Article from Charleston WV - on game and TV

[Guest Tom]

Jack Bogaczyk

November 15 2005

Mountaineers' bowl prospects change greatly with a stumble

Jack Bogaczyk

Daily Mail Sports Editor

IF West Virginia stumbles from its Big East Conference football perch, the difference between bowl destinations is going to seem like much more than 227 miles.

However, that's the either-or prospect for the Mountaineers (8-1), who climbed to a school-best 12th in the Bowl Championship Series standings on Monday.

It's either win the Big East title and a BCS bid, with heavy odds on a spot in the transplanted Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2 in prime time at the Georgia Dome, or fall at South Florida in the regular-season finale on Dec. 3, and ...

That would be a free-fall to the Big East's No. 4 slot, in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., on New Year's Eve morning against a fifth selection from the Atlantic Coast Conference (Georgia Tech or Clemson?).

Yes, WVU could be 9-2, a Big East co-champion, ranked about 20th in the polls, and play in the retreaded (by a new sponsor) Tire Bowl. Talk about a George Foreman shot to the solar plexus.

The distance between Atlanta and Charlotte, when you're talking bowls, is more than 31/2 hours on I-85. Yet, that's where the Mountaineers are likely to play is they don't get the BCS berth.

That revamped Big East head-to-head tiebreaker for a two-team deadlock could be WVU's undoing. Don't forget Pitt (5-5), which visits Mountaineer Field on Thanksgiving night.

If WVU, USF and the Panthers all finish with two Big East losses, a 6-5 Pitt team gets the BCS berth - and the Big East is drowned in criticism then -- because the Panthers would have swept the other two involved the tie.

With Notre Dame needing to beat Syracuse and Stanford to lock up a BCS at-large slot, the Big East runner-up Gator Bowl will gladly settle for Louisville, which figures to go 9-2. Understandably, the Gator doesn't want West Virginia for a third straight year.

Rutgers (6-4), seeking its first bowl berth since a 1978 Garden State loss (and second bid in history), is targeted for the Dec. 27 Insight Bowl in Phoenix.

The Big East will guide WVU toward Charlotte, because even with a diminished fan base due to potential disappointment from a BCS slide, the Mountaineers would still take a considerable following down I-77 (more than Rutgers).

The other factor at work is the Big East's contract with the Insight is ending, and the relationship with the Raycom Sports-operated Meineke Bowl continues in the future. So, the conference, with WVU's OK, ships the most promising situation for selling tickets to Charlotte.

If Pitt wins in Morgantown, the conference will try and find the Panthers a spot, but the Big Ten will fill its seventh berths, including the Motor City.

The Independence will have a vacancy, because the SEC isn't going to have eight teams, but the ACC will have eight teams for six slots. The Liberty could need an at-large team, too.

If neither WVU nor South Florida stumbles, what the Big East will come down to on Dec. 3 is simple: the winner in Tampa goes to the BCS; the loser plays in the Mighty Muffler Bowl.

* * *

AS THE conference title implications continue to grow for West Virginia-South Florida, the Dec. 3 rescheduled date due to Hurricane Wilma has become a Category 4 problem for the Disney networks. No kickoff time will be determined until TV finalizes plans.

The Dec. 3 date already has the Big 12 football championship, Southern Cal-UCLA and the ACC title game on ABC. (As an aside, CBS has North Carolina-Kentucky and Duke-Texas basketball, followed by Army-Navy football and the SEC championship. CBS doesn't have a Big East football contract).

ESPN has the Conference USA championship, and committed in preseason to another Big East football game (Louisville-Connecticut). Big East Associate Commissioner Tom Odjakjian, who coordinates TV scheduling for the conference, said Louisville-UConn cannot be replaced by WVU-USF.

ESPN also has two Big East basketball telecasts that day (Oklahoma-Villanova and Memphis-Cincinnati). As for ESPN2, that network has Michigan-Notre Dame and Arizona-Houston hoops and Division I-AA football playoffs.

