In the days before the BCS the major bowl games ALL had an impact on the eventual National Champion, The best teams were playing in the Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Rose, etc. Depending on who won (and other factors) the relevant recognition before 1998 came from various entities, including coach polls and media ballots, which each voted to recognize their own national champions. Back then everyone PLAYED in their bowl game for their school, nobody sat out, Now, with only THE four teams eligible to win the NC, players are skipping their teams' bowl game for fear of getting hurt,,, so has the playoff system (pre-1998) contributed to the "irrelevancy" of the rest of the bowls.....curious>>..