Here's my take on the bowl situation right now. ArkStFan probably has some better insight into where everyone would go, but this is my shot on it after following the past few weeks and projections from different sites. Safe to say yesterday was a GREAT day for Sun Belt's bowl hopeful teams.

ACC - 8 Bids
Florida St, Duke, Clemson, and winner or NC State/Wake Forest is in. Miami is essentially in. Loser of NC State/Wake Forest still has a good shot. Other than that, Virginia Tech is the only other team that would likely have a shot. If all of those teams get in, they're still one short.
Open slots: Military, maybe Independence

Big 12 - 8 slots
They'll have 8 on the dot. Nothing dramatic here.
Open slots - None.

Big East - 6 slots
Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincy are in. No one else has an easy road, but out of Temple, Pitt, and Syracuse I'd say that one of them gets hot and makes it. It probably won't be Temple as they only have 11 games and already have 5 losses. Big opportunity here, but the MAC has backup agreements with the first two available bowls - Birmingham and St. Pete.
Open slots - Beef O Brady's, BBVA Compass, maybe Pinstripe

Big Ten - 8 slots
Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin. Michigan State likely. That very well could be it given the tough schedules for the rest of the 4 and 5 win teams. I'll say one of Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana makes it, leaving them with 6 teams.
Open slots - Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, maybe Meineke (Houston)

CUSA - 6 slots
ECU, UCF, and Tulsa are in. Nothing else is guaranteed but 4 win teams SMU, Houston, and Marshall have shots but they'll need upsets in a few cases. One of them will get in.
Open slots - Military, maybe two more (NOLA or Beef O Brady's)

Independents
Notre Dame will take a BCS at large. Navy and BYU get into their respective bowl games. Army/CUSA leaves the Military slot open as mentioned above.

MAC - 3 slots
6 are in, with Miami (OH) having an outside shot. They have a backup agreement with Military, which leaves them with 2 extra teams. Likely to send them to Beef O Brady's and BBVA Compass unless something weird happens.
Open slots - None

Mountain West - 5 slots
4 teams are already in, with a max of two more, which would fill out their bids with an extra team. New Mexico likely doesn't make it, which leaves them even.
Open slots - none.

PAC 12 - 7 slots
Five are in, with Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah all fighting for a slot. They get an extra team in the BCS, leaving them with the possibility of an open slot.
Open slots - Maybe New Mexico

SEC - 10 slots
Seven teams are in. Mizzou, Tennessee, Vandy, Ole miss still have a shot. Vandy is likely in, while the loser of Mizzou and Tennessee is probably out. Ole Miss is the wild card. IF they make it, they cover all 10. If not, they don't. They'll likely get an extra BCS slot, leaving another game open.
Open slots - Independence, BBVA Compass

Sun Belt - 2 slots
Four teams are in. ULL is likely in. Troy is a wild card.
Open slots - none.

WAC - 1 slot
Louisiana Tech, Utah State, and San Jose State are in. That's it.
Open slots - none.


Extra teams
Sun Belt - 4
MAC - 3
WAC - 2

So, the following slots are what I think will be open.

Beef O Bradys
BBVA Compass (x2)
Little Caesars
Heart of Dallas
Military (x2)
Independence

That means we have one extra team past the 70 slots. LA Tech likely gets the Independence slot. MAC teams get Beef, BBVA, and one Military slot. That leaves BBVA, Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, Military for 4 Sun Belt teams, and likely San Jose St (Utah St takes WAC's only bowl bid in Boise). Sun Belt snags BBVA, Little Caesars, and Military. From there, you've got one more Belt team, and San Jose St battling for Heart of Dallas. Sun Belt convinces them of Cajuns' ticket sales and San Jose State is the team left out. The "Sun Belt Six" all go home happy.

Edit: Missed Boise State's loss. Doesn't change much except the Pac 12 could now be the conference that leaves the New Mexico bowl slot open.

I'd like for the Sun Belt to get some kind of agreement with the BBVA Compass bowl; I'd think a Sun Belt team would be more appealing than a MAC team for any southern bowl game.

Get the BBVA as well as a bowl with a AQ conference tie in. Def need to get 2 more tie ins. We have had the teams this year and last. Hopefully this is something else that Benson is working on.

I see us only having 5 teams. I doubt Troy wins two of their last 3.

