Over Conference Bowl Records.

So this is nothing new and it started with Mcaffery really 5-6 years ago.

With the announcement today that Marcus Jones declaring for the draft, along with many of the other seniors with pro aspirations across the AAC skipping the bowl games.. Is it really a reflection of conference strength by comparing bowl records?.

If CUSA goes 6-0 and AAC goes 2-5, so what?? I think Houston hasn't won since the Peach, 0-5. IS CUSA better then AAC?? Of course not.

Used to be a big topic of discussion. Now, not so much. Outside of the NY6, these are just exhibitions with little value outside of to the fanbases.

Curios to see if thoughts have shifted in the last 5 years on this topic.

If you're asking do I want the Coogs to win their bowl game? Heck ya!

Do bowl games reflect a conference's relative strength to other conferences? Not really. I see effort in bowl games, but not the same effort you'd seen in the conference championship game, for example. But some years, you question the effort put forth by your team... like the bowl game when Army hung 70 on the Coogs.

I'm sure FSU probably feels they didn't put much effort into the Peach Bowl game the Coogs won, but at the same time, I'm not going to let that diminish that the Coogs won.

Ya, I want to have my cake and eat it too.

Bowls are good for:
Exposure (most of them are on tv with few games to compete with)
Development (more practices while school is out for winter break)
Money (bowls pay you and fan donations are generally up)
Recruiting (recruits want to go to bowls, and the games are exciting to them)
Matchups (interesting match possibilities)

Bowl are bad at:
Measuring conference strength

Not to mention a ton of AAC schools over the years have found themselves playing in a bowl game without their head coach using a skeleton coaching staff.

Bowls don't matter when you're losing them. Bowls do matter when you're winning them.

(12-20-2021 03:06 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  Bowls don't matter when you're losing them. Bowls do matter when you're winning them.

Does the paycheck not clear if you lose?

https://fanbuzz.com/college-football/bowl-game-payouts/

College Football Bowl Game Payouts
Military Bowl: $2,066,990 (Boston College vs. East Carolina)
Birmingham Bowl: $1,374,545 (Auburn vs. Houston)
Hawai’i Bowl: $1,200,000 (Hawaii vs. Memphis)
Gasparilla Bowl: $1,125,000 (Florida Gators vs. UCF Knights)
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Unannounced (Old Dominion vs. Tulsa)
Fenway Bowl: Unannounced (Virginia vs. SMU)

Bowls matter.

(12-20-2021 03:22 PM)ArmoredUpKnight Wrote:  

(12-20-2021 03:06 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  Bowls don't matter when you're losing them. Bowls do matter when you're winning them.

Does the paycheck not clear if you lose?

https://fanbuzz.com/college-football/bowl-game-payouts/

College Football Bowl Game Payouts
Military Bowl: $2,066,990 (Boston College vs. East Carolina)
Birmingham Bowl: $1,374,545 (Auburn vs. Houston)
Hawai’i Bowl: $1,200,000 (Hawaii vs. Memphis)
Gasparilla Bowl: $1,125,000 (Florida Gators vs. UCF Knights)
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Unannounced (Old Dominion vs. Tulsa)
Fenway Bowl: Unannounced (Virginia vs. SMU)

Bowls matter.

I was trying to say that how a school does in its bowls impacts how their respective fan bases feel about the importance of bowls. We've lost four in a row, hence a lot of our fans have convinced themselves that these games don't matter.

(12-20-2021 02:56 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Not to mention a ton of AAC schools over the years have found themselves playing in a bowl game without their head coach using a skeleton coaching staff.

a certain sugar bowl, about 10 years ago, comes to mind - ironic, now that BK seems to be loving life on the bayou

(12-20-2021 01:36 PM)CougarPoop Wrote:  Over Conference Bowl Records.

So this is nothing new and it started with Mcaffery really 5-6 years ago.

With the announcement today that Marcus Jones declaring for the draft, along with many of the other seniors with pro aspirations across the AAC skipping the bowl games.. Is it really a reflection of conference strength by comparing bowl records?.

If CUSA goes 6-0 and AAC goes 2-5, so what?? I think Houston hasn't won since the Peach, 0-5. IS CUSA better then AAC?? Of course not.

Used to be a big topic of discussion. Now, not so much. Outside of the NY6, these are just exhibitions with little value outside of to the fanbases.

Curios to see if thoughts have shifted in the last 5 years on this topic.

You aren't wrong; but people will still throw losses into our faces. Even when we win they are excused by the other side. I've read so many posts on social media about the UC-Georgia game last year; every time I see a new post the number of players who opted out for the game goes up.

I hope so, but some would say that, if you have to ask, the answer might be no.

I'm still a bit "numb" about the departure of Cincy, Houston, and UCF.

Yet, I am worked up about the NCAA tournament, even though it's 3 months away.

Were "we" ever truly worked up about bowl records? I'll suggest defining "we" as the regular posters on this AAC board, and I'll say that "we" have always taken bowl records with a grain of salt.

I LOVE bowl season. Anytime I see someone trot out the "too many bowls" silliness, I'm among the first in line to say that more college football is good.
I view the bowls as an integral part of the holiday season. I remember being on deployment and figuring out what to watch live (probably sacrificing sleep) and what to watch on replay on AFN. Bowl games in the background help mark the time of holiday events with extended family - my wife's Mom's side of the family, my wife's Dad's side of the family, my own family...bowl games provide a holiday atmosphere and/or a way in or out of conversations with THAT uncle/cousin. They are a touchstone of the holiday season, and I hope that continues to whatever extent possible after CFP expansion.

