...the bowl game is virtually assured every year due to scheduling enough UNLVs, MTSU's, Idaho/Idaho St, Savannah St, etc. As for the comment that Lavell's era was less competitive that's debatable. There are currently something like 38 bowl games in college football with another 6-8 being proposed starting in 2015 and later. That basically means the top 80 or more teams in college football will be going to a bowl game and likely many with losing records will qualify.

In 1980 there were only 15 bowl games so you had to basically be in the top 30 or so to qualify for a bowl game. There were a number of 7 and 8 win teams that missed out on a bowl game every year. The whole reason we have the Fiesta Bowl in the first place is because a WAC team finished with 9 wins and got skipped over for a bowl game so they created the Fiesta Bowl with a tie in to the WAC to guarantee their conference champ went bowling.

That sounds a lot more competitive to me than finishing somewhere in the top 80-85 and likely with a losing record and still go bowling.