bars were jammed with people proudly wearing orange and blue, and chants of "I-L-L … I-N-I" were routinely exchanged. Smiles were on the faces of Fighting Illini fans, whether they had made the trip from Champaign-Urbana or had come to Nashville from the far corners of the country and were seeing their beloved Illini for the first time this year.

Bret Bielema and his coaching staff did a great job getting the team ready. The Illini arrived on Christmas Day and practiced near downtown at Vanderbilt University. Team members were also able to participate in some of the various activities that the Music City Bowl officials arranged for them. It was the perfect mix of work and fun for the team.

The Fighting Illini Sports Network hosted a radio show the night before the game at Whiskey River Saloon in downtown Nashville. A country-music band was on the stage at the restaurant just before our radio crew was to take over and do the live network radio show. Ed Bond did a great job getting our equipment set up in a matter of minutes. Former Illini Carey Davis, Kevin Mitchell and Michael Martin, as well as athletic director Josh Whitman, were all part of the show that was broadcast live in front of hundreds of boisterous Illini fans. We had a great time.

The team bowl headquarters was at the massive Gaylord Opryland Hotel. I had first seen the hotel in person about 30 years ago, and I thought it was a pretty big place at the time. But over the last three decades, the hotel has literally tripled in size. In fact, when I had a chance to grab a late lunch on Monday afternoon with Illinois native Pete Weber (voice of the NHL's Nashville Predators), I told him I would meet him in the hotel lobby.

Pete replied: "Which one? There are lobbies!"

On game day, Bond left the team hotel early for Nissan Stadium. There were several team buses lined up to take our radio crew and other team personnel to the game, as well as buses available to take my wife, Leanne, and other Illini fans to a pregame tailgate at country star Jason Aldean's place in downtown Nashville.

There was a fan bridge available to walk over the Cumberland River to the stadium, and that bridge was busy all afternoon as 52,000 Illini and Tennessee fans made their way to watch two good teams play on a cold (35 degrees) late-December afternoon.

As you know, the game turned out to be a classic, with the Illini winning 30-28 on a David Olano walk-off field goal. The energy in the stadium throughout the game was electric. Our radio booth was at a lower angle than normal, so we had thousands of Illini fans directly below us. During one media timeout, Mitchell leaned out of the booth and started (live on the radio) an "I-L-L … I-N-I" chant that had Illinois fans roaring and had the guys in the Tennessee radio booth next to us wondering what in the world was going on.

After the game, everyone in the traveling party met at the Opryland Hotel for a postgame party for the Illinois coaches, administration and support staff. The Music City Bowl trophy was there as well. I had to get a picture with the trophy before it arrived at its home at the Smith Center in Champaign.

Making the College Football Playoffs should be the goal for any football program every year. But I do believe there is a place for bowl games for teams who had really good seasons but didn't quite make the cut.

The Music City Bowl experience was one to remember for Illini fans and one that will make them smile when they think about it years from now.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos