Bowl Game rankings by Entertainment...conspiracy

[appdaze]

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... tertaining

23. R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Appalachian State vs. UAB
Dec. 21, 9 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans

App State fans desperately wanted to play in the nearby Belk Bowl, but selection rules made it impossible. We hope those disappointed Mountaineers fans can find something to entertain themselves in New Orleans, a city noted for offering very little to out-of-town tourists.

22. Belk Bowl
play
2:06
Will Hokies be the team to stop Bowden Jr.?Matt Stinchcomb and Gene Chizik talk through the Belk Bowl and how Virginia Tech's defense has the potential to slow down Kentucky's one-dimensional offense.
Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky
Dec. 31, Noon, ESPN/ESPN App
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina

This is the last year of Belk's sponsorship of this bowl game, meaning all bets are off for the Belk Bowl Twitter account during the game. Will it reveal the horrifying truth about why App State was snubbed from this game or will unseen forces use a pretty fun matchup between the Hokies and Wildcats to distract us from the awful conspiracy hiding right under our noses? To be continued ...

[ericsaid]

I'm thinking ESPN was making a push for App to the Belk Bowl. We know App fans were all over the Belk Bowl Twitter account so it would be pretty obvious but based on the final regular season projection by Bonagura, these comments, the lack of pre-ordering for the Bowl Game, the SBC Championship game not announcing the winner to NOLA, etc. etc. tells me that there was some serious heat about this.

[GregPercussion]

I'm thinking ESPN was making a push for App to the Belk Bowl. We know App fans were all over the Belk Bowl Twitter account so it would be pretty obvious but based on the final regular season projection by Bonagura, these comments, the lack of pre-ordering for the Bowl Game, the SBC Championship game not announcing the winner to NOLA, etc. etc. tells me that there was some serious heat about this.

Oh there totally was. That's why Belk Bowl delayed announcing their SEC team until like 5 hours after VT.

SunBelt wouldn't budge.

[hapapp]

I'm thinking ESPN was making a push for App to the Belk Bowl. We know App fans were all over the Belk Bowl Twitter account so it would be pretty obvious but based on the final regular season projection by Bonagura, these comments, the lack of pre-ordering for the Bowl Game, the SBC Championship game not announcing the winner to NOLA, etc. etc. tells me that there was some serious heat about this.

Oh there totally was. That's why Belk Bowl delayed announcing their SEC team until like 5 hours after VT.

SunBelt wouldn't budge.

Not disputing you but are sure it was the Sun Belt that stood in the way.

[GregPercussion]

I'm thinking ESPN was making a push for App to the Belk Bowl. We know App fans were all over the Belk Bowl Twitter account so it would be pretty obvious but based on the final regular season projection by Bonagura, these comments, the lack of pre-ordering for the Bowl Game, the SBC Championship game not announcing the winner to NOLA, etc. etc. tells me that there was some serious heat about this.

Oh there totally was. That's why Belk Bowl delayed announcing their SEC team until like 5 hours after VT.

SunBelt wouldn't budge.

Not disputing you but are sure it was the Sun Belt that stood in the way.

I can't say 100%, but from some folks I talked to that was what came down to me. SB didn't wanna lose out on their golden goose. Especially since the SB only has 5 bowls and only had 5 bowl eligible teams.

[AppfaninCAALand]

Stupid Coastal Carolina blowing 4th quarter leads twice in their last 3 games screwed App and the conference out of millions from the Belk Bowl.

[BeauFoster]

If it was indeed the Sun Belt who put the kibosh on App to the Belk Bowl, then that's really bad. I can't believe they would turn down the PR windfall from playing in a bowl of elevated stature, the financial windfall from the game (if there was to be one), and the fact that there would have been 30k App fans there, making the conference look even better when we beat a 3rd P5. There has to be much, much more to the story that we will likely ever know.

[mike87]

If the Sun Belt is trying to improve their bowl tie-ins, one way not to do it is by pulling your premier team and placing them in a non-affiliated bowl. That one year wind-fall could jeopardize some pending multi-year contracts. We are in a good bowl. NOLA is fun and UAB is a good match-up. They will be as much fun to beat as VT would be.

[appaneer1984]

Some people enjoy cutting off their noses to spite their face, or as Michael Scott would say, "to spider face"

[ericsaid]

Stupid Coastal Carolina blowing 4th quarter leads twice in their last 3 games screwed App and the conference out of millions from the Belk Bowl.

