Bowl Selections

[XUOWNSUC]

I'm starting a new thread about the bowl selections. I don't think it should be in the big-12 championship thread.

Man I really hope the Fiesta doesn't pick Boise St. versus TCU as is being predicted. That would suck. I want to see how these so-called "mid-majors" would do against the traditional powers - not against each other.

I do hope the Florida and uc get macthed together in Sugar.

What do you guys think?

[gladdenguy]

Yeah, TCU vs Boise St would be a disgrace. Its just like matching up 2 non BCS schools in the first round of the tourney. I don't like it.
Alabama should win the National Title. (Rose NC)
Oregon should beat Ohio State. (Rose)
Florida will rake UC. (Sugar)
Orange and Fiesta (Georgia Tech, Boise St, TCU, Iowa or Penn St)
If Boise and TCU are split up they would probably both win.

[XUglow]

I would love to see Boise State and TCU play different teams and win their respective games. I think TCU is much better than BSU, but I believe both teams are pretty good.

UC is at a real size disadvantage with Florida, but Kelly said that the size difference wouldn't matter for one game. I have no doubt that UC will be really, really pumped up to play, and you have to wonder if Florida will bring the same intensity. UC will have a chance to finish 2nd in the nation. That is really hard to believe.

I think that Oregon / Ohio State could turn out to be a pretty good game, and I would really like to see TCU's defense against GaTech's offense. TCU will score against Tech, so it will boil down to TCU slowing down Paul Johnson's offense.

I think the Mountain West has earned the right to have a guaranteed BCS slot. If nothing else, I hope that changes for next year.

[boozehound]

I would love to see Boise State and TCU play different teams and win their respective games. I think TCU is much better than BSU, but I believe both teams are pretty good.

UC is at a real size disadvantage with Florida, but Kelly said that the size difference wouldn't matter for one game. I have no doubt that UC will be really, really pumped up to play, and you have to wonder if Florida will bring the same intensity. UC will have a chance to finish 2nd in the nation. That is really hard to believe.

I think that Oregon / Ohio State could turn out to be a pretty good game, and I would really like to see TCU's defense against GaTech's offense. TCU will score against Tech, so it will boil down to TCU slowing down Paul Johnson's offense.

I think the Mountain West has earned the right to have a guaranteed BCS slot. If nothing else, I hope that changes for next year.

They seem to be at least as good as the Big East...

[XUglow]

They seem to be at least as good as the Big Ten...

Fixed that for you...

[gladdenguy]

Well, the terrible Big 10 has more than one playing in the BCS games. Only the SEC can say that. Not too shabby.

[XUglow]

Well, the terrible Big 10 has more than one playing in the BCS games. Only the SEC can say that. Not too shabby.

No one said they were terrible. For the last 2 years, the MWC champ has been at least as good at the champs of several other conferences, thus, I think they have earned the right to have their champ automatically in the mix.

[D-West & PO-Z]

No one said they were terrible. For the last 2 years, the MWC champ has been at least as good at the champs of several other conferences, thus, I think they have earned the right to have their champ automatically in the mix.

You implied that the Big East was better though. Not sure that is true.

[XUglow]

You implied that the Big East was better though. Not sure that is true.

Totally confused. I implied that the Big East was better than what? My point is about the MWC only. 2 years running with an undefeated team in a BCS bowl. I think it is time for them to get an automatic bid.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Totally confused. I implied that the Big East was better than what? My point is about the MWC only. 2 years running with an undefeated team in a BCS bowl. I think it is time for them to get an automatic bid.

Ok, I thought with you post where you edited Big East to Big Ten was saying that you thought the Big Ten was worse, but I see that you were just trying to point out that you thought the MWC was better than the Big East. My bad.

[X-band '01]

Yeah, TCU vs Boise St would be a disgrace. Its just like matching up 2 non BCS schools in the first round of the tourney. I don't like it.


Lo and behold, there's your Fiesta Bowl.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Lo and behold, there's your Fiesta Bowl.

