ESPN Bowl Predictions

[ericsaid]

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
Dec. 21, 9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Appalachian State vs. Marshall
Schlabach: Appalachian State vs. Louisiana Tech

Just read this on ESPN. Probably not horrible opponents if we don’t get the biggie

Louisiana Tech hasn't played anyone but Texas. Their schedule is absolute garbage and going 6-1 would likely be expected of the Top 4 or 5 in the Sun Belt right now....it's baddddd.

Agreed on their schedule, however at least it would make for livelier environment than the handful of fans MTSU brought to NOLA.

It would be interesting to see how involved Tech's fans would be for that game, for sure.

Personally, I dislike the decision by the Sun Belt to agree to send the conference champion each years without consideration to the other tie in.

[AppSt94]

ericsaid:

"surely the Sun Belt would market App to a larger bowl than New Orleans?"

Not a bad theory but in order for that to happen, the Sun Belt would need to be able to fill it's five bowl slots without App. A lot of football to be played but will there be enough teams make it to six wins?

[EastHallApp]

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
Dec. 21, 9 p.m., ESPN
Bonagura: Appalachian State vs. Marshall
Schlabach: Appalachian State vs. Louisiana Tech

Just read this on ESPN. Probably not horrible opponents if we don’t get the biggie

Louisiana Tech hasn't played anyone but Texas. Their schedule is absolute garbage and going 6-1 would likely be expected of the Top 4 or 5 in the Sun Belt right now....it's baddddd.

Agreed on their schedule, however at least it would make for livelier environment than the handful of fans MTSU brought to NOLA.

It would be interesting to see how involved Tech's fans would be for that game, for sure.

Personally, I dislike the decision by the Sun Belt to agree to send the conference champion each years without consideration to the other tie in.

Had to be done though, or something like it. They couldn’t go on giving no reward at all to the league champ in terms of bowl destination. Especially with us dominating the league but always being at a geographical disadvantage for bowl selection.

Hopefully the tie-ins are a work in progress. What I’d really like would be for the four G5 champions who don’t get the NY6 bid to pair off and play each other in bowls that rotate annually among 4-6 games, similar to the CFP semis. Make them all in destination cities, ideally using existing games where you already have tie-ins (e.g., NOLA, Vegas, Orlando).

[APPdiesel]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

Some people here still don't quite understand the bowl system. I give AJ and Big C credit for talking at length to David Jackson about this on their last BGP lounge episode...bowl tie-ins are what they are and unless ESPN gets involved and offers a boat load of money to give up their top team (unlikely), a bowl is not going to release a sell-able asset to go play somewhere else. So talking about what-if scenarios is really a waste of your time.

Our prospects are:
1) Cotton Bowl if we win out and get selected as the G5's NY6 rep,
2) New Orleans Bowl if we win the conference championship game but aren't selected as the G5 NY6 rep
3) Montgomery or Mobile if we lose the CCG
4) Orlando if poo poo hits the fan.

[General Moore]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

Some people here still don't quite understand the bowl system. I give AJ and Big C credit for talking at length to David Jackson about this on their last BGP lounge episode...bowl tie-ins are what they are and unless ESPN gets involved and offers a boat load of money to give up their top team (unlikely), a bowl is not going to release a sell-able asset to go play somewhere else. So talking about what-if scenarios is really a waste of your time.

Our prospects are:
1) Cotton Bowl if we win out and get selected as the G5's NY6 rep,
2) New Orleans Bowl if we win the conference championship game but aren't selected as the G5 NY6 rep
3) Montgomery or Mobile if we lose the CCG
4) Orlando if poo poo hits the fan.

^^^ Yep. What he said. ^^^

[bigdaddyg]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

[EastHallApp]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

No, it isn’t, but maybe I wasn’t clear on that.

I’m talking about two bowl games per year pairing off the G5 conference champions. Not semifinals; no third “final” game in which the winners would play each other. Just two bowls, same as we have now, except they’d be champion vs. champion instead of champion vs. 3rd place team or whatever.

I’m not in favor of a G5 playoff either.

[EastHallApp]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

[AppSt94]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

Not trying to be a contrarian but I would think that the Sun Belt and NOB would be OK with replacing the Champ with say Louisiana. Again, it has never been done and I don't think that it necessarily gets done here, but should we get 6 teams to 6 wins then it gives the conference an option to get all six to a bowl and replacing App with Lewziana probably sells more tickets.

[EastHallApp]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

Not trying to be a contrarian but I would think that the Sun Belt and NOB would be OK with replacing the Champ with say Louisiana. Again, it has never been done and I don't think that it necessarily gets done here, but should we get 6 teams to 6 wins then it gives the conference an option to get all six to a bowl and replacing App with Lewziana probably sells more tickets.

