KVIA (El Pas/Las Cruces): Sun Bowl USF or Cincy

[Jim Johnson]

Anyone confused yet?? LOL

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Sun Bowl matchup coming into focus

By Darren Hunt

EL PASO, TX. - The college football regular season is winding down, and it's time to take a look at potential Sun Bowl matchups.

The game is set for New Year's Eve at high noon, at the Sun Bowl. USC's win over Arizona State Thursday night eliminated them from the running towards Sun Bowl 2007, but the picture is still cluttered.

Third-ranked out of the PAC-10 comes to El Paso, which leaves three possibilities: 8-and-2 Oregon, 7-and-4 Oregon State and 6-and-5 Cal.

The Sun Bowl also looks to be selecting out of the Big East Conference this year, instead of the Big-12, getting the number two pick.

That leaves a 9-and-2 UConn, an 8-and-3 Cincinnati or an 8-and-3 South Florida as contenders for the spot. The most likely matchup appears to be either Cincinnati or South Florida against Oregon, which has played in the Sun Bowl twice in the past seven years, in 1999 and again in 2003.

Cincinnati has played in a pair of Sun Bowls as well, but those games were back in the 1940s and 1950s. With a South Florida and Oregon matchup, the Sun Bowl would have two teams that reached number two rankings earlier in the year, but dropped following losses.

ABC-7 spoke with Sun Bowl Executive Director Bernie Olivas Friday about the situation and he admitted that the Sun Bowl Committee could have a tough choice to make in the Big East.

"We look at several things. We look at overall records, we look at rankings, we look at head-to-head competition and obviously we look at conference standings and how they would travel." he said.

Olivas said what could determine the selection from the Big East is who is ranked higher in the BCS standings. Currently, South Florida is one spot ahead of Cincinnati at number 23 in those rankings.

Source

[Matt]

COME ON SUN BOWL!!!

how about USF athletics takes out a full page ad in that paper to welcome the local fans out to support the Bulls.

sun bowl should take us over cincy.  neither fanbase is a huge travel but the sun bowl never really is a big draw anyways.  they have a good local following for that game.  and i think more common fans would rather come out to see USF rather than Cincy. 

plus i would LOVE to play a Pac-10 team and smash them

[deters]

GO CAR CARE BOWL! I can't make the Sun due to expenses.....

[Matt]

GO CAR CARE BOWL! I can't make the Sun due to expenses.....

anything but Pizza.  but i dont think we go to Charlotte.  seems like it will either be the sun bowl or pizza

[MechanicalBull]

This sounds like it will go down to the wire.  no one seems to want to committ at this point.  I like the fact that they mentioned BCS rankings a as an important factor.  Beat Pitt and hope for the best

[feardabull]

If we win, we stay above Cincy.  NO WAY does Cincy hop over us when they beat Syracuse.

[BrahmanBulliever]

They mention they look at head to head matchups. Hurts us as Cincinatti and Uconn both beat us. If Oregon State plays that hurts Cincy and of course barring any Big East upsets we should have the highest BCS ranking which obviously helps us.

[BullsFanInTX]

They mention they look at head to head matchups. Hurts us as Cincinatti and Uconn both beat us. If Oregon State plays that hurts Cincy and of course barring any Big East upsets we should have the highest BCS ranking which obviously helps us.

Yes, but what is going to help us big time, is that we will have been the only team to beat WVU, barring upsets.  A team that looks likely to be playing in NC game.  Don't underestimate that.

[BrahmanBulliever]

I think how we kept it exciting even in our losses should be important, we are also the highest profile football program of the bunch this season but we'll see come tuesday I suppose.

[mikebeau]

GO CAR CARE BOWL! I can't make the Sun due to expenses.....

anything but Pizza.  but i dont think we go to Charlotte.  seems like it will either be the sun bowl or pizza

Even though the Sun has more prestige I'll take car care vs. FSU if it's there.  I could make that game due to family in NC.  Otherwise beat Pitt and any Pac 10 team.