EJ article--bowl games

[Yosef77]

This might be an interesting scenario. I don't think we have a choice but to go to NO if we win the championship but maybe we have more options if we don't. Louisiana beats us in the championship game giving the NO Bowl to them (NO would love them playing Louisiana Tech there). That might open us up to maybe a better bowl to possibly play Louisville or Virginia Tech. I know it would suck to loss the championship but there might be a silver lining in the cloud if we do. On the other hand, if we loss we could end in in Alabama. Preferences being NY6, New Orleans, other bowl against an ACC or SEC opponent.

[EastHallApp]

App St vs La tech in New Orleans. Would be one heck of a match up. Unless they slot thier #2 team which could be So Miss, FAU or Marshall--another interesting match up.

Given that the CUSA champ gets to pick their own spot, it's hard to see why LT wouldn't pick New Orleans if they get the chance, right?

[Yosefus]

The crowd would be an overwhelming Latech bunch for sure.

[Rick83]

I don't see the Sun Belt allowing their hottest football asset go to another non-Sun Belt affiliated bowl unless the league profited (with money and exposure) somehow and that would take some concessions granted by other P5-aligned bowls. I think we have a slim shot at the Cotton Bowl, a really good shot at the NO Bowl, or we're Alabama bound...I'll be at any of the above.

[AppGrad78]

Regarding the Cotton Bowl, we'll have a much better idea of where we stand later tonight.

If we continue to win, there WILL be attrition among the G5s ranked higher than we are. The key, in my opinion, is how many there are.

[Rick83]

We've talked about the Cotton Bowl a lot and we have no idea how the committee will perceive the different resumes for this season, but it seems to me that either Boise needs to lose one more or San Diego St wins the MWC championship. I think we beat out the MWC champion at that point. As for the AAC, we need them to beat each other up a little more and then we hopefully go up against a 2 loss AAC champion. That's the toughest in my mind since the AAC is a tougher conference but we're the only G5 (I believe) with 2 P5 wins including a win over an SEC team...so seems like a toss up but only one can be picked.
I don't think La Tech's resume will match ours so I'm not too concerned about them.
Obviously, we need to win out.

[Yosefus]

We will be ranked higher than Boise and SMU. Cincy and Memphis maybe Navy ahead of us. Just my opinion on the committee. They will have to put value on So Carolina to keep Georgia's ranking up and thus will help us.

[EastHallApp]

We will be ranked higher than Boise and SMU. Cincy and Memphis maybe Navy ahead of us. Just my opinion on the committee. They will have to put value on So Carolina to keep Georgia's ranking up and thus will help us.

Can’t see beating a 4-6 team vaulting us that much.

Hope we make an appearance tonight but I don’t expect it. I think Texas will be the only new team in the rankings.

[WVAPPeer]

Regarding the Cotton Bowl, we'll have a much better idea of where we stand later tonight.

If we continue to win, there WILL be attrition among the G5s ranked higher than we are. The key, in my opinion, is how many there are.

If I am not mistaken, to get the NY6 the team MUST BE the Conf Champion - I think this is really the only bright spot I can see - a lot can happen until all conf champs are determined -

[AppfaninCAALand]

Best case scenario: Sun Belt fills bowl tie-ins, SEC does not, App wins the conference with Louisiana in second, Louisiana Tech agrees to play in New Orleans. NOLA Committee would likely consider a substitution in this case. Just because there is no process in place for substitution doesn't mean that the Sun Belt couldn't put one in place, or begin discussions on that process now. Going 12-1 with a Top 20 ranking and making the New Orleans bowl against a team that isn't guaranteed to be the C-USA champion would be an indictment of ineptitude on the part of the Sun Belt league offices.

This gives App, the Sun Belt, and ESPN plenty of leverage against NOLA to push App to another bowl like the Belk Bowl in Charlotte against an ACC team. Louisville or Virginia Tech would be an ideal opponent.

On the Charlotte board some think Charlotte could/will be in the Belk Bowl. They should get to 6 wins with ODU up at the end of the year.

The Belk Bowl would not be one of the first to be left unfilled. For the SEC, for example, they have two bowls (I believe Birmingham and Independence) that are on the bottom "tier" for them, meaning they'd be the first to go unfilled if they don't have enough teams. After that, Belk is on a tier with several others.

Of course if the SEC gets two in the playoff, that would open up another of their lower-tier bowls for someone else.

This is what I've been thinking with all this Belk Bowl talk from UNCC and App. The Independence and Birmingham will be first bowls to come up short. Now, the talk of Louisville and Va Tech sound about right for an opportunity for who ever fills the SEC's spot at the Independence

[AppSt94]

The Sun Belt is not in a position to move teams to another bowl. We are locked in to our designated bowls. It isn't going to happen.

