Nightmare Bowl Scenario

[BullyPulpit]

With USF reaching bowl eligibility, my wife and I started to do some research as to the cost of trips to our potential bowl locations (Birmingham, Houston, Toronto). As I was going through the possibilities, I found a scenario that would be as bad for the Big East as it can get....here it goes.

1. Louisville wins the conference, goes to BCS (Rutgers could be substituted here)

2. ND loses another game and goes to the Gator Bowl.

3. The Sun Bowl opts for a Big 12 team.

4. The Mountain West Conference ends up with 4 or 5 bowl eligible teams, with TCU not finishing in the top 3. This would give the Houston Bowl (a fledgling bowl game) the option of picking the nearly home town TCU team over EITHER the team from the Big 12 or the BE rep. If they chose TCU to replace the BE rep.

5. The Meineke Car Care Bowl has already taken Navy

6. That would place the second place team from the BE in the BIRMINGHAM BOWL (WV/Rutgers)

7. The third place team from the BE would land in Toronto at the International Bowl. (WV/Rutgers)

This would potentially lead to 3 Bowl Eligible BE teams being without a bowl game. (USF/PITT/Cincy)

I project 1 bowl vacancy from the Big Ten and the Poinsetta Bowl will have a vacancy as Army is not eligible. Then there are the 4 at-large BCS spots. 1 is likely to go to Boise State. If a BE team does not get one, then the PAC 10, Big Ten, and SEC would get the other 3. This would create another 1 to 3 bowl openings.

In this scenario, there are likely to be between 3 and 6 bowl openings, but there is no guarantee that any of the bowls would take a chance on USF with the youth of the program. Of course we could make the whole argument moot by getting to 8 wins and being the team with the best record without an automatic bid, but at 6 or 7 wins, this scenario gets scary for us.

While I realize it is one scenario and there is a lot of football to be played, the bottom line is this:

1. Go Notre Dame

2. TCU- finish in top 3 of MWC

3. Indiana, Mich St. and Minn - we want all of them to lose

4. Why am I wasting my time, Bulls will win out and this whole post will be moot!

[outrunner]

If that scenario does happen, and USF, Pitt, and Cincinnati all don't make it after qualifying, there will be hell to pay in the bowl system.

[BullsFanInTX]

I think there is one problem with your scenario.  If the Gator Bowl does not select a BE team then the Sun bowl HAS to select a BE team.  It's part of the deal, one or the other.  I hope I am not wrong about this.

[outrunner]

I think there is one problem with your scenario.  If the Gator Bowl does not select a BE team then the Sun bowl HAS to select a BE team.  It's part of the deal, one or the other.  I hope I am not wrong about this.

No, hes right. Notre Dame would count as a Big East team in the Gator Bowl, thus the Sun Bowl would take a Big XII team.

[BullsFanInTX]

I think there is one problem with your scenario.  If the Gator Bowl does not select a BE team then the Sun bowl HAS to select a BE team.  It's part of the deal, one or the other.  I hope I am not wrong about this.

No, hes right. Notre Dame would count as a Big East team in the Gator Bowl, thus the Sun Bowl would take a Big XII team.

This better not happen.  Who's putting these bowl deals together, they weren't looking out for the BE.  Forget about Navy.  Why is ND tied into our bowls.  Oh, i know, someone will give some tired excuse that they draw well and we want to keep them happy since they are part of be conf. (except football).

[RMF5630]

The problem is that the Big East does not have a lot of leverage in negotiating.  I have been watching a lot of Big East football the last 2 years and thought that the Big East was very competetive. Until yesterday when I went to Camp Randall to see UW and Penn State.

Yesterday, I went to the Wisconsin/Penn State game and I came away with a different view about the Big East and Bowl attractiveness.  These programs are light years ahead of USF, Cinn, UCONN, Pitt, and even Rutgers in terms of bowl attractiveness.  

They had 82,000 at the game in Madison.  Thet had over 35k stay for the 5th Quarter to watch the band! That is more than we get at RayJay for a game.   I have never seen more red in my life.  I know we are only 10 years old, but the bowls don't care and we shouldn't either. There is only one standard.  The Big 10 has 11 of those schools.  The SEC has 10 of those schools.  The Pac-10 has maybe 5.  Big 12 maybe five, as well.  Notre Dame, Army, & Navy all pack that atmosphere.  That is a lot of schools that will bring a lot of fanatical fans.  We (USF)have a lot of work to do to get into that universe.  We are not even in the same ball park.  

I think USF needs to send representatives to these type of stadiums and see what is happening around the BCS and come up with a plan on what traditions USF will have, upgrade the band, and develop a gameplan on how the game should unfold in the stadium!  RIght now, we all show up and that is about it.  Both the PSU and UW bands were the engines that created that atmosphere!  They were in the stands going from section to section getting things rolling.  The Tuba patrol made the rounds in the stands.  The drum line was in the stands moving around the stadium.  Sorry, but there is more to a good atmosphere than a lot of people, it is well choreographed.  USF's band playing Bohemian Rapsidy is ridiculous.  We don't have to copy other schools, but come up with Tampa stuff. I don't care if it is Buffet and Reggae, but do something!  Create some character for our program!  

[Apis Bull]

RMF, while I agree with what you've said, you can't just make tradition nor can you make people to go to the games.  It's going to take time and winning.

[smazza]

if usf wins out it makes life so much easier

[Joe]

The Notre Dame problem lies in the fact that even under the old Big East teams didn't draw well, and the Gator Bowl needed something to make sure they got fans to their game.

[RMF5630]

RMF, while I agree with what you've said, you can't just make tradition nor can you make people to go to the games.  It's going to take time and winning.

I am not saying that USF has control over the number of people that attend.  What they do have TOTAL control over is the experience that the 30 to 40k that do attend the games feel.  For example, I was sitting in a bar last night talking to UW and PSU fans.  Most of them were women and girls between 11 and 19.  My daughter who did not want to go because it was a football game left asking when was the next game.  None of them knew PJ Hill ran for 148 yards, that UW covered, or if they played well.  They knew they won, they had a great time, and the stadium was so cool doing all the chants, waves, band cheers, and waving the towels they gave out.  That is what I am talking about!  USF can do more to create that environment and a lot of it is simple planning and choreograpy.  It is not necessarily more people, a better team, or 100 years of tradition.  It is just some thought on what attracts people to games.  I am not talking a Disney productions, just some authentic enthusiasm that can easily be generated by the existing resources, the band and stadium!  We will not create Gainesville, but its gotta be better.  According to the women and girls I know, USF is not a "fun" game to go see compared to other schools.  I almost fell over when my kids were asking to go to another UW game and we sat in the end zone!

I got news for you, fans like us that actually know the whold roster, the BCS formula, and what USF needs to do to go to a bowl are the minority.  We need to create an environment.