(11-04-2012 10:50 AM)MTowho Wrote:  Here's my take on the bowl situation right now. ArkStFan probably has some better insight into where everyone would go, but this is my shot on it after following the past few weeks and projections from different sites. Safe to say yesterday was a GREAT day for Sun Belt's bowl hopeful teams.

ACC - 8 Bids
Florida St, Duke, Clemson, and winner or NC State/Wake Forest is in. Miami is essentially in. Loser of NC State/Wake Forest still has a good shot. Other than that, Virginia Tech is the only other team that would likely have a shot. If all of those teams get in, they're still one short.
Open slots: Military, maybe Independence

Big 12 - 8 slots
They'll have 8 on the dot. Nothing dramatic here.
Open slots - None.

Big East - 6 slots
Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincy are in. No one else has an easy road, but out of Temple, Pitt, and Syracuse I'd say that one of them gets hot and makes it. It probably won't be Temple as they only have 11 games and already have 5 losses. Big opportunity here, but the MAC has backup agreements with the first two available bowls - Birmingham and St. Pete.
Open slots - Beef O Brady's, BBVA Compass, maybe Pinstripe

Big Ten - 8 slots
Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin. Michigan State likely. That very well could be it given the tough schedules for the rest of the 4 and 5 win teams. I'll say one of Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana makes it, leaving them with 6 teams.
Open slots - Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, maybe Meineke (Houston)

CUSA - 6 slots
ECU, UCF, and Tulsa are in. Nothing else is guaranteed but 4 win teams SMU, Houston, and Marshall have shots but they'll need upsets in a few cases. One of them will get in.
Open slots - Military, maybe two more (NOLA or Beef O Brady's)

Independents
Notre Dame will take a BCS at large. Navy and BYU get into their respective bowl games. Army/CUSA leaves the Military slot open as mentioned above.

MAC - 3 slots
6 are in, with Miami (OH) having an outside shot. They have a backup agreement with Military, which leaves them with 2 extra teams. Likely to send them to Beef O Brady's and BBVA Compass unless something weird happens.
Open slots - None

Mountain West - 5 slots
4 teams are already in, with a max of two more, which would fill out their bids with an extra team. New Mexico likely doesn't make it, which leaves them even.
Open slots - none.

PAC 12 - 7 slots
Five are in, with Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah all fighting for a slot. They get an extra team in the BCS, leaving them with the possibility of an open slot.
Open slots - Maybe New Mexico

SEC - 10 slots
Seven teams are in. Mizzou, Tennessee, Vandy, Ole miss still have a shot. Vandy is likely in, while the loser of Mizzou and Tennessee is probably out. Ole Miss is the wild card. IF they make it, they cover all 10. If not, they don't. They'll likely get an extra BCS slot, leaving another game open.
Open slots - Independence, BBVA Compass

Sun Belt - 2 slots
Four teams are in. ULL is likely in. Troy is a wild card.
Open slots - none.

WAC - 1 slot
Louisiana Tech, Utah State, and San Jose State are in. That's it.
Open slots - none.


Extra teams
Sun Belt - 4
MAC - 3
WAC - 2

So, the following slots are what I think will be open.

Beef O Bradys
BBVA Compass (x2)
Little Caesars
Heart of Dallas
Military (x2)
Independence

That means we have one extra team past the 70 slots. LA Tech likely gets the Independence slot. MAC teams get Beef, BBVA, and one Military slot. That leaves BBVA, Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, Military for 4 Sun Belt teams, and likely San Jose St (Utah St takes WAC's only bowl bid in Boise). Sun Belt snags BBVA, Little Caesars, and Military. From there, you've got one more Belt team, and San Jose St battling for Heart of Dallas. Sun Belt convinces them of Cajuns' ticket sales and San Jose State is the team left out. The "Sun Belt Six" all go home happy.

Edit: Missed Boise State's loss. Doesn't change much except the Pac 12 could now be the conference that leaves the New Mexico bowl slot open.

I think SJ State gets left out of a bowl due to location, if it comes down to a choice between a SBC team or SJ State.

(11-04-2012 11:53 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(11-04-2012 10:50 AM)MTowho Wrote:  Here's my take on the bowl situation right now. ArkStFan probably has some better insight into where everyone would go, but this is my shot on it after following the past few weeks and projections from different sites. Safe to say yesterday was a GREAT day for Sun Belt's bowl hopeful teams.

