Stewart Mandel on BE Bowls

[BullDoug]

If UL or WVU is 11-1 or 10-2 and second in the conference and ND goes to the Gator and the Care Car has to take Navy instead of one of those two, someone's gonna get fired on that bowl committee.  I guess from here on out us Bulls fans root for ND to go BCS or go to the Toilet Bowl.  Plus if UL or WVU is Top 12 but second in the conference, it will be a coin toss over a Top 25 ND team.  ND just needs to be Top 15 and they will sniff BCS which isn't fair.  But neither is the world as I tell the little Bulldougs in my house.

[JoeB]

If ND is Top 15 it should mean they are 10-2.  It will be very fair based on the schedule they play.  How about these teams to start the season, @Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan, @Michigan State, Purdue.  Not to mention they play both LA teams this season (@USC and UCLA) as well as the same UNC team we play.  Yes they get the service academies and Stanford, but that is a tough schedule.  You can't compare that schedule with USFs schedule.

[ChiTownBull]

They basically play a big 10 schedule and USC every yr....they have said they want to tone down their schedule going forward.

I hate ND

[Guest]

Joe --

I think the bowl situation has as much to do with selling tickets as the quality of the game.

The fact that Cincinnati, Syracuse, Rutgers, U Conn, and USF have not established their bona fides as a "traveling" fan base hurts the Big East overall.  Once these schools' fans start proving themselves at bowl games, then the bowls will be more willing to include Big East teams.

Of course, if the Big East is able to dominate the other BCS opponents, then the TV viewers will be more interested in the Big East bowl situation.

[MikeG]

This is pretty discouraging to read. I don't know what will happen to the league or to USF as a result. Our best hope is to keep progressing and improving our fan base. In other words, what we were already doing.

BCS in name only beyond the BCS game. That's just painful to have to grasp. My guess is that if this continues to be the case, the Big East will be forced to do something about it's makeup sooner than later. Great hoops conference, mediocre football conference in the eyes of the world. Another year of hearing ESPN bash us as the "weakling" BCS conference-- I'm not sure I can take that.

[Joe]

I know it has to do 100% with the tickets and fans. But thats my point, it scares me that bowls paying $1.6M and $750,000 are nervous about fan support what's a $15M bowl game thinking?

The Big East has lost it's "auto game" in the BCS to the ACC, as we will now  be whereever they show us in the lineup. This makes us the only auto BCS team without a permanent BCS bowl fixture.

The record against BCS teams is going to be their fuel...and thanks to Pitt's terrible fan showing at the 2005 Fiesta Bowl they have their attendance fuel...

THIS SEASON IS HUGE FOR THE BIG EAST.

[Guest]

The loss of the auto slot to the Orange bowl also means that the Big East, other than maybe WVU and UL, will be playing in the 5th BCS Bowl...

Sad...

[BullyPulpit]

I would love to be playing in the fifth BCS bowl, because as I understand it, that is the National Title game. There are the 4 staple bowls (Orange, Rose, Sugar, and Fiesta) and the fifth bowl is the National Title game. So lets hope WVU or UL (or USF) is playing in the 5th BCS Bowl game.

[Joe]

Pulpit,

I know you know what he meant...I don't think the BE will be shoved into the 5th game every year, but it could happen that way without a fixture game.

[turkeysoup]

How many of the current BE teams have actually been in a BCS bowl in the last 5 years?   How many in the last 10?