Three things went wrong this year:

1. App State lost to Georgia Southern

2. Coastal Carolina lost or won by one score far too often (young team, to be expected)

3. Ole Miss player doing the dog piss celebration. Ole Miss would've still had to win but if they do win, App State likely gets in the Belk Bowl.

I think that Belk really wanted App State. ESPN really wanted App State in Belk. And they really wanted a regional match-up of mountain schools between two fan bases that would fill uptown Charlotte and BoA.

I wanted it personally just to see the collective meltdown of UNCC.

And now the AAC has pretty much made public that they are looking for a 12th football playing school, even if it is football only. Apparently they are concerned about the dip in their net value with the UConn departure. Though UConn's primary value was basketball, outside of Memphis and VCU, the AAC lost their cash cow.

Likely will mean they go after another service academy who draws a lot of eyes. Sad really because App would be a great addition, if only football is desired. Also sad because ECU and App scheduled for rivalry weekend would fill the stands at either location when both schools are on. Gone would be the days of 60% capacity for the final week of the regular season. If App and ECU happened to be in the position App and Troy were in the last week of 2018, for a spot in the conference championship, the game would be rocking.

[ericsaid]

If the Sun Belt is trying to improve their bowl tie-ins, one way not to do it is by pulling your premier team and placing them in a non-affiliated bowl. That one year wind-fall could jeopardize some pending multi-year contracts. We are in a good bowl. NOLA is fun and UAB is a good match-up. They will be as much fun to beat as VT would be.

I'm not sure I understand your premise here. "If a conference member is placed in a larger bowl venue, the conference will not benefit in future negotiations for tie-ins". I'd add a second qualifier here to disprove this and that would be, "if a conference member is placed in a larger bowl and 30,000 fans buy tickets and are in their seats, the conference WILL benefit in future negotiations". What you're neglecting in your view is that Louisiana would've brought more fans on their own than App or UAB will bring collectively to NOLA. If NOLA could've chosen Louisiana Tech to play Louisiana, they may get 45,000 people there. If App is in Belk against Virginia Tech, you're talking 60,000 people.

You also make the assumption that the Sun Belt shorts the Arizona Bowl. An Arizona bowl where a team with poor attendance at home, three time zones away (during summer), is tasked with playing. We are dropping the Arizona Bowl tie-in after 2019 anyway, I believe.

In short, nothing about this situation would've hurt the Sun Belt and would've only helped to serve notice that yes, we do show well for games within driving distance. App filled the Cramton Bowl. App filled Ladd-Peeble. App would've filled Bank of America. If you're looking for games with better tie-ins, especially regionally, that is the best way to do it. You want relatively local bowls saying, "how do we get App State here?". In this situation, you had ESPN, the Sun Belt, the Belk Bowl, and most likely NOLA all trying to pull strings to get the switch. Why? Butts...in....seats. Eyeballs...on...TV

[Mjohn1988]

Could the Belk Bowl thing have been as simple as the ACC not wanting to risk losing to a G5 team. We’ve discussed this many times. If VT beats App. they should have, if the lose it’s a disaster for them and the ACC.

[ericsaid]

Could the Belk Bowl thing have been as simple as the ACC not wanting to risk losing to a G5 team. We’ve discussed this many times. If VT beats App. they should have, if the lose it’s a disaster for them and the ACC.

Virginia Tech lost to Cincinnati last year. I think that was more of a disaster for the ACC than losing to App State would be. Losing to Cincinnati could be looked at as a watershed moment for what the AAC overtaking the ACC in most statistics based power rankings in 2019.

Also, the Belk Bowl had a contractual obligation to take an SEC squad if one was available. One was available because UGA was whipped, Penn State was chosen for the Cotton Bowl, and the dog pissing pose. The Belk Bowl twitter, in a moment inconsistent with trolling, finally responded to someone on one of the last days stating that they had contracts in place. So that sums it up.

If the dominos fell, App was going to Charlotte. They didn't fall. Or maybe my two year old decided to stomp on them all, ruining the order, who knows. But he stopped us from having a nice trip on New Years Eve if he did.

[WASU 93]

Could the Belk Bowl thing have been as simple as the ACC not wanting to risk losing to a G5 team. We’ve discussed this many times. If VT beats App. they should have, if the lose it’s a disaster for them and the ACC.

I just think that the P5’s had enough eligible teams to fill their contacts, so we were left with New Orleans. Many of us hoped for an exception, but things played out as they were pre-determined.

[GregPercussion]

Could the Belk Bowl thing have been as simple as the ACC not wanting to risk losing to a G5 team. We’ve discussed this many times. If VT beats App. they should have, if the lose it’s a disaster for them and the ACC.