ACC - 8 Bids
Florida St, Duke, Clemson, and winner or NC State/Wake Forest is in. Miami is essentially in. Loser of NC State/Wake Forest still has a good shot. Other than that, Virginia Tech is the only other team that would likely have a shot. If all of those teams get in, they're still one short.
Open slots: Military, maybe Independence

Big 12 - 8 slots
They'll have 8 on the dot. Nothing dramatic here.
Open slots - None.

Big East - 6 slots
Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincy are in. No one else has an easy road, but out of Temple, Pitt, and Syracuse I'd say that one of them gets hot and makes it. It probably won't be Temple as they only have 11 games and already have 5 losses. Big opportunity here, but the MAC has backup agreements with the first two available bowls - Birmingham and St. Pete.
Open slots - Beef O Brady's, BBVA Compass, maybe Pinstripe

Big Ten - 8 slots
Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin. Michigan State likely. That very well could be it given the tough schedules for the rest of the 4 and 5 win teams. I'll say one of Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana makes it, leaving them with 6 teams.
Open slots - Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, maybe Meineke (Houston)

CUSA - 6 slots
ECU, UCF, and Tulsa are in. Nothing else is guaranteed but 4 win teams SMU, Houston, and Marshall have shots but they'll need upsets in a few cases. One of them will get in.
Open slots - Military, maybe two more (NOLA or Beef O Brady's)

Independents
Notre Dame will take a BCS at large. Navy and BYU get into their respective bowl games. Army/CUSA leaves the Military slot open as mentioned above.

MAC - 3 slots
6 are in, with Miami (OH) having an outside shot. They have a backup agreement with Military, which leaves them with 2 extra teams. Likely to send them to Beef O Brady's and BBVA Compass unless something weird happens.
Open slots - None

Mountain West - 5 slots
4 teams are already in, with a max of two more, which would fill out their bids with an extra team. New Mexico likely doesn't make it, which leaves them even.
Open slots - none.

PAC 12 - 7 slots
Five are in, with Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah all fighting for a slot. They get an extra team in the BCS, leaving them with the possibility of an open slot.
Open slots - Maybe New Mexico

SEC - 10 slots
Seven teams are in. Mizzou, Tennessee, Vandy, Ole miss still have a shot. Vandy is likely in, while the loser of Mizzou and Tennessee is probably out. Ole Miss is the wild card. IF they make it, they cover all 10. If not, they don't. They'll likely get an extra BCS slot, leaving another game open.
Open slots - Independence, BBVA Compass

Sun Belt - 2 slots
Four teams are in. ULL is likely in. Troy is a wild card.
Open slots - none.

WAC - 1 slot
Louisiana Tech, Utah State, and San Jose State are in. That's it.
Open slots - none.


Extra teams
Sun Belt - 4
MAC - 3
WAC - 2

So, the following slots are what I think will be open.

Beef O Bradys
BBVA Compass (x2)
Little Caesars
Heart of Dallas
Military (x2)
Independence

That means we have one extra team past the 70 slots. LA Tech likely gets the Independence slot. MAC teams get Beef, BBVA, and one Military slot. That leaves BBVA, Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, Military for 4 Sun Belt teams, and likely San Jose St (Utah St takes WAC's only bowl bid in Boise). Sun Belt snags BBVA, Little Caesars, and Military. From there, you've got one more Belt team, and San Jose St battling for Heart of Dallas. Sun Belt convinces them of Cajuns' ticket sales and San Jose State is the team left out. The "Sun Belt Six" all go home happy.

Edit: Missed Boise State's loss. Doesn't change much except the Pac 12 could now be the conference that leaves the New Mexico bowl slot open.

I think SJ State gets left out of a bowl due to location, if it comes down to a choice between a SBC team or SJ State.

I don't know that a 7-5 or 6-6 ULM makes a bowl.

The Compass would be a good Sun Belt 3 vs. SEC 9/10 game with a C-USA backup agreement. That would potentially put WKU/MT/ULM up against Tennessee, Vanderbilt or perhaps Ole Miss.
A new venue for the bowl in Birmingham sure would be nice as well, but that's a different thread relating to Paul W. Bryant, Jr. burning in hell for the way he does.

(11-04-2012 10:50 AM)MTowho Wrote:  Here's my take on the bowl situation right now. ArkStFan probably has some better insight into where everyone would go, but this is my shot on it after following the past few weeks and projections from different sites. Safe to say yesterday was a GREAT day for Sun Belt's bowl hopeful teams.