Yes, but where does App go in that scenario?

[AppSt94]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

Not trying to be a contrarian but I would think that the Sun Belt and NOB would be OK with replacing the Champ with say Louisiana. Again, it has never been done and I don't think that it necessarily gets done here, but should we get 6 teams to 6 wins then it gives the conference an option to get all six to a bowl and replacing App with Lewziana probably sells more tickets.

Yes, but where does App go in that scenario?

It would depend on which conference(s) don't fill their quota but probably something like the Birmingham Bowl or even the Belk Bowl. It would be too early to tell now. However, I don't see the SB getting 6 teams to 6 wins.

[AppSt94]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

Not trying to be a contrarian but I would think that the Sun Belt and NOB would be OK with replacing the Champ with say Louisiana. Again, it has never been done and I don't think that it necessarily gets done here, but should we get 6 teams to 6 wins then it gives the conference an option to get all six to a bowl and replacing App with Lewziana probably sells more tickets.

Yes, but where does App go in that scenario?

It would depend on which conference(s) don't fill their quota but probably something like the Birmingham Bowl or even the Belk Bowl. It would be too early to tell now. However, I don't see the SB getting 6 teams to 6 wins.

[MountainMan2020]

ESPN owns about half the bowls. ESPN televises over 80% of the bowls. ESPN runs college football. ESPN is part of Disney. ESPN is all about money. Fanbases, eyeballs, equal money. Appalachian State University will not bring eyeballs to a NY6 Bowl game. ESPN is the CFP Committee. Do the math.

I didn’t need math to figure out your bad take. Western Michigan and Northern Illinois don’t bring any more “eyeballs” than App would to a NY6 game.

[Appftw]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

Some people here still don't quite understand the bowl system. I give AJ and Big C credit for talking at length to David Jackson about this on their last BGP lounge episode...bowl tie-ins are what they are and unless ESPN gets involved and offers a boat load of money to give up their top team (unlikely), a bowl is not going to release a sell-able asset to go play somewhere else. So talking about what-if scenarios is really a waste of your time.

Our prospects are:
1) Cotton Bowl if we win out and get selected as the G5's NY6 rep,
2) New Orleans Bowl if we win the conference championship game but aren't selected as the G5 NY6 rep
3) Montgomery or Mobile if we lose the CCG
4) Orlando if poo poo hits the fan.

The loser of the CCG last year was guaranteed a spot in Orlando. Has that changed for this year?

[EastHallApp]

Didn’t scroll through everything but wouldn’t it behoove the Sunbelt for App to play in a more lucrative bowl game?

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

Not trying to be a contrarian but I would think that the Sun Belt and NOB would be OK with replacing the Champ with say Louisiana. Again, it has never been done and I don't think that it necessarily gets done here, but should we get 6 teams to 6 wins then it gives the conference an option to get all six to a bowl and replacing App with Lewziana probably sells more tickets.

Yes, but where does App go in that scenario?

It would depend on which conference(s) don't fill their quota but probably something like the Birmingham Bowl or even the Belk Bowl. It would be too early to tell now. However, I don't see the SB getting 6 teams to 6 wins.

See, IF something like this ever happened, I don't think it would depend on which other conferences don't fill their quotas, or whether the Sun Belt gets an extra team eligible. That stuff happens every year, and the way it's solved isn't to take the BEST team from the leagues who have extra - they've already been selected by that league's primary tie-ins. It's the leftover teams that no one else wanted who fill the leftover bowl slots.

What we're talking about, again, would require specific maneuvering by ESPN. If they're going to go to that trouble (and expense), it's because they think we're a potential draw for TV ratings and/or tickets that's being wasted in New Orleans. If they make that determination (and I'm not sure they would), why do so just to send us to some third-tier bowl to play a 6-6 or 7-5 opponent? They'd likely want to match us up with a ranked opponent with some name value.

It's uncharted territory, so admittedly no one really knows how it would work. Major long shot anyway.

[EastHallApp]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

Some people here still don't quite understand the bowl system. I give AJ and Big C credit for talking at length to David Jackson about this on their last BGP lounge episode...bowl tie-ins are what they are and unless ESPN gets involved and offers a boat load of money to give up their top team (unlikely), a bowl is not going to release a sell-able asset to go play somewhere else. So talking about what-if scenarios is really a waste of your time.

Our prospects are:
1) Cotton Bowl if we win out and get selected as the G5's NY6 rep,
2) New Orleans Bowl if we win the conference championship game but aren't selected as the G5 NY6 rep
3) Montgomery or Mobile if we lose the CCG
4) Orlando if poo poo hits the fan.

The loser of the CCG last year was guaranteed a spot in Orlando. Has that changed for this year?