I just think that the P5’s had enough eligible teams to fill their contacts, so we were left with New Orleans. Many of us hoped for an exception, but things played out as they were pre-determined.

exactly

[AppinVA]

After having some time to think about this and letting my knee stop jerking, I’ve mellowed on my stance. For years, the NO Bowl suffered through a ton of bad match-ups. Now, finally they see a payoff where one of their contracted teams is inside, not only the Top 25, but the Top 20. Knowing this will get eyeballs and maybe sponsorships that could pay more long-term than having an extra 10,000 UL fans for a one-off, can we blame the Bowl and the Sun Belt following the contract? As much as I would’ve wanted to see us in Charlotte, and I wanted something to get done to the point I was pissed at our.commissioner for doing nothing, I can see why things played out the way they did. Even as much as I reallllly don’t like it.

From their perspective, they have more than paid their dues, and now, for once at least, they are on the receiving end.

With that said, let’s sandpaper some UAB asses.

[AppyVanWinkle]

Stupid Coastal Carolina blowing 4th quarter leads twice in their last 3 games screwed App and the conference out of millions from the Belk Bowl.

Three things went wrong this year:

1. App State lost to Georgia Southern

2. Coastal Carolina lost or won by one score far too often (young team, to be expected)

3. Ole Miss player doing the dog piss celebration. Ole Miss would've still had to win but if they do win, App State likely gets in the Belk Bowl.

I think that Belk really wanted App State. ESPN really wanted App State in Belk. And they really wanted a regional match-up of mountain schools between two fan bases that would fill uptown Charlotte and BoA.

I wanted it personally just to see the collective meltdown of UNCC.

And now the AAC has pretty much made public that they are looking for a 12th football playing school, even if it is football only. Apparently they are concerned about the dip in their net value with the UConn departure. Though UConn's primary value was basketball, outside of Memphis and VCU, the AAC lost their cash cow.

Likely will mean they go after another service academy who draws a lot of eyes. Sad really because App would be a great addition, if only football is desired. Also sad because ECU and App scheduled for rivalry weekend would fill the stands at either location when both schools are on. Gone would be the days of 60% capacity for the final week of the regular season. If App and ECU happened to be in the position App and Troy were in the last week of 2018, for a spot in the conference championship, the game would be rocking.

The outcome of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game had nothing to do with it at all. What ended up hurting us the most was the fact that the SEC only placed three teams in NY6 games (LSU/UGA/UF). Had Alabama or Auburn ended up ranked above Penn State, one of those teams ends up in the Cotton Bowl and all of the remaining SEC teams would have been bumped up in the bowl pecking order.

Had that happened, you'd have likely seen the following:
Citrus: Alabama or Auburn
Outback: Tennessee
Gator: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State (AD publicly stated that they preferred Music City or Liberty due to proximity)
Texas: Texas A&M
Belk: App State (replacing vacant SEC slot)

Instead, we ended up with:
Citrus: Alabama
Outback: Auburn
Gator: Tennessee
Belk: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State
Texas: Texas A&M

Once Alabama/Auburn were left out of the NY6, there was no way that the SEC was going to send any of their non-NY6 teams to one of their "inferior" remaining bowl tie-ins with lower payouts than the Belk Bowl (Liberty/Birmingham or Independence Bowls).

Also, it was widely reported that the reason for the Belk Bowl's delayed announcement of their SEC team (originally reported to be Mississippi State) was due to Tennessee and Kentucky fighting it out over the Gator Bowl bid. Both schools badly wanted a trip to one of the Florida bowl games and UT balked at being placed in the Music City Bowl. Thus, UT pled its case to the SEC and ended up winning the right to head to Jacksonville, as the two teams had identical records with the Vols winning the head-to-head matchup.
https://www.12up.com/posts/tennessee-ap ... dvm1rjg7qw

[ericsaid]

Stupid Coastal Carolina blowing 4th quarter leads twice in their last 3 games screwed App and the conference out of millions from the Belk Bowl.

Three things went wrong this year:

1. App State lost to Georgia Southern

2. Coastal Carolina lost or won by one score far too often (young team, to be expected)

3. Ole Miss player doing the dog piss celebration. Ole Miss would've still had to win but if they do win, App State likely gets in the Belk Bowl.

I think that Belk really wanted App State. ESPN really wanted App State in Belk. And they really wanted a regional match-up of mountain schools between two fan bases that would fill uptown Charlotte and BoA.

I wanted it personally just to see the collective meltdown of UNCC.