I would have like to see each take down BCS conference teams but if you think about it this is probably a better match up than you would have gotten with one playing Iowa/Penn St and the other playing GT.

[THRILLHOUSE]

I would have like to see each take down BCS conference teams but if you think about it this is probably a better match up than you would have gotten with one playing Iowa/Penn St and the other playing GT.

One should have been matched up vs. Florida and the other vs. UC. TCU-BSU having to play each other is a joke.

[Juice]

One should have been matched up vs. Florida and the other vs. UC. TCU-BSU having to play each other is a joke.

I wonder if a conspiracy theory will be started by the Mountain West saying that the BCS is hurting their chances for being included as a automatic conference by having them play Boise St. What helped the conference last year was Utah whooping up on Alabama, and now this year TCU cannot play a big 6 conference to strengthen their argument.

[D-West & PO-Z]

One should have been matched up vs. Florida and the other vs. UC. TCU-BSU having to play each other is a joke.

But then we wouldnt get to see UC get smashed by Florida! But I suspect TCU may have done the same thing to UC.

[vee4xu]

One should have been matched up vs. Florida and the other vs. UC. TCU-BSU having to play each other is a joke.

The BCS may be worried about risking too much by splitting BSU and TCU. Given that Boise beat Oklahoma and Utah beat Alabama, pitting UC and FLA versus BSU and TCU in separate games risks giving more credibility to non-BCS schools which fans the fire of controversy for yet another year. By placing BSU and TCU in the same game the BCS committee essentially says this is the non-BCS BCS game. So, enjoy your seat at the kiddies table. Also, if the game does not draw a big crowd it also helps the BCS committee's argument to overlook these kinds of teams in future years. It seems to me that the runners-up in the conference championship games are off a bit in the BCS games. Back to my examples of OK and Alabama. It will be interesting this year when Florida plays UC. The Gators are going to be down and feeling like this is some kind of consolation game. Whereas UC is going in there representing the Big East as champs. Psychologically that could have an effect on both teams.

[D-West & PO-Z]

The BCS may be worried about risking too much by splitting BSU and TCU. Given that Boise beat Oklahoma and Utah beat Alabama, pitting UC and FLA versus BSU and TCU in separate games risks giving more credibility to non-BCS schools which fans the fire of controversy for yet another year. By placing BSU and TCU in the same game the BCS committee essentially says this is the non-BCS BCS game. So, enjoy your seat at the kiddies table. Also, if the game does not draw a big crowd it also helps the BCS committee's argument to overlook these kinds of teams in future years. It seems to me that the runners-up in the conference championship games are off a bit in the BCS games. Back to my examples of OK and Alabama. It will be interesting this year when Florida plays UC. The Gators are going to be down and feeling like this is some kind of consolation game. Whereas UC is going in there representing the Big East as champs. Psychologically that could have an effect on both teams.

Tebow will not let himself go out a loser. He Is going to be one pissed, determined dude.

[THRILLHOUSE]

The Gators are going to be down and feeling like this is some kind of consolation game. Whereas UC is going in there representing the Big East as champs. Psychologically that could have an effect on both teams.

Don't see that happening. As much as I can't stand the media's love for Tebow, he will have that team fired up and will want to end his college career on a high note. Plus if UC's defense cant contain UConn and Pitt, Florida will tear it apart.

[Juice]

Tebow will not let himself go out a loser. He Is going to be one pissed, determined dude.

http://statsheet.com/images/articles/cfb/2009/3/200903251946712168708-p2.jpeg

[BENWAR]

http://statsheet.com/images/articles/cfb/2009/3/200903251946712168708-p2.jpeg

I'm surprised it's not covered with tear drops.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I'm surprised it's not covered with tear drops.

You have to admit, pretty badass. That dude is going to shit on UC. I almost feel sorry for them.

[kyxu]

I'm surprised it's not covered with tear drops.

No kidding. Does that guy ever lose a game where he doesn't sob his face off to the media afterwards? This is why I hate Tim Tebow. Every thing he does, every emotion he feels, is some incredible story we're all supposed to care about and admire.