That was only guaranteed for last year. That said, if App did happen to lose the CCG, I'm certain we'd prefer Orlando to either of the AL games, and I bet the league would try to accommodate us since getting sent back to Bama with 11 or 12 wins while somebody like Georgia State goes to Disney World would add insult to injury.

[AppSt94]

Sure, but if the Sun Belt could make better bowl tie-ins happen on their own, they’d do so.

As Appdiesel says, the only way something like that happens would be if ESPN makes it happen, and I don’t know of any examples where they’ve done something like that. Though again, they were reportedly considering it for WMU had they missed the NY6, so it’s apparently not unthinkable.

Not trying to be a contrarian but I would think that the Sun Belt and NOB would be OK with replacing the Champ with say Louisiana. Again, it has never been done and I don't think that it necessarily gets done here, but should we get 6 teams to 6 wins then it gives the conference an option to get all six to a bowl and replacing App with Lewziana probably sells more tickets.

Yes, but where does App go in that scenario?

It would depend on which conference(s) don't fill their quota but probably something like the Birmingham Bowl or even the Belk Bowl. It would be too early to tell now. However, I don't see the SB getting 6 teams to 6 wins.

See, IF something like this ever happened, I don't think it would depend on which other conferences don't fill their quotas, or whether the Sun Belt gets an extra team eligible. That stuff happens every year, and the way it's solved isn't to take the BEST team from the leagues who have extra - they've already been selected by that league's primary tie-ins. It's the leftover teams that no one else wanted who fill the leftover bowl slots.

What we're talking about, again, would require specific maneuvering by ESPN. If they're going to go to that trouble (and expense), it's because they think we're a potential draw for TV ratings and/or tickets that's being wasted in New Orleans. If they make that determination (and I'm not sure they would), why do so just to send us to some third-tier bowl to play a 6-6 or 7-5 opponent? They'd likely want to match us up with a ranked opponent with some name value.

It's uncharted territory, so admittedly no one really knows how it would work. Major long shot anyway.

Agree with you on all points. Granted my scenario is over simplified and I don't get paid enough money to figure it all out for ESPN, but nothing is impossible when the four letter word is involved.

[NeersBy90]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

No, it isn’t, but maybe I wasn’t clear on that.

I’m talking about two bowl games per year pairing off the G5 conference champions. Not semifinals; no third “final” game in which the winners would play each other. Just two bowls, same as we have now, except they’d be champion vs. champion instead of champion vs. 3rd place team or whatever.

I’m not in favor of a G5 playoff either.

I’m a big fan of this idea. It would allow us to more accurately gauge where the G5 conferences stack up with more competitive/interesting matchups. Anyone familiar with G5 powerhouses would love to see Boise/UCF, App/SMU, Cincy/Utah State etc.

I don’t like the remaining 4 conference champions piece though. The MAC is a perfect example this year of why no one should be given an auto bid if this were to happen. It’s Utopian I know, and if it happened I’d rather play in the NY6 all day, but it would be better than kicking the teeth in of a small school in Ohio every year in bowl games.

[HkyMtneer]

Let's not forget that Liberty could also play a role in ESPN having some options in deciding to shuffle us to a currently non-aligned bowl, assuming we aren't the NY6 rep and ESPN likes us for another high profile match-up. Liberty currently has a bowl tie-in with Orlando so if the Belt can't put enough 6 win teams in games, and ESPN still wants to move us somewhere else, Liberty and their deep pockets might talk them into an Orlando bowl bid, shuffling teams around and filling out the Sun Belt allotment.

[97APP]

That's a G5 playoff, and no thank you.

No, it isn’t, but maybe I wasn’t clear on that.

I’m talking about two bowl games per year pairing off the G5 conference champions. Not semifinals; no third “final” game in which the winners would play each other. Just two bowls, same as we have now, except they’d be champion vs. champion instead of champion vs. 3rd place team or whatever.

I’m not in favor of a G5 playoff either.

I’m a big fan of this idea. It would allow us to more accurately gauge where the G5 conferences stack up with more competitive/interesting matchups. Anyone familiar with G5 powerhouses would love to see Boise/UCF, App/SMU, Cincy/Utah State etc.

I don’t like the remaining 4 conference champions piece though. The MAC is a perfect example this year of why no one should be given an auto bid if this were to happen. It’s Utopian I know, and if it happened I’d rather play in the NY6 all day, but it would be better than kicking the teeth in of a small school in Ohio every year in bowl games.

It would much better than what we have right now. Currently we could go undefeated along with SMU - SMU gets selected for the NY6 bowl - and we'd be contractually obligated to go to the NO bowl. CUSA can send whomever they want to the NO bowl to play us. We could be matched up against a CUSA team that barely becomes bowl eligible.