Maybe it was the recent blast of cold air or the four separate times my life flashed before my eyes as I made my way back from Karns City High School last Thursday night on that frozen path better known as Route 68.

Whatever the reason, there's a few things I feel I must write down before we say goodbye to 2006.

• Kudos to Rich Rodriguez and Greg Schiano for deciding to remain as head coaches of the football programs at West Virginia and Rutgers, respectively.

The Big East Conference isn't beyond being ridiculed as being the weakest BCS conference in the country. But had those two left — Rodriguez to the University of Alabama and Schiano to Miami (Fla.) — the conference instantly would have been pushed further off the national radar.

• In case you're counting, there are 32 college football bowl games this year. That's four more than last year, when just about everybody agreed that 28 was way too many.

I agree. There was a time when making a bowl meant that you had to have at least a good regular season. Now more than half of the Division I-A teams will be playing a postseason game.

This year's bowls include the coveted San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the Brut Sun Bowl.

But there is an upside to the NCAA selling its soul to the devil ... er, I mean corporate sponsors.

If you're planning on entering a college bowl contest, every game can have meaning for the average football fan.

Granted, it doesn't have the same excitement as the March Madness basketball polls, but watching bad football is better than watching no football.

So, be sure to think long and hard before you pick the winner of the Jimmy Dean Sausage Bowl and the Lysol Clean Air Bowl.

Okay, those bowls don't currently exist. But wait until next year and they probably will.

• When it comes to major college football, it seems there are two sides. You're either for a playoff system or against it.

Well, I'm going to take the easy way out and sit on the fence.

I certainly wouldn't complain if a playoff system was implemented. I'm sure that it would lead to some great matchups and exciting football to spice up the holiday season.

But I also know that there already is great football being played. Last year's national championship between Southern Cal and Texas was a classic.

Four season's ago, Ohio State pulled off a dramatic upset of Miami (Fla.) to claim the championship.

And just because a game doesn't have the words 'national championship' in front of it, doesn't mean it can't be considered a great game.

Texas' 38-37 victory over Michigan in the Rose Bowl that capped the 2004 season is a perfect example of that.

Don't let the argument about a playoff system interfere with your enjoyment of some truly great college football.

Enjoy the games and have a great holiday!