[danaandvictory]

Given that Boise beat Oklahoma and Utah beat Alabama, pitting UC and FLA versus BSU and TCU in separate games risks giving more credibility to non-BCS schools which fans the fire of controversy for yet another year. By placing BSU and TCU in the same game the BCS committee essentially says this is the non-BCS BCS game. So, enjoy your seat at the kiddies table. Also, if the game does not draw a big crowd it also helps the BCS committee's argument to overlook these kinds of teams in future years.

I hate to wear the tinfoil hat, but I think this is exactly right. Historically the Fiesta Bowl has a very strong relationship with the University of Iowa and they always will take the Hawkeyes when possible. The fact that the Fiesta Bowl passed on Iowa not once but twice in favor of non-BCS teams indicates to me that the order came down from on high to segregate BSU and TCU.

Yet another example of how a wonderful game can be irreparably tainted by an unfair, arbitrary, stupid system. I hope Bama shits on Texas, because the Longhorns have no business in this game. They got bailed out on a non-reviewable call after crapping the bed against Nebraska. Either UC or TCU has as much claim to a championship shot as UT.

[vee4xu]

I too think if anyone can overcome the heartbreak of runner-up status it is Tebow. Being a Buckeye football fan I have no love for Tebow. But, I do respect his determination and commitment to winning. Also, I have to wonder what happens to UC if Kelly is named ND coach between now and the game. I also agree that UC has no defense which plays into Florida's hands. Especially since UC has not played a defense like Florida's, the Alabama game notwithstanding.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I too think if anyone can overcome the heartbreak of runner-up status it is Tebow. Being a Buckeye football fan I have no love for Tebow. But, I do respect his determination and commitment to winning. Also, I have to wonder what happens to UC if Kelly is named ND coach between now and the game. I also agree that UC has no defense which plays into Florida's hands. Especially since UC has not played a defense like Florida's, the Alabama game notwithstanding.

Ya, I honestly see no situation where this game is even close. UC is one dimensional on offense and really has no defense. I think it is going to be really ugly.

[Snipe]

UC leapfrogged TCU in the BCS standings. They were one second away from playing for the national championship. Had the field goal been two feet to the left UC would be playing Alabama for all the marbles. I think that is incredible. If UC can beat Florida, they will end up #2 in the nation.

I don't think that they will beat Florida, but I would love to see them make it a game. What a great year.

[Snipe]

I also have a question re Boise and TCU.

Do the winners of bowl games get more money than the losers? Or do they both get the same amount?

It could be a monetary incentive if the winners got more money. You wouldn't want both Boise and TCU taking all of that BCS money away from the big kids. I don't know how the money is handled.

[waggy]

Pretty sure all the payouts are same for all teams in the 5 BCS bowls.

[TheDanimal]

I think being in the same bowl game actually helps TCU/BSU from a payout standpoint. Each BCS bowl has the same total payout (probably around $35-$36million this year) that is split between the participants. There is no consideration of who wins in the split, but it is not necessarily equal. Because of conference tie-ins to particular bowl games, a team from that conference often receives a greater share of the total bowl money. Since niether team has a contractual tie in, BSU and TCU will probably slit right down the middle, giving them each more money than they may have otherwise gotten if paired against different opponents.

[pizza delivery]

UC leapfrogged TCU in the BCS standings. They were one second away from playing for the national championship. Had the field goal been two feet to the left UC would be playing Alabama for all the marbles. I think that is incredible. If UC can beat Florida, they will end up #2 in the nation.

I don't think that they will beat Florida, but I would love to see them make it a game. What a great year.

If by some miracle UC blows out FLA, ala OK vs WVU a few years back, AND Alabama loses to TX in a real boring 16-14 turnover riddled mess, maybe UC can split the polls?

[PM Thor]

If by some miracle UC blows out FLA, ala OK vs WVU a few years back, AND Alabama loses to TX in a real boring 16-14 turnover riddled mess, maybe UC can split the polls?

I would love that, just to prove how sad the BCS system really is.

