Army invited to a bowl - before the season even begins!

One last preseason college football note: what if your team was invited to a postseason bowl game before the season even began?

That's exactly what's happened to Army. The new Poinsetta Bowl, in San Diego, has invited the Black Knights to participate in their game should they end the season with at least six wins.

It won't be easy for Army. They went 4-7 last season and have road games against Texas A&M and Notre Dame, a home contest against TCU, and their annual service academy rivalry games against Air Force and Navy. Even some of the lesser names on their schedule will be tough: Arkansas State won their conference last year, Connecticut is (at least technically speaking) a BCS school and, as bad as Baylor might be, even that trip to Waco will be formidable for the Black Knights. However, they also play a few real lightweights: Kent State, VMI, Rice and Tulane. Whether they can actually fulfill their early bowl invitation is anyone's guess at this point.

I like Army. I enjoyed playing them every year when they were in Conference USA, and I even watched them play the Coogs once at Michie Stadium in West Point. That is a beautiful place to watch a football game, by the way. However odd their preseason bowl invitation might sound, I hope they can make it a reality.