Think 25 bowls was too many? Well, guess what? The NCAA just added three more to next season's bowl lineup.

Cynics will gripe about how there are already too many games to begin with. They'll whine about a 5-6 North Texas squad getting greenlighted by the Sun Belt Conference to go bowling as being over-the-line. Fair point. But as most college coaches are quick to tell you, if you don't like seeing a 7-4 team play a 6-5 team, don't tune in.

Last week, the NCAA lifted its moratorium on the 26-bowl game limit. That, in turn, sparked discussions at the NCAA's football certification subcommittee in San Antonio this week about adding more bowl games.

	“	Coaches are always looking for ways to motivate. Of course, players have their education and a scholarship, but it's nice for them to get to play on TV, get the rings and the watches and get to see a different city. ”
		— West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez

Maybe the best positive example of the expanded bowl schedule is Pittsburgh. Last year, the Panthers began the season 1-5. The woeful start was due to shaky quarterback play, a lackluster ground game and an offense hobbled without all-American wideout Antonio Bryant. But the Panthers got Bryant back from injury, QB David Priestley got hot and they ended up winning five straight to qualify for a bowl, which they ended up winning as well.

The Panthers reward was more than just a trip to Orlando to play in the Tangerine Bowl. "It really helps a program rebuild itself to national prominence," says Panthers coach Walt Harris of being labeled a 'bowl team.' "It definitely enhances your recruiting."

It also gives coaches additional practice time to teach as well as find out what their younger players can do, while giving them a "carrot" for achieving a goal. "Coaches are always looking for ways to motivate," says West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez. "Of course, players have their education and a scholarship, but it's nice for them to get to play on TV, get the rings and the watches and get to see a different city."

The Big East is expected to be one of the conferences that gains with a possible matchup against an ACC team in the Queen City Bowl in Charlotte. A source close to the dealings says that bowl is most likely to be approved, with the San Francisco Bowl (between PAC-10 and Mountain West teams) also a near lock. The other new games could be in Hawaii and Fort Worth.

"People have to remember this is a business," says the source. "If the people in San Francisco think they can make money and bring money into their community, than they'll do it. And if critics don't think it's good for college football, go tell Pitt."

Sooners Booming
Losing Butkus winner Rocky Calmus is a big blow to Oklahoma, but the performance of JC transfer Lance Mitchell this spring has Sooner coaches feeling a lot better about their defense. The 6-foot-2, 252-pounder from mighty City College of San Francisco showed he has the potential to be a dominating force at OU. He is strong, fast and incredibly instinctive. Sooner DC Mike Stoops compares him a little to former OU standout Torrance Marshall, another JC transfer, but adds that since Mitchell arrived in time for spring ball, he is light years ahead of where Marshall was.

"He's got a chance to be a superstar," Stoops says of Mitchell. "He's just a natural."

	OU's Andre Woolfolk is among the best DBs in the country.

The Sooners were lucky to get Mitchell. Originally, he enrolled at Florida in January. But UF academic counselors determined Mitchell lacked an upper-level English credit, and wouldn't be eligible under SEC rules. So Mitchell would've had to sit out a year. His other option was to transfer. (The NCAA ruled that since the error was Florida's, not Mitchell's, he was clear to play right away.)

Mitchell's arrival enables OU to shift Teddy Lehman out of the middle and into Calmus' old slot.

One other huge bright spot for the OU defense this spring was the play of Sooner shut-down corner Andre Woolfolk. The former standout receiver, who played on offense and as a cornerback last season, is now 100 percent a DB and primed for a run at the Thorpe Award. "He had a great spring," says Stoops. "He's 6-1 1/2, 200 pounds, he runs between 4.32 and 4.38 and the thing that is so special about his is he has such field awareness."

All Riled Up
Devard Darling has the dramatic backstory. Part-time basketball star Mike Bush has the height. Anthony Buchanan, the Cougar who ran a wind-aided 10.16-second 100 meters for the Wazzu track team this month, has the world class wheels. But the receiver at Washington State who has the most potential is Jerome Riley. At least that's what coach Mike Price says. The 6-2, 185-pound senior, flashed some skills last season while getting settled after transferring in from L.A. Valley CC. But Price, who already has a deep stable of playmakers, gushes about what he thinks Riley will do now that he knows his offense.

"He tracks the ball as well as anyone I've ever had," says Price, "and he's probably as dangerous a runner after the catch as I've seen." In Wazzu's spring game, Riley didn't disappoint, making eight catches for 108 yards and two TDs.

Quick Hits
One of Indiana's big spring experiments, moving last season's starting TE Kris Dielman to DT, appears to be a stroke of genius for new coach Gerry DiNardo. Dielman, showed a good first step and was also aided by 17 more pounds of bulk (up to 284). He had 1.5 tackles for losses in the Hoosiers spring game and won a starting job as IU looks to bolster a unit that finished last in the Big Ten in 3rd down D (51 percent), was 10th in pass efficiency D and 7th in total defense. ... Don't write off heavily touted Arkansas TB Cedric Cobbs just yet. The all-world prep, who followed up being named as the Next big college football star by ESPN Magazine two years ago by winning MVP honors in the 2001 Cotton Bowl before a dismal season last year that ended with being arrested for drugs afterwards, had an excellent spring. A 4.3 guy who ran for 668 yards on just 116 carries two years ago, Cobbs had 33 yards on just three carries in UA's spring game. With the Hogs having a major question mark at QB, his re-emergence would be huge for Arkansas. ... Mississippi State fans don't have Wayne Madkin to kick around any more. The Bulldogs are finally Kevin Fant's team and the strong-armed junior looks like he has a taken a big stride forward. He got better each practice and finished by going 18-of-22 four TDs in the final scrimmage. ... Speaking of improving QBs, Cal's Kyle Boller, who continues to work with new coach Jeff Tedford to overhaul his mechanics and shorten his delivery, shined in the Golden Bears' spring game, going 10 of 11 for 154 yards and two TDs. And the one incomplete, a dropped ball, Tedford says might've been Boller's best throw of the day. Talent has never been the 6-4, 205-pound QB's problem (he has the Pac-10's most powerful arm), confidence and a competent supporting cast has. Both looked significantly better this spring. ... Often overlooked because he plays in Conference USA, Louisville's DeWayne White could be a 20-sack guy this fall. A former prep sensation as a TB, the 6-2, 275-pounder is the ultimate "motor" guy and showed again this spring why he is the game's most unblockable player. "DeWayne just never stops," says Cardinals QB Dave Ragone. "He's definitely an example of a kid who demonstrates hard work in the offseason translates into a great season." White had three sacks in U of L's spring game and established himself as a legit Lombardi/Outland favorite.

Bruce Feldman covers college football for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.