Also, while statistically it's correct to have TCU vs Boise St, it riles me up that these two have face one another. Put it in context, if these two faced each other in the second week of the year, it would barely register on the national scene, but if they faced BCS schools?

I HATE dayton.

[D-West & PO-Z]

If by some miracle UC blows out FLA, ala OK vs WVU a few years back, AND Alabama loses to TX in a real boring 16-14 turnover riddled mess, maybe UC can split the polls?

TCU is still ahead in both human polls. If TCU blows out BSU I dont think UC would jump ahead. Maybe with a blowout of FL but I think most people really think that TCU is better than UC. I do as well.

[Snipe]

If by some miracle UC blows out FLA, ala OK vs WVU a few years back, AND Alabama loses to TX in a real boring 16-14 turnover riddled mess, maybe UC can split the polls?

It would be tough to split the polls, not that I am much of an expert on the polls. I am not.

UC did finish 2nd overall in the computer rankings. That is impressive. Texas was #2 in the preseason poll. Florida was #1. Alabama was #5. Cincinnati was unranked in the preseason poll. It doesn't matter if you have better computer rankings if all those top 5 teams go undefeated all year long. UC never had a chance in that respect.

If you look at UC vs Texas, UC had three wins over teams in the BCS rankings that were higher than any win that Texas had, BCS #16, 17 & 18, West Virginia, Pitt and Oregon St. Had UC started the year #2 and Texas out of the rankings, Texas would have never had a chance. In that way you could argue the national title is heavily influenced by the preseason polls. Glad basketball doesn't have any of that.

The incredible story is that over the course of the season UC had an incredible journey with some memorable games. And it came down to the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday night. It came down to the last second of the game. UC was still in the hunt for the title game on what was effectively the last play of the College football regular season. It is staggering that Coach Kelly could have pulled that off. It is amazing.

The Big East did pretty well this year in the polls and in the bowl games. They had nobody ranked in the preseason and three teams that ended up ranked.

6 of the 8 members are going to bowl games, Rutgers, Pitt, West Virginia, Cincinnati, South Florida, and UConn. When 75% of your conference goes to bowl games, that is quite a feat. And since they only have 8 members, they have a lot of bowl money to divy out to each member. By my count the total payouts for all those bowls will be over 22.5 million, and divided by 8 that is almost a cool 3 million per school.

I think that Big East football is a lot better than some people here want to give credit.

[xubrew]

I also have a question re Boise and TCU.

Do the winners of bowl games get more money than the losers? Or do they both get the same amount?

It could be a monetary incentive if the winners got more money. You wouldn't want both Boise and TCU taking all of that BCS money away from the big kids. I don't know how the money is handled.

the payouts are to the conferences and not the teams. it makes no difference who wins.

in the case of cincinnati, they're getting $17 million to split eight ways. what sucks about boise state and tcu is that the money shared among all non-bcs teams, not just the wac or mwc. so, it's $17 million that is being split close to 60 ways. well, since two non-bcs conference teams got in the payout will be $22 million divided 60 ways, but still...

[xubrew]

I hate to wear the tinfoil hat, but I think this is exactly right. Historically the Fiesta Bowl has a very strong relationship with the University of Iowa and they always will take the Hawkeyes when possible. The fact that the Fiesta Bowl passed on Iowa not once but twice in favor of non-BCS teams indicates to me that the order came down from on high to segregate BSU and TCU.

Yet another example of how a wonderful game can be irreparably tainted by an unfair, arbitrary, stupid system. I hope Bama shits on Texas, because the Longhorns have no business in this game. They got bailed out on a non-reviewable call after crapping the bed against Nebraska. Either UC or TCU has as much claim to a championship shot as UT.

cheese, i don't know what you're talking about. iowa has never been to the fiesta bowl, and the play that bailed texas out was reviewable. in fact, they reviewed it.