[EastHallApp]

Best case scenario: Sun Belt fills bowl tie-ins, SEC does not, App wins the conference with Louisiana in second, Louisiana Tech agrees to play in New Orleans. NOLA Committee would likely consider a substitution in this case. Just because there is no process in place for substitution doesn't mean that the Sun Belt couldn't put one in place, or begin discussions on that process now. Going 12-1 with a Top 20 ranking and making the New Orleans bowl against a team that isn't guaranteed to be the C-USA champion would be an indictment of ineptitude on the part of the Sun Belt league offices.

This gives App, the Sun Belt, and ESPN plenty of leverage against NOLA to push App to another bowl like the Belk Bowl in Charlotte against an ACC team. Louisville or Virginia Tech would be an ideal opponent.

On the Charlotte board some think Charlotte could/will be in the Belk Bowl. They should get to 6 wins with ODU up at the end of the year.

The Belk Bowl would not be one of the first to be left unfilled. For the SEC, for example, they have two bowls (I believe Birmingham and Independence) that are on the bottom "tier" for them, meaning they'd be the first to go unfilled if they don't have enough teams. After that, Belk is on a tier with several others.

Of course if the SEC gets two in the playoff, that would open up another of their lower-tier bowls for someone else.

This is what I've been thinking with all this Belk Bowl talk from UNCC and App. The Independence and Birmingham will be first bowls to come up short. Now, the talk of Louisville and Va Tech sound about right for an opportunity for who ever fills the SEC's spot at the Independence

The Belk Bowl talk is an undying fantasy for App fans who either don't understand how bowl tie-ins work or don't like the answer so they keep searching for a way around it.

Ironically, if a spot in the Belk Bowl somehow WERE open, Charlotte would be a more realistic choice than us because they probably *would* be passed over by as many CUSA bowls as possible.

[t4pizza]

I would far rather a bowl in New Orleans against maybe Louisiana Tech or FAU than the Belk Bowl, but then again I like the city of New Orleans as a destination much better than Charlotte. For years, many complained that the winner of Sun Belt had no guarantee of the best bowl. Now that there is an automatic tie in, we have fans wanting to create an entirely new and until now unheard of waiver system so we can get an even better bowl. Many of us have become entitled in such a short period of time. Success has been great, let us not let it go to our heads this much though.

[Seattleapp]

Why is the loss by Boise to BYU such a better loss than us to ga southern? Both are 5-4. So that puts us and Boise as slap even as near as I can tell. Except we have two power 5 wins to their one

[EastHallApp]

I would far rather a bowl in New Orleans against maybe Louisiana Tech or FAU than the Belk Bowl, but then again I like the city of New Orleans as a destination much better than Charlotte. For years, many complained that the winner of Sun Belt had no guarantee of the best bowl. Now that there is an automatic tie in, we have fans wanting to create an entirely new and until now unheard of waiver system so we can get an even better bowl. Many of us have become entitled in such a short period of time. Success has been great, let us not let it go to our heads this much though.

I'm with you, it's been a fun ride so far, might as well enjoy it. I think there's a camp (of which I am also a member) that feels that a big part of the bowl experience is the travel aspect (which is why bowls exist after all).

Then there's a group that's strictly about football, and feels that if one opponent is 5% better than another, then that's where they want to go, regardless of where or when it's played. Which, if you aren't going to the game or you just don't care about the mini-vacation, makes sense. (Though I also feel that, if you aren't playing a heavyweight or a ranked team, the main thing is to get a win and it matters little who you beat.)

Charlotte doesn't particularly excite me, but I do get the appeal of Belk - easiest possible travel, pretty solid ACC/SEC tie-in, NFL stadium. I'm sure we'd bring a great crowd there, most just making a day trip of it. It's just not happening.

And if it's between going to New Orleans to play CUSA or going to Shreveport or Birmingham to play another 6-6 P5 (which also isn't happening anyway) ... sign me up for jambalaya and hurricanes.

[EastHallApp]

Why is the loss by Boise to BYU such a better loss than us to ga southern? Both are 5-4. So that puts us and Boise as slap even as near as I can tell. Except we have two power 5 wins to their one

Well, I'd say BYU is pretty clearly better than GS. Also beat Tennessee and USC, blew out Utah State. Boise lost on the road, we lost at home. And their starting QB missed the game, which arguably shouldn't matter but some will factor in. GS beat us, played Minnesota close, but otherwise has been pretty bad. In analytics terms, Sagarin has BYU at 53, GS at 103.

On the overall resume, though, I think you make a good point, in that our wins might be a notch better than Boise's, and we've been more consistently dominant.

[bigdaddyg]

For most of us the Belk Bowl would be appealing due to the easy drive and less added costs. If we played there against a decent ACC team that’s a plus. To get that bid and play against a 6-6 team who barely got isn’t much of a reward. It’s certainly not a great deal for our players. What do they do in what is probably a fairly cold December in Charlotte? Go to Top Golf or the Malls? A return trip to New Orleans is much better for the added stuff and La Tech would not be a bad matchup. I used to say years ago that if I were a State or UNC fan I would be happy with the Peach Bowl because I could drive there, Atlanta is great, it’s inside away from the elements and generally the opponent would be good. At the end of the day if we don’t get the Cotton Bowl what is the huge difference?