And now the AAC has pretty much made public that they are looking for a 12th football playing school, even if it is football only. Apparently they are concerned about the dip in their net value with the UConn departure. Though UConn's primary value was basketball, outside of Memphis and VCU, the AAC lost their cash cow.

Likely will mean they go after another service academy who draws a lot of eyes. Sad really because App would be a great addition, if only football is desired. Also sad because ECU and App scheduled for rivalry weekend would fill the stands at either location when both schools are on. Gone would be the days of 60% capacity for the final week of the regular season. If App and ECU happened to be in the position App and Troy were in the last week of 2018, for a spot in the conference championship, the game would be rocking.

The outcome of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game had nothing to do with it at all. What ended up hurting us the most was the fact that the SEC only placed three teams in NY6 games (LSU/UGA/UF). Had Alabama or Auburn ended up ranked above Penn State, one of those teams ends up in the Cotton Bowl and all of the remaining SEC teams would have been bumped up in the bowl pecking order.

Had that happened, you'd have likely seen the following:
Citrus: Alabama or Auburn
Outback: Tennessee
Gator: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State (AD publicly stated that they preferred Music City or Liberty due to proximity)
Texas: Texas A&M
Belk: App State (replacing vacant SEC slot)

Instead, we ended up with:
Citrus: Alabama
Outback: Auburn
Gator: Tennessee
Belk: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State
Texas: Texas A&M

Once Alabama/Auburn were left out of the NY6, there was no way that the SEC was going to send any of their non-NY6 teams to one of their "inferior" remaining bowl tie-ins with lower payouts than the Belk Bowl (Liberty/Birmingham or Independence Bowls).

Also, it was widely reported that the reason for the Belk Bowl's delayed announcement of their SEC team (originally reported to be Mississippi State) was due to Tennessee and Kentucky fighting it out over the Gator Bowl bid. Both schools badly wanted a trip to one of the Florida bowl games and UT balked at being placed in the Music City Bowl. Thus, UT pled its case to the SEC and ended up winning the right to head to Jacksonville, as the two teams had identical records with the Vols winning the head-to-head matchup.
https://www.12up.com/posts/tennessee-ap ... dvm1rjg7qw

Finally, someone with some information.

At any rate, thank you. Contracts...pesky critters. Hopefully the Sun Belt can negotiate some backfill for bowls like the Belk and others with P5 tie-ins, if they can't get primary tie-ins, moving forward.

[NavyApp]

Stupid Coastal Carolina blowing 4th quarter leads twice in their last 3 games screwed App and the conference out of millions from the Belk Bowl.

Three things went wrong this year:

1. App State lost to Georgia Southern

2. Coastal Carolina lost or won by one score far too often (young team, to be expected)

3. Ole Miss player doing the dog piss celebration. Ole Miss would've still had to win but if they do win, App State likely gets in the Belk Bowl.

I think that Belk really wanted App State. ESPN really wanted App State in Belk. And they really wanted a regional match-up of mountain schools between two fan bases that would fill uptown Charlotte and BoA.

I wanted it personally just to see the collective meltdown of UNCC.

And now the AAC has pretty much made public that they are looking for a 12th football playing school, even if it is football only. Apparently they are concerned about the dip in their net value with the UConn departure. Though UConn's primary value was basketball, outside of Memphis and VCU, the AAC lost their cash cow.

Likely will mean they go after another service academy who draws a lot of eyes. Sad really because App would be a great addition, if only football is desired. Also sad because ECU and App scheduled for rivalry weekend would fill the stands at either location when both schools are on. Gone would be the days of 60% capacity for the final week of the regular season. If App and ECU happened to be in the position App and Troy were in the last week of 2018, for a spot in the conference championship, the game would be rocking.

The outcome of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game had nothing to do with it at all. What ended up hurting us the most was the fact that the SEC only placed three teams in NY6 games (LSU/UGA/UF). Had Alabama or Auburn ended up ranked above Penn State, one of those teams ends up in the Cotton Bowl and all of the remaining SEC teams would have been bumped up in the bowl pecking order.

Had that happened, you'd have likely seen the following:
Citrus: Alabama or Auburn
Outback: Tennessee
Gator: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State (AD publicly stated that they preferred Music City or Liberty due to proximity)
Texas: Texas A&M
Belk: App State (replacing vacant SEC slot)

Instead, we ended up with:
Citrus: Alabama
Outback: Auburn
Gator: Tennessee
Belk: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State
Texas: Texas A&M

Once Alabama/Auburn were left out of the NY6, there was no way that the SEC was going to send any of their non-NY6 teams to one of their "inferior" remaining bowl tie-ins with lower payouts than the Belk Bowl (Liberty/Birmingham or Independence Bowls).