the fiesta bowl virtually selected boise state over a week ago. when the bowl committee is at most of their home games and seen talkign with university officials, it's obvious who they're going to invite. as far as i know they never showed even the slightest interest in iowa. they never really have. iowa has never been. i kind of wish they had selected iowa or penn state and matched them up with boise state, but they didn't. i also wish nebraska would have won. that would have matched nebraska up with boise and sent tcu to the orange bowl and uc to the national title game. the fiesta was going to take boise, though. they considered taking them last year, but didn't want to pass up the opportunity of matching ohio state with texas.

what's strange is that boise and tcu played last year in the poinsetta bowl. both teams were ranked #11 and #9, yet the game drew less than 25,000 fans and scored low tv ratings. more people will watch the fiesta bowl given the novelty of it being a bcs game, but it's still not all that interesting to the general public.

[jdm2000]

cheese, i don't know what you're talking about. iowa has never been to the fiesta bowl, and the play that bailed texas out was reviewable. in fact, they reviewed it.



I think he is probably talking about the fact that, per the Big XII rule book (at least as I have seen it quoted elsewhere today), the amount of time on the clock is only reviewable if a play is being reviewed and reversed (e.g., you reverse a pass to an incompletion, so you need to see what amount of time is on the clock at the time the ball is not caught, you can change the time then). There was no change of any underlying play in the Big XII championship game; they reviewed it only to see what the clock should say.

(This is all taken from comments I have seen around the 'net today from some angry Nebraska fans.)

[xudash]

TCU v. Boise State IS a travesty.

Otherwise, I have no doubt that Urban Meyer will not allow Florida to pull another 'versus Michigan' to end the season in a train wreck. Tebow will be a huge part of that.

Florida is going to bomb UC back into the stone ages and UC is going to lose its coach in the process. I'm not a UC fan or hater when it comes to football, but this is going to be a terrible outcome in terms of how this season is going to end for their program.

[xubrew]

the sec is clearly better than the big east.

having said that, i don't think this year's version of the sec is quite as dominant as people think, nor do i think the big east is as weak as people think. three of the eight big east teams finished the season ranked, and none of them began the season in the rankings. they weren't aided by any sort of past reputation. they earned it. the sec only had three teams finish in the rankings as well.

i think cincinnati is as good or better than south carolina, tennessee, arkansas, mississippi state and even lsu. florida didn't blow any of those teams out of the water. in fact they were damn lucky to win a couple of those.

i think florida is better than cincinnati and will end up winning, but i don't think it will be a blowout. i'd go so far to say that i wouldn't be too surprised if uc won. if i had to pick one or the other it would clearly be florida, but cincinnati beating florida is far less surprising than say florida state or vanderbilt beating them. it isn't completely out of the rhelm of possibility. nebraska beating texas, which they almost did, would have been far more surprising to me than uc beating florida.

[XUglow]

Brew, the SEC was 42-6 against OOC competition. Of the 6 losses, Vandy lost 2 games, and Miss. St. lost 2 games. Vandy lost to Army and Ga Tech. MSU lost to Ga Tech and Houston. Georgia lost at Oklahoma State. Tennessee lost at home to UCLA. That's it.

MSU finished the season 11th in the conference and #45 in the Sagarin ratings. By the Sagarin ratings, they would have been 5th in the Big East and 5th in the Big Ten. The SEC has 8 of the top 28 teams. You cannot always go by the human rankings. Look at the last week of the season. 2 unranked SEC teams knocked off ranked ACC teams.

The SEC was really, really good this year. Vandy was really, really bad.

[xubrew]

Brew, the SEC was 42-6 against OOC competition. Of the 6 losses, Vandy lost 2 games, and Miss. St. lost 2 games. Vandy lost to Army and Ga Tech. MSU lost to Ga Tech and Houston. Georgia lost at Oklahoma State. Tennessee lost at home to UCLA. That's it.

MSU finished the season 11th in the conference and #45 in the Sagarin ratings. By the Sagarin ratings, they would have been 5th in the Big East and 5th in the Big Ten. The SEC has 8 of the top 28 teams. You cannot always go by the human rankings. Look at the last week of the season. 2 unranked SEC teams knocked off ranked ACC teams.

