Division I-A Bowl Game Analysis (Long)

[79 Bull]

6-6 makes them bowl eligible, and Music City or Motor City will take a 6-6 Big Ten team over a mid-major team any day.  I think Northwestern gets there, but Michigan State won't.

I think the rule for teams playing 12 games in an 11 game season reverted back to having to win 7 to be bowl eligible.  Check out this article about Hawaii:

http://starbulletin.com/2004/02/29/sports/story4.html

[USFFan]

6-6 makes them bowl eligible, and Music City or Motor City will take a 6-6 Big Ten team over a mid-major team any day.  I think Northwestern gets there, but Michigan State won't.

Having just read that Hawaii article, I don't know how important this is, but the Motor City Bowl has a Big East tie in the event that the Big Ten doesn't have an eligible team.  Not sure, but I'd bet that a 6-5 Big East team would have to be taken over a 6-6 Big Ten team.  

USFFan

[USFFan]

Come on, our first bowl game, like we would not travel well?  It's a pretty big deal, no matter who we play, b/c it's our first time.  

Two problems.  The first is that we've never proven that we travel well.  Remember it would be UAB's first trip, too.  

Second, unless we sweep our remaining games, we'll go into that last game vs. Pittsburgh at 5-5 (likely what Pitt's record will be, too).  That means that bowls won't know whether we're going to be eligible until after December 4.  In all likelihood, they'll have made other arrangements before then.  

USFFan

[Jim Johnson]

I think the rule for teams playing 12 games in an 11 game season reverted back to having to win 7 to be bowl eligible.  Check out this article about Hawaii:

http://starbulletin.com/2004/02/29/sports/story4.html

79 Bull ... Good find.  It looks like that is the case that NW and MSU will need 7 wins... I still think NW will be 7-5, but Michigan State will be 6-6, and still not bowl eligible.

I will revise the Big Ten analysis to reflect this reality.

[GarySJ]

Reading the st pete times today scarred me a little.  They way they talked, even if we do win, bowls are worried that we will not travel well.

But Troy State and UAB will? Considering the options the lower bowls are being forced to consider, USF is a decent choice. Maybe even the best choice fan-wise once the excess BCS teams and Navy are spoken for.

If we qualify of course. Gotta focus on ECU first.

[smazza]

we need to win out

one loss and we are out

if we lose to pitt we are out

[WoolyBully]

if we lose to pitt we are out

We pretty much have to beat ECU (who beat Army), beat Cincinnati (at Cincy), beat Memphis here....and then we get to chit-chat about beating Pitt.

If any of the first three come up "L"....Pitt is our bowl game.  

[79 Bull]

Here's another weird scenariio.

It is mathematically possible that the Big XII champion is not bowl eligible.  Iowa State, Nebraska and Colorado all have a remote shot at winning the championship game with a final record of 6-6.

[Jim Johnson]

Here's another weird scenariio.

It is mathematically possible that the Big XII champion is not bowl eligible.  Iowa State, Nebraska and Colorado all have a remote shot at winning the championship game with a final record of 6-6.

Well, both Colorado and Nebraska are 5-4, and they play each other ... so one of them will have to be 6-5 before the Big 12 Championship game, which means if they beat Oklahoma, then they would be 7-5, not 6-6.

It's mathematically impossible for the Big 12 Champion to be any worse than 7-5.  Sorry.

[79 Bull]

Duh - I guess I should have checked the remaining schedules.