ACC - 8 Bids
Florida St, Duke, Clemson, and winner or NC State/Wake Forest is in. Miami is essentially in. Loser of NC State/Wake Forest still has a good shot. Other than that, Virginia Tech is the only other team that would likely have a shot. If all of those teams get in, they're still one short.
Open slots: Military, maybe Independence

Big 12 - 8 slots
They'll have 8 on the dot. Nothing dramatic here.
Open slots - None.

Big East - 6 slots
Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincy are in. No one else has an easy road, but out of Temple, Pitt, and Syracuse I'd say that one of them gets hot and makes it. It probably won't be Temple as they only have 11 games and already have 5 losses. Big opportunity here, but the MAC has backup agreements with the first two available bowls - Birmingham and St. Pete.
Open slots - Beef O Brady's, BBVA Compass, maybe Pinstripe

Big Ten - 8 slots
Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin. Michigan State likely. That very well could be it given the tough schedules for the rest of the 4 and 5 win teams. I'll say one of Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana makes it, leaving them with 6 teams.
Open slots - Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, maybe Meineke (Houston)

CUSA - 6 slots
ECU, UCF, and Tulsa are in. Nothing else is guaranteed but 4 win teams SMU, Houston, and Marshall have shots but they'll need upsets in a few cases. One of them will get in.
Open slots - Military, maybe two more (NOLA or Beef O Brady's)

Independents
Notre Dame will take a BCS at large. Navy and BYU get into their respective bowl games. Army/CUSA leaves the Military slot open as mentioned above.

MAC - 3 slots
6 are in, with Miami (OH) having an outside shot. They have a backup agreement with Military, which leaves them with 2 extra teams. Likely to send them to Beef O Brady's and BBVA Compass unless something weird happens.
Open slots - None

Mountain West - 5 slots
4 teams are already in, with a max of two more, which would fill out their bids with an extra team. New Mexico likely doesn't make it, which leaves them even.
Open slots - none.

PAC 12 - 7 slots
Five are in, with Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah all fighting for a slot. They get an extra team in the BCS, leaving them with the possibility of an open slot.
Open slots - Maybe New Mexico

SEC - 10 slots
Seven teams are in. Mizzou, Tennessee, Vandy, Ole miss still have a shot. Vandy is likely in, while the loser of Mizzou and Tennessee is probably out. Ole Miss is the wild card. IF they make it, they cover all 10. If not, they don't. They'll likely get an extra BCS slot, leaving another game open.
Open slots - Independence, BBVA Compass

Sun Belt - 2 slots
Four teams are in. ULL is likely in. Troy is a wild card.
Open slots - none.

WAC - 1 slot
Louisiana Tech, Utah State, and San Jose State are in. That's it.
Open slots - none.


Extra teams
Sun Belt - 4
MAC - 3
WAC - 2

So, the following slots are what I think will be open.

Beef O Bradys
BBVA Compass (x2)
Little Caesars
Heart of Dallas
Military (x2)
Independence

That means we have one extra team past the 70 slots. LA Tech likely gets the Independence slot. MAC teams get Beef, BBVA, and one Military slot. That leaves BBVA, Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, Military for 4 Sun Belt teams, and likely San Jose St (Utah St takes WAC's only bowl bid in Boise). Sun Belt snags BBVA, Little Caesars, and Military. From there, you've got one more Belt team, and San Jose St battling for Heart of Dallas. Sun Belt convinces them of Cajuns' ticket sales and San Jose State is the team left out. The "Sun Belt Six" all go home happy.

Edit: Missed Boise State's loss. Doesn't change much except the Pac 12 could now be the conference that leaves the New Mexico bowl slot open.

The Cajuns get to 7 wins, they are going to the NO Bowl. They won't be in Dallas.

(11-04-2012 11:55 AM)Arrowhead Wrote:  

(11-04-2012 11:53 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(11-04-2012 10:50 AM)MTowho Wrote:  Here's my take on the bowl situation right now. ArkStFan probably has some better insight into where everyone would go, but this is my shot on it after following the past few weeks and projections from different sites. Safe to say yesterday was a GREAT day for Sun Belt's bowl hopeful teams.

ACC - 8 Bids
Florida St, Duke, Clemson, and winner or NC State/Wake Forest is in. Miami is essentially in. Loser of NC State/Wake Forest still has a good shot. Other than that, Virginia Tech is the only other team that would likely have a shot. If all of those teams get in, they're still one short.
Open slots: Military, maybe Independence

Big 12 - 8 slots
They'll have 8 on the dot. Nothing dramatic here.
Open slots - None.

