Chick-Fil-A Bowl Blog

The Chick-Fil-A bowl has really gotten into the 21st Century. Each week, the Chairman of its selection committee, Leeman Bennett, posts a blog about what teams are in the hunt, which games are being scouted, and providing insight into the committee's thinking. Today's post, which prominently features the Cats, can be found here.

If Bennett's name sounds familiar, here's why. A two time head coach in the NFL, he played football at UK under both Blanton Collier and Charlie Bradshaw, and was later an assistant for Bradshaw's infamous Thin Thirty team of 1962. (I didn't know this when I got up this morning, thanks Google). This leads me to wonder, could this guy have not lobbed us a bone last year?

Reading between the lines, it looks like UK is a/the front runner to take the SEC spot, but only if it takes care of business. He calls the UK-Vandy game the biggest on the selection committee's board this week.

Is there a better gig out there than being a bowl "scout"? Let's face it, 98% of a bowl committee's decisions are dicated by records, well established economics, and most importantly, the selections made by the games ahead of them in the pecking order. Yet, as we speak, fatcat businessmen all over the country are flying to great college football games and getting the hardcore VIP on someone else's nickle. Do they come back to meetings and say things like, "Bob, their crowd was really into this one. Plus, seeing Randall Cobb in person tells me more about the Cats than I could tell watching the game in my living room. I met several people who'll stay at the Ritz and eat at Morton's every night. I see dollar signs with these UK folks, Bob. I'm telling you, getting the Cats down here would be a great call". C'mon.

I'm not naive. These trips are about schmoozing with the ADs and University Presidents, not about "scouting". Still, being a bowl scout is a fatter boondoggle than being a summer associate in a large law firm. Which is to say, it is quite fat.