Also, it was widely reported that the reason for the Belk Bowl's delayed announcement of their SEC team (originally reported to be Mississippi State) was due to Tennessee and Kentucky fighting it out over the Gator Bowl bid. Both schools badly wanted a trip to one of the Florida bowl games and UT balked at being placed in the Music City Bowl. Thus, UT pled its case to the SEC and ended up winning the right to head to Jacksonville, as the two teams had identical records with the Vols winning the head-to-head matchup.
https://www.12up.com/posts/tennessee-ap ... dvm1rjg7qw

I'm pretty sure he mentioned the ole Miss loss because if they had won Miss State would not be bowl eligible increasing the chances the SEC wouldn't be able to fill all their contracts.

[AppyVanWinkle]

Stupid Coastal Carolina blowing 4th quarter leads twice in their last 3 games screwed App and the conference out of millions from the Belk Bowl.

Three things went wrong this year:

1. App State lost to Georgia Southern

2. Coastal Carolina lost or won by one score far too often (young team, to be expected)

3. Ole Miss player doing the dog piss celebration. Ole Miss would've still had to win but if they do win, App State likely gets in the Belk Bowl.

I think that Belk really wanted App State. ESPN really wanted App State in Belk. And they really wanted a regional match-up of mountain schools between two fan bases that would fill uptown Charlotte and BoA.

I wanted it personally just to see the collective meltdown of UNCC.

And now the AAC has pretty much made public that they are looking for a 12th football playing school, even if it is football only. Apparently they are concerned about the dip in their net value with the UConn departure. Though UConn's primary value was basketball, outside of Memphis and VCU, the AAC lost their cash cow.

Likely will mean they go after another service academy who draws a lot of eyes. Sad really because App would be a great addition, if only football is desired. Also sad because ECU and App scheduled for rivalry weekend would fill the stands at either location when both schools are on. Gone would be the days of 60% capacity for the final week of the regular season. If App and ECU happened to be in the position App and Troy were in the last week of 2018, for a spot in the conference championship, the game would be rocking.

The outcome of the Ole Miss-Mississippi State game had nothing to do with it at all. What ended up hurting us the most was the fact that the SEC only placed three teams in NY6 games (LSU/UGA/UF). Had Alabama or Auburn ended up ranked above Penn State, one of those teams ends up in the Cotton Bowl and all of the remaining SEC teams would have been bumped up in the bowl pecking order.

Had that happened, you'd have likely seen the following:
Citrus: Alabama or Auburn
Outback: Tennessee
Gator: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State (AD publicly stated that they preferred Music City or Liberty due to proximity)
Texas: Texas A&M
Belk: App State (replacing vacant SEC slot)

Instead, we ended up with:
Citrus: Alabama
Outback: Auburn
Gator: Tennessee
Belk: Kentucky
Music City: Mississippi State
Texas: Texas A&M

Once Alabama/Auburn were left out of the NY6, there was no way that the SEC was going to send any of their non-NY6 teams to one of their "inferior" remaining bowl tie-ins with lower payouts than the Belk Bowl (Liberty/Birmingham or Independence Bowls).

Also, it was widely reported that the reason for the Belk Bowl's delayed announcement of their SEC team (originally reported to be Mississippi State) was due to Tennessee and Kentucky fighting it out over the Gator Bowl bid. Both schools badly wanted a trip to one of the Florida bowl games and UT balked at being placed in the Music City Bowl. Thus, UT pled its case to the SEC and ended up winning the right to head to Jacksonville, as the two teams had identical records with the Vols winning the head-to-head matchup.
https://www.12up.com/posts/tennessee-ap ... dvm1rjg7qw

I'm pretty sure he mentioned the ole Miss loss because if they had won Miss State would not be bowl eligible increasing the chances the SEC wouldn't be able to fill all their contracts.

I understand...I just wanted to point out that there were plenty of other happenings during the last week of the season that negatively impacted our chances at landing the Belk Bowl bid.

Personally, I felt like we should have been lobbying the Liberty Bowl as much, if not more so than the Belk. It is lower down the SEC pecking order and it was clear that once Mizzou was ruled bowl ineligible by the NCAA, there would be a very good chance that the SEC would not fill that slot.

Facing a solid Big 12 team like Kansas State in Memphis would have been far preferable to facing UAB, not to mention the $4.7M payout. Instead, Navy ends up getting that bid.