But as much as I love bowls, they are what they are - they have always been exhibition games. It was only a few years ago that bowl game statistics were included in players' season statistics. That has only been magnified with the national sports media over-focusing on the CFP Invitational at the expense of all other bowls. This started with the BCS but has definitely increased with the CFP. Players opting out of bowl games is the symptom, not the root cause.

Bowl records are a poor, poor metric for conference strength. Yes, it's nice to have out-of-conference contests after the regular season has wrapped. But this board has probably been pretty consistent in NOT overstating their importance for measuring conferences.
They're a small sample size - we have far more regular season season OOC games than bowl games.
That small sample has a ton of variability that regular season games do not. I already mentioned players opting out. Someone else already mentioned the frequency with which we have coaching staffs decimated for the bowl games with the increasingly early coaches' carousel. Even without that, there is variability in how programs treat these exhibition games. Some truly use it as a reward trip while others treat it as a business trip. Some reward those seniors low on the depth chart, while others look ahead to next year to get younger guys game-speed reps. The bowl experience is completely different from a regular season away game - three days or so of events and charity visits and more media than normal.

The point was made that those who win will naturally put more stock in them than those who lose, but it is also more than that. I started drilling down into TV viewership several years ago, when some G4 fans were making a huge deal out of AAC vs G4 bowl records, but making the point that "that is what people will remember." For most G4s, their bowl appearance is their single biggest viewership event. For the AAC teams, with the exception of NY6 bowls, that's simply not true: even the bowl matchups with autonomy conference schools may or may not be an AAC team's most viewed game. I know for Navy, it might be around #3 or #4 for the year.

For the AAC, I would view bowl records as one segment, but just one segment, of the season-long OOC records in terms of getting worked up. And within the small sample size of bowls I would view AAC vs autonomy conferences as more significant for conference perception than AAC vs G4s in bowls.

While I have the mic, I'll add one more soap box item. It seems to be a cottage industry here to disparage the AAC's bowl tie-ins, but is another example of the AAC being that tweener conference (which in the long run is more in keeping with P6 success than not). 4 of the AAC's 7 bowls this year are against autonomy conferences. The mwc has two. Army has Mizzou. Do any G4 conferences have any? I agree that the AAC's bowl lineup is not on par with the SEC's or the Big10's. Duh. But it is yet another example of how the AAC just isn't the same as the mwc, Sun Belt, MAC, or CUSA.

Bowls matter for other conferences more than they matter for us

We lost many due to coaching turnovers so we kinda stopped caring as much. It's not a good measure of strength for "our " conference but still a good measure for others.

(12-21-2021 01:43 AM)Agust Wrote:  Bowls matter for other conferences more than they matter for us

We lost many due to coaching turnovers so we kinda stopped caring as much. It's not a good measure of strength for "our " conference but still a good measure for others.

The best measure of a conference is how many coaches get promoted to P5 programs. I think the AAC has the best track record of the G's.

(12-21-2021 01:43 AM)Agust Wrote:  Bowls matter for other conferences more than they matter for us

We lost many due to coaching turnovers so we kinda stopped caring as much. It's not a good measure of strength for "our " conference but still a good measure for others.

When we lose our coaches got poached, players opted out, the sun was in our eyes, the refs cheated, we were hungover, or the players weren't motivated due to the lack of bowl swag. When we win, it's because the AAC is a tougher conference. Memorize this.

(12-21-2021 09:34 AM)ultraviolet Wrote:  

(12-21-2021 01:43 AM)Agust Wrote:  Bowls matter for other conferences more than they matter for us

We lost many due to coaching turnovers so we kinda stopped caring as much. It's not a good measure of strength for "our " conference but still a good measure for others.

When we lose our coaches got poached, players opted out, the sun was in our eyes, the refs cheated, we were hungover, or the players weren't motivated due to the lack of bowl swag. When we win, it's because the AAC is a tougher conference. Memorize this.

i take everything into consideration and the turn out is to heavy as we are on constant rebuild status or fresh off a new coach regime. it is what it is..im glad for the wins but the losses i wouldn't count it as a measure of strength.

i mean c'mon UC and UCF are good examples of how a coaching change can drastically alter or change a program. Can you imagine if UCF kept frost, and Memphis kept Fuente, Temple kept Rhule, and Houston kept Herman????
INSANE!.

i don't know of another conference that has the turnover of HC's as the AAC. i don't think anyone in the NCAAF will think the AAC isn't a top 6 conference in football. however the bowl games are not a good measure.

(12-20-2021 03:30 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  I was trying to say that how a school does in its bowls impacts how their respective fan bases feel about the importance of bowls. We've lost four in a row, hence a lot of our fans have convinced themselves that these games don't matter.

UCF's Bowl Game sold-out in the Bucs Stadium...so yes, this bowl game is important to their fan base.

Bowl victories = Hardware. More Hardware is nice but comparing conferences based on bowls is silly.

(12-21-2021 03:17 PM)Sideshow2313 Wrote:  Bowl victories = Hardware. More Hardware is nice but comparing conferences based on bowls is silly.

Some of the bowl hardware looks silly tho. I don't know if its as impressive to recruits as it used to be.

B'Ham bowl still has this ridiculous looking thing

Don't show them the back


Gasparilla Bowl trophy is a treasure chest.

Are those azzless chaps?

Nope. Bro's not wearing nothing but an apron.