The SEC was really, really good this year. Vandy was really, really bad.

the big east was 32-8 with louisville and syracuse counting for half the losses. that's not as good, but it's not as if they're hundreds of miles apart either.

the sec played a grand total of seven road games and three neutral site games. the vast majority of the wins were home games against weak teams.

i concede that the sec is better. i'm just saying it isn't worlds apart from the big east. if you look at what each league did out of conference, the difference isn't nearly as great as you're making it out to be.

[XUglow]

I like Big East football. It is fun to watch. Most of the teams are very competitive. Nothing will be world's apart as long as there are scholarship limits, but the SEC is about as far apart as it is going to get. Outside of Vandy, it is hard to find much wrong with the direction of the individual teams.

[danaandvictory]

cheese, i don't know what you're talking about. iowa has never been to the fiesta bowl, and the play that bailed texas out was reviewable. in fact, they reviewed it.

Holy shit, I just realized I was reading an Iowa blog talking about Penn State and assumed they were referring to Iowa. I'm a moron. Penn State, obviously, has a long relationship with the Fiesta Bowl.

As for the other thing, there was some argument over whether the timing was reviewable under Big 12 rules as opposed to NCAA rules. But you're right, the day after that post they had a Big 12 rep on ESPN and they confirmed the ref's decision.

[xubrew]

glow, again, i'm not disputing that the sec is tougher, and that florida is better. i think the sec is a better conference and i think florida will win the sugar bowl. what i don't agree with is that florida is so much better that they will bomb uc back to the stone age or blow them out of the water. i think uc will be able to move the ball against the florida defense. arkansas had just under 360 yards against florida, and i think cincinnati matches up even better than arkansas does.

cincinnati is definitely good enough to give florida a good game. it's not as if they don't even belong on the field. they do. cincinnati had a much easier time with oregon state than oregon did, and cincinnati won that game on the road. winning that game, and winning at pitt are two very solid road wins. it's the only games either of those teams lost at home.

again, for the third time, i'm not picking uc to win the game. i'm just saying they definitely belong on the field. they are capable of competing and an upset wouldn't shock me all that much. to just say that they are going to get blown out of the place isn't giving them nearly enough credit.

[Kahns Krazy]

Without Kelly on the sidelines, UC's chances I think are near zero. If Kelly is there, I give them maybe a 20% chance.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Without Kelly on the sidelines, UC's chances I think are near zero. If Kelly is there, I give them maybe a 20% chance.

They are pretty much zero either way.

[xu95]

UC leapfrogged TCU in the BCS standings. They were one second away from playing for the national championship. Had the field goal been two feet to the left UC would be playing Alabama for all the marbles. I think that is incredible. If UC can beat Florida, they will end up #2 in the nation.

I don't think that they will beat Florida, but I would love to see them make it a game. What a great year.


I would have loved to see Alabama literally beat the shit out of UC. I hate those fuckers.

xu95

[xu95]

If by some miracle UC blows out FLA, ala OK vs WVU a few years back, AND Alabama loses to TX in a real boring 16-14 turnover riddled mess, maybe UC can split the polls?

Let's not get all crazy here. There is a reason why the line is the largest on the Sugar Bowl.

xu95

[xu95]

There isn't any conspiracy theories here. The BCS guidelines state that the BCS determines who will be in the national championship game. The host schools then get picked for their respective bowls (ie. SEC to the Sugar Bowl, Pac 10 and Big 10 to the Rose Bowl). The bowls than pick from the pool of qualifying BCS teams in some reverse order of the last time they hosted the NC.

Why the Fiesta Bowl would pick both of those schools is beyond me, but they did it on their own.

xu95

[Kahns Krazy]

They are pretty much zero either way.

If they are pretty much zero, how much are you putting on the Florida money line at -450? Guaranteed money, right?

[D-West & PO-Z]

If they are pretty much zero, how much are you putting on the Florida money line at -450? Guaranteed money, right?

Not sure when pretty much zero meant a guarantee. Absolutely zero would mean that though. :D

Plus I have no money.