Every bowl game is important. But, really, they're not that important. A bowl game can be a springboard -- or banana peel -- leading into the next season. But it almost certainly doesn't connect one season to the next in any meaningful way, as a win or a loss can be spun as motivation going forward.
You can frame the bowl season however you wish. It's a Rorschach test, and media and fans offer myriad interpretations annually, interpretations that often have a shelf life that doesn't endure more than 24 hours after any particular bowl has been contested.