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Don’t tell that to Chuck Martin and the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks.

Not only did Martin and his crew win the Snoop Dogg ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl Presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop on Saturday — crushing Colorado State 43-17 at ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Stadium — they cherished every second they spent as a team in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.

“We know it’s our last ride together,â€� said fifth-year senior Kevin Davis, the MVP and latest unlikely hero of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl. “So to have that week together and do some activities, it was just a wonderful moment.â€�

Davis reveled in his 15 minutes of fame Saturday. The pint-sized (5-9, 170) but explosive running back rushed for a career-high 148 yards — nearly matching his season total (183) — in place of injured starter Keyon Mozee. Davis also had an 81-yard kickoff return. Postgame, he shared the stage with Snoop Dogg, who gave him a trophy, a gold chain and words of wisdom that Davis hilariously declined to reveal.

All Davis really wanted to talk about was being able to share the experience with his teammates.

“It’s like a dream come true. It doesn’t even feel real. But the biggest thing about it is I get to do it with the guys I love,� Davis said. “I’ve been here for five years. A lot of us have been here five, six years. So just going out like that with the guys that (have) been doing it all for the past few years alongside you, you can truly say that you fought with your brothers in every battle. To go out there and do it one last time, it’s just amazing.�

Playing in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl truly meant something to the RedHawks. Winning it provided them with one final opportunity to celebrate together — on the field, in the locker room, on the bus, on the plane. One final opportunity to sing the school fight song in triumph.

Why would we want to take that away from them?

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Too many bowl games, you say?

Don’t tell that to Jay Norvell and the Colorado State Rams.

Even though they ended up on the losing side, the Rams enjoyed a week they’ll never forget.

CSU fans showed up in force. Players participated in a clinic with kids from the Snoop Youth Football League — a full-circle moment for several SYFL alums who played for the 2024 Rams. They might not have received gold chains from Snoop Dogg, but he dapped them up before the game and hung out on their sideline.

“I thought it was fantastic,â€� Norvell said of his second ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl experience. “I really appreciate this bowl staff. It’s a great community here to have a bowl game. I thought the event with Snoop and the kids was fantastic for our guys. And I just thought the whole game atmosphere was really special.

“(In) this era of NIL and the transfer portal and all this stuff … I was very, very grateful this week that we had this opportunity.�

The normally upbeat Norvell couldn’t hide his disappointment in the way his team performed; CSU turned the ball over four times, leading to 19 Miami points. He also expressed gratitude for being able to coach this particular team one last time — and concern for where college football is headed.

NIL, the transfer portal and “all this stuff� are threatening to take over the sport — if they haven’t already — boosting its ratings but possibly robbing it of its soul.

“I’m old enough to where I appreciate football,� Norvell, 61, said. “Every single day I get to go to work, I appreciate it. And I just think it’s getting lost. The gratitude and the appreciation of being on a team and coaching college football and playing college football and being appreciative of your scholarship and the things that this university gives to you is what we’re trying to emphasize here at Colorado State. And it’s getting lost. We’re going to lose it.

“The greatest thing about college football are these young kids and when they put themselves on the line for each other. That’s why people come and see it. It’s becoming hard to coach and to put organizations together with people that care and that are respectful and that appreciate the opportunity that they have.

“We’re fighting like crazy to keep that.�

Norvell shared the postgame dais with departing seniors Avery Morrow and Henry Blackburn. More likely than not, they’ll never play football again. After the interviews were over, Blackburn shook hands and said thank you to every media member in attendance — even the ones he’d never met before.

“These two guys are the greatest examples of college football,� Norvell said. “They’ve overcome obstacles. They’ve led their teammates. I’m just so proud to have coached both of these guys and we’ve got a lot of guys in the locker room like that.�

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Too many bowl games, you say?

Don’t tell that to Kym Adair and Ali Farhang.

The two ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl executives have poured their hearts into ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s bowl game for a decade. With the help of their staff and this community, they’ve transformed it from an idea into an institution.

The game has changed over the years, no doubt. While lacking the walk-off drama of several previous ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowls, this might have been the best one ever.

“T³ó¾±²õ has been the best one ever,â€� Farhang said in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Stadium press box while waiting to escort Snoop Dogg to the field for an unforgettable postgame presentation.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, staffers placed rubber mats on the turf in the northwest corner of the stadium. Up the tunnel, a shimmering, turquoise 1964 Chevy Impala convertible was idling. Moments later, that lowrider would roll onto the field.

Snoop Dogg sat in the back, wearing an ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl jacket and track suit and clutching the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl trophy. It was the climax to a day that was as much a spectacle as a football game — a viral-moment-seeking necessity to survival for “lower-tierâ€� bowls.

No one ever had experienced anything quite like it — least of all Martin, who turns 57 on Jan. 8 and dubbed himself “one lame human being� who wears “the same sweatshirt and same sweatpants every day, all year, unless I have to get dressed up.�

Yet there he was, side by side on a stage with Snoop Dogg, who bequeathed him and every Miami RedHawk a Death Row Records chain. Knowing how uncool he is, Martin’s wife thought the whole scene was hysterical.

“Who in the world is cooler than Snoop?� Martin wondered. “I’m sitting in the back of this vehicle. My wife is like, ‘What a complete imbecile.’ But it was a moment you’ll remember forever.�

What brought this odd couple together? The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl. Miami athletic director David Sayler said Friday that he’d been trying for four years to get his team to ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. He’d heard good things. He and the RedHawks experienced them all week long, including a lively crowd announced at 40,076 — an ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl record.

“You watch all these bowl games, there’s no one at any of them. That’s just normal. They got this town to rally behind this bowl and fill this place — totally different experience for these guys,� Martin said.

“The pride they take in this shows with every turn you make. Everything is just done a little bit better. We’ve had great bowl experiences everywhere we’ve ever been. But this is just (an) upgrade, from the players’ lounge to the events. Everything they do is pretty cool.�

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Too many bowl games, you say?

I get it. They aren’t all down-to-the-wire gems. Opt-outs are abundant. The “offseason� calendar is a mess.

They are, for the most part, programming for ESPN. The bigger the College Football Playoff gets, the less impactful they become.

But to the players who’ll never play football again — which is most of them — they matter. Did you see the exchanging tearful hugs after outlasting San Jose State in the Hawaii Bowl?

For a city like ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, they matter. The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl is a showcase for our town. It’s a boon for our economy, selling out hotels and filling up restaurants.

The world of college sports has changed, but the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl’s mission remains the same: In the season of giving, it’s all about giving back to charitable causes.

More changes are coming in 2026; most postseason contractual arrangements expire at the end of next season.

Bowl season might be downsized. Maybe some fat needs to be trimmed.

The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Bowl isn’t going anywhere. Nor should it. It’s bigger, better and — contrary to what you might hear about other bowl games — more meaningful than ever.