I think bowl committees have a greater tendency to want to get a team that travels well rather than one that seems fun
Bowl Eligible -- can we do better than Detroit?
- Thread starter wildcatcoaster
- Start date
Well Wisconsin won so we have the same record, I suppose we have a tiebreaker against them but have to think a bowl committee would want them over us
Rutgers plays Maryland next week. Only one can get to 7 wins. I suppose we root for the Terps. The winner of that game would seem to be destined for the Pinstripe Bowl based on proximity to the venue.
Looks to me like Nashville is interested in Wisconsin, or the Maryland/Rutgers winner, not us. The B1G would probably push Wisconsin over us (or Rutgers/Maryland winner) to Nashville anyway, since Wisco is ineligible for Vegas. Wisconsin's only previous Nashville appearance was in 2003.
Some bowl projection dribble... sorry if not coherent.
Right now there are 8 B1G teams that are bowl eligible - NU, UM, OSU, PSU, Mary, Rut, Ioa, Wisky
Cheering hard next week for the nearly eligible teams to lose - Neb, Min and of course ILL.
Figure the money bowls will take UM, OSU, PSU
I believe the order is..
Citrus - Ioa I suppose
Old Outback - probably not us
Music - good chance if nearly eligible all lose
LV - better chance if nearly eligible all lose
Pinstripe - most likely with the nearly eligible all lose
PHX - if one or two nearly eligible lose
Motown - if one or two nearly eligible lose
we could also be assed out if all nearly eligible win out and we go to a bowl at some obscure southern city - Birmingham/Shrevesport
But we go bowling!!!
Right now there are 8 B1G teams that are bowl eligible - NU, UM, OSU, PSU, Mary, Rut, Ioa, Wisky
Cheering hard next week for the nearly eligible teams to lose - Neb, Min and of course ILL.
Figure the money bowls will take UM, OSU, PSU
I believe the order is..
Citrus - Ioa I suppose
Old Outback - probably not us
Music - good chance if nearly eligible all lose
LV - better chance if nearly eligible all lose
Pinstripe - most likely with the nearly eligible all lose
PHX - if one or two nearly eligible lose
Motown - if one or two nearly eligible lose
we could also be assed out if all nearly eligible win out and we go to a bowl at some obscure southern city - Birmingham/Shrevesport
But we go bowling!!!
Maybe I’m delusional, but I think NU is a better pick for a city than any program except Iowa (and the three really good teams).
If Nebraska wins in Iowa City, which seems very unlikely, I think there’s probably some pent-up demand (no bowls in Lincoln this decade!) and they’d leapfrog NU.
I’d love Pinstripe but I don’t see how it lines up for NU. 6-5 Maryland is playing 6-5 Rutgers next week and I think most likely the loser of that game will be snapped up by Pinstripe. An easy trip for their fans and the old ACC rivalries could come back into play.
I also think for better or worse Wisconsin still has the cache of a good team.
If Maryland, us and Wisconsin win I think it goes:
Nashville: Wisconsin
Vegas: Maryland
NYC: Rutgers
PHX: Northwestern
If Wisconsin LOSES though and NU wins, it would be really tough to swallow them getting the Nashville nod, but if they’re not there and ineligible for Vegas/PHX and Pinstripe wants a local team I don’t see how they fall down to Detroit.
Basically I would put the probability that NU ends up in Phoenix at 50% or more, pretty much regardless of how next week goes.
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I really just want to win.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m really pumped about getting to a bowl. But I’m still not sure how objectively good we are.
If we were playing us in a bowl we’d call out that 2 of the wins were against UTEP and Howard, and only 2 of the conference wins were against teams with a winning record. Normally I’d say bring on the best possible appoint but this year? I’d love to beat some MAC team where where we have superior talent.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m really pumped about getting to a bowl. But I’m still not sure how objectively good we are.
If we were playing us in a bowl we’d call out that 2 of the wins were against UTEP and Howard, and only 2 of the conference wins were against teams with a winning record. Normally I’d say bring on the best possible appoint but this year? I’d love to beat some MAC team where where we have superior talent.
Correct me if I am wrong, but in reality our bowl slot is not likely going to be influenced by getting one more win since there is no requirement for the bowl selection committees to give preference to a 7 win team over a 6 win team. The other intangible factors can be expected to sway their decisions.
Getting one more win means that Illinois is not in competition with us for a slot, so that's actually pretty important.