Odjakjian said the conference is discussing WVU-USF with ESPN programmers, but it's apparent something will have to be moved on the schedule to accommodate what might be the Big East title game. It could land on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

As they say in TV, stay tuned.

[ChiTownBull]

the dreade U

[USFootball]

PLAY IT ON FRIDAY NIGHT!!!

[vankai]

one word i hate - ESPNU

i'm glad to see the showdown will be in Tampa, where I can whitness this event first hand.

it also scares me that if by chance Pitt can beat WVU. - December 3rd will mean absolutley nothing.

[Velcro]

Is that accurate?  i think Jim posted that the only way Pitt gets the bid is if there is a 3 way tie and Pitt was ranked better than USF, and if neither team was ranked, then Pitt would get it based on the head to head.

If there is a 3 way tie, the mini-conference that is built would have WVU eliminated since they would have lost to both WVU and USF

Could Pitt be better ranked than us with a 6-5 record? if we were 7-4...

I don't think it is a lock that Pitt woudl get the bid.

[Velcro]

here is the official 3 way tie procedure:

THREE-WAY TIE

A “MINI-CONFERENCE” IS CREATED AMONGST THE THREE TIED

TEAMS

Scenario I:

All three teams have either a 6-1 or 5-2 record and have each won one and

lost one against the other tied teams in the mini-conference. In this case, the

highest ranked team amongst the three earns the bid. If two of the three

teams are tied for the highest ranking, the bid is earned by the team winning

the head-to-head match up.

Scenario II:

All three teams have 5-2 records, and within the mini-conference, Team A is

2-0, Team B is 1-1, and Team C is 0-2. Team A earns bid regardless of

ranking.

[Velcro]

In order to get a 3 way tie, Pitt has to win against WVU, We have to beat WVU and We have to lose to one of Uconn or Cincy.

AND LVille would have to lose to one of Cuse or Cincy

So it is HIGHLY unlikely to have a 3 way tie... a 4 way is more likely...

FOUR-WAY TIE

A “MINI-CONFERENCE” IS CREATED AMONGST THE FOUR TIED

TEAMS

Scenario I:

In the mini-conference, Teams A & B are 2-1, and Teams C & D are 1-2.

The higher ranked of the 2-1 teams earns the bid. If the 2-1 teams tie for the

highest ranking, the bid goes to the team that won the head-to-head match

up.

Scenario II:

In the mini-conference, Team A is 3-0, Team B is 2-1, Team C is 1-2, and

Team D is 0-3. Team A earns bid regardless of ranking.

[___ Eats It]

one word i hate - ESPNU

i'm glad to see the showdown will be in Tampa, where I can whitness this event first hand.

it also scares me that if by chance Pitt can beat WVU. - December 3rd will mean absolutley nothing.

Not true.

If Pitt beats WVU, they finish 5-2 in the BE.

If WVU loses to Pitt but beats us, they finish 6-1 in the BE.  If they lose to both of us, they finish 5-2 in the BE, tied with Pitt.

If USF wins out, we finish 6-1 in the BE, tied with WVU with the tiebreaker going to us.

Bottom line, it doesn't matter what Pitt does, we need to win out to win the BE.  Dec 3 WILL matter if we beat Cincy and UConn like we're supposed to.

Am I wrong?

[Velcro]

We could still get the bid in the event of a 4 way tie, but it isn't likely.

There won't be a 3 way tie.  

If there is a 2 way tie, it is ours

[vankai]

Not true.

If Pitt beats WVU, they finish 5-2 in the BE.

If WVU loses to Pitt but beats us, they finish 6-1 in the BE.  If they lose to both of us, they finish 5-2 in the BE, tied with Pitt.

If USF wins out, we finish 6-1 in the BE, tied with WVU with the tiebreaker going to us.

Bottom line, it doesn't matter what Pitt does, we need to win out to win the BE.  Dec 3 WILL matter if we beat Cincy and UConn like we're supposed to.

Am I wrong?

agreed - hence why we should not look past Cincy or UCONN!!!