Bowl Situation

[Jewbull]

Please correct me if I am wrong;

Dont we have to finish in the top 5 of the Big East to get a conference bowl berth? Obviously if the season ends today the former #2 team in the country is on the outside loooking in.

If we do not get a Big East bowl berth, what are the odds of us getting an at-large.   USF attendance at Syracuse & Pitt will probably be dismal and the home attendance against the Ville probably wont top 40K, so its gonna be tough to get an at-large bid to some bowl that is many many miles away from Tampa.

Even though we hung 64 points on UCF, they may have the last laugh playing football after christmas, while our boys are home wondering why Mike Ford isnt playing, & Gregory's play calling is the wors than one could have ever imagined.

[usfgrad84]

As far as I know as long as we are bowl eligibile (which we are) it does not matter what place we finish in.  it will come down to which bowl chooses us.  If we are fifth or even worse and the other conference teams are bowl eligible, regardless of their record, they may or may not be chosen by a BE affiliated bowl.  It's the bowl's choice as to who they think will draw the biggest crowd/most interest.

As far as an At Large Bowl.  If there is a spot open, again, it's the bowl's choice as to who will draw the most interest provided we work within their pre set rules regarding conference affiliation and the NCAA rule 2+ win rule.

[snarling Bull]

Without getting one of the Big East Bowls, our chances of getting a bowl are probable slim to none- SEC and Big 12 already have more teams bowl eligible than they have bowls

[BrahmanBulliever]

At this point I'm waiting on us getting a guaranteed over .500 for the season before worrying about which bowl will be blessed with our presence.

[Guest]

USF will get a Big East bowl...

First, bowl slots have nothing to do with place within the conference...

Let's look at the Big East teams:

[table]

[tr][td]Team[/td][td]Conf. Rec.[/td][td]Overall Rec.[/td][td]Week 11[/td][td]Week 12[/td][td]Week 13[/td][td]Week 14[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Connecticut[/td][td]4-0[/td][td]8-1[/td][td]@ Cincy[/td][td]v 'Cuse[/td][td]@ WVU[/td][td]  [/td][/tr]

[tr][td]West Virginia[/td][td]2-1[/td][td]7-1[/td][td]v L'ville[/td][td]@ Cincy[/td][td]v U Conn[/td][td]v Pitt[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Cincinnati[/td][td]2-2[/td][td]7-2[/td][td]v U Conn[/td][td]v WVU[/td][td]@ 'Cuse[/td][td]  [/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Louisville[/td][td]2-2[/td][td]5-4[/td][td]@ WVU[/td][td]@ USF[/td][td]  [/td][td]v Rutgers[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Pittsburgh[/td][td]2-2[/td][td]4-5[/td][td]  [/td][td]@ Rutgers[/td][td]v USF[/td][td]@ WVU[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Rutgers[/td][td]2-3[/td][td]5-4[/td][td]@ Army[/td][td]v Pitt[/td][td]  [/td][td]@ Lville[/td][/tr]

[tr][td]South Florida[/td][td]1-3[/td][td]6-3[/td][td]@ 'Cuse[/td][td]v L'ville[/td][td]@ Pitt[/td][td]  [/td][/tr]

[tr][td]Syracuse[/td][td]1-3[/td][td]2-7[/td][td]v USF[/td][td]@ U Conn[/td][td]v Cincy[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][/table]

Okay, U Conn, WVU, Cincy, and USF are the only teams currently eligible for a bowl game.  Rutgers plays Army this week, so they will be eligible.  That is five teams for five slots.

Now we look at Louisville and Pitt as possibly becoming eligible. 

The Cardinals need one win over West Virginia, USF, or Rutgers.  That might actually be hard to do.  I really don't see that happening.

Pittsburgh needs two wins over Rutgers, USF, or West Virginia, again. That is nearly impossible to do.

So, in the end, the Big East will have five teams for five slots.  Not a problem.

WVU/U Conn winner = BCS

WVU/U Conn loser = Sun

Cincy = Car Care

Rutgers = International

USF = PapaJohns

Unless Cincinnati loses their remaining games, at which point USF might get the Charlotte invite instead.

[GarySJ]

This all overlooks one possibility, however: there's going to be some deals made. Some bowls have tie-ins requiring them to take atrocious 6-6 teams (Conference USA, I'm looking at you) while some very attractive excess candidates (Indiana, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, the Louisville-Rutgers loser, and at least one Big 12 team) won't have slots. As we all know from 2002, bowl games are a slimy business. Someone's going to find a way to break their tie-ins, and produce some unexpected changes to the bowl picture.

Man, it'd be great if the Birmingham game could find a way to ditch C-USA and get a 6-6 SEC team to face USF. That bowl would suddenly become pretty good. The Birmingham people can't be thrilled about the idea of USF playing the team they beat last year, or the team they beat by 52 points during the regular season. Such is the quality of Conference USA football these days.

[BrahmanBulliever]

Okay, U Conn, WVU, Cincy, and UCF are the only teams currently eligible for a bowl game.  Rutgers plays Army this week, so they will be eligible.  That is five teams for five slots.

Careful now, we start threads over slip-ups likes that. >

[Guest]

This all overlooks one possibility, however: there's going to be some deals made. Some bowls have tie-ins requiring them to take atrocious 6-6 teams (Conference USA, I'm looking at you) while some very attractive excess candidates (Indiana, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, the Louisville-Rutgers loser, and at least one Big 12 team) won't have slots. As we all know from 2002, bowl games are a slimy business. Someone's going to find a way to break their tie-ins, and produce some unexpected changes to the bowl picture.

Man, it'd be great if the Birmingham game could find a way to ditch C-USA and get a 6-6 SEC team to face USF. That bowl would suddenly become pretty good. The Birmingham people can't be thrilled about the idea of USF playing the team they beat last year, or the team they beat by 52 points during the regular season. Such is the quality of Conference USA football these days.

Gary - The NCAA changed the rules after 2002 to require all contracts be in place before the season starts.  There won't be any deals late in the game.

[Guest]

Okay, U Conn, WVU, Cincy, and UCF are the only teams currently eligible for a bowl game.  Rutgers plays Army this week, so they will be eligible.  That is five teams for five slots.

Careful now, we start threads over slip-ups likes that. >

LOL. oops.  -- corrected.

[Dmince]

Couple thoughts:

Louisville will beat either WVU, us, or Rutgers. They are still a dangerous team. Remember they beat Cincinatti and only lost to Rutgers on that ridiculous fair catch play that Tranghese apologized to Uconn for.

Is it true that the bowl selections are not based on conference standings?

If so then, Louisville's travel contingent will make them a shoe in for a bowl game should they win one more.

I think that because of the publicity we've earned this year we are more attractive to bowls as a team that will garner local interest over say a Uconn or Cinnci.

I've heard in the past that the travel and border situation with the international bowl makes it a financial loss for us if we ever get selected.

I do not want to play UCF in the PJ bowl. Based on how the two teams are playing now it could be a disaster on a neutral field. If we win that game by 20 points it probably hurts us because they are "closing the gap."

In my opinion, the absolute best case scenario would be vs. FSU in the Meineke Bowl. We could save the entire season in that one game and it would be a blast.

Jim, what would have to happen for us to play FSU in Charlotte? Thanks.