Big East - 6 slots
Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincy are in. No one else has an easy road, but out of Temple, Pitt, and Syracuse I'd say that one of them gets hot and makes it. It probably won't be Temple as they only have 11 games and already have 5 losses. Big opportunity here, but the MAC has backup agreements with the first two available bowls - Birmingham and St. Pete.
Open slots - Beef O Brady's, BBVA Compass, maybe Pinstripe

Big Ten - 8 slots
Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin. Michigan State likely. That very well could be it given the tough schedules for the rest of the 4 and 5 win teams. I'll say one of Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana makes it, leaving them with 6 teams.
Open slots - Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, maybe Meineke (Houston)

CUSA - 6 slots
ECU, UCF, and Tulsa are in. Nothing else is guaranteed but 4 win teams SMU, Houston, and Marshall have shots but they'll need upsets in a few cases. One of them will get in.
Open slots - Military, maybe two more (NOLA or Beef O Brady's)

Independents
Notre Dame will take a BCS at large. Navy and BYU get into their respective bowl games. Army/CUSA leaves the Military slot open as mentioned above.

MAC - 3 slots
6 are in, with Miami (OH) having an outside shot. They have a backup agreement with Military, which leaves them with 2 extra teams. Likely to send them to Beef O Brady's and BBVA Compass unless something weird happens.
Open slots - None

Mountain West - 5 slots
4 teams are already in, with a max of two more, which would fill out their bids with an extra team. New Mexico likely doesn't make it, which leaves them even.
Open slots - none.

PAC 12 - 7 slots
Five are in, with Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah all fighting for a slot. They get an extra team in the BCS, leaving them with the possibility of an open slot.
Open slots - Maybe New Mexico

SEC - 10 slots
Seven teams are in. Mizzou, Tennessee, Vandy, Ole miss still have a shot. Vandy is likely in, while the loser of Mizzou and Tennessee is probably out. Ole Miss is the wild card. IF they make it, they cover all 10. If not, they don't. They'll likely get an extra BCS slot, leaving another game open.
Open slots - Independence, BBVA Compass

Sun Belt - 2 slots
Four teams are in. ULL is likely in. Troy is a wild card.
Open slots - none.

WAC - 1 slot
Louisiana Tech, Utah State, and San Jose State are in. That's it.
Open slots - none.


Extra teams
Sun Belt - 4
MAC - 3
WAC - 2

So, the following slots are what I think will be open.

Beef O Bradys
BBVA Compass (x2)
Little Caesars
Heart of Dallas
Military (x2)
Independence

That means we have one extra team past the 70 slots. LA Tech likely gets the Independence slot. MAC teams get Beef, BBVA, and one Military slot. That leaves BBVA, Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, Military for 4 Sun Belt teams, and likely San Jose St (Utah St takes WAC's only bowl bid in Boise). Sun Belt snags BBVA, Little Caesars, and Military. From there, you've got one more Belt team, and San Jose St battling for Heart of Dallas. Sun Belt convinces them of Cajuns' ticket sales and San Jose State is the team left out. The "Sun Belt Six" all go home happy.

Edit: Missed Boise State's loss. Doesn't change much except the Pac 12 could now be the conference that leaves the New Mexico bowl slot open.

I think SJ State gets left out of a bowl due to location, if it comes down to a choice between a SBC team or SJ State.

I don't know that a 7-5 or 6-6 ULM makes a bowl.

The Belt will put at least 5 in bowls this year. Troy is the team with questionable bowl credentials. That loss to FAU was really bad news for them.

I would think Troy would get the bid, they have been known to travel well and that is what bowls are about.

As far as the new venue for the BBVA, I have a theory about that. Also ties with UAb football and the use of a now unused baseball stadium.

(11-04-2012 11:43 AM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  I see us only having 5 teams. I doubt Troy wins two of their last 3.

We've got a puncher's chance in every game left on our schedule. Neither the tide nor the ducks are on it.

from trojanbrutha's ThunderBolt

This is an interesting question, since the SBC right now is still regarded as the new guy...

Would you prefer it go back to 10-15 bowls and that's it? Makes getting to a bowl WAY more difficult, but makes it mean more to the general public.

Or keep it this way, where more teams get the chance at going, but it gets watered down so it may not be as meaningful.

For me, because my bobcats still have a (WAY) outside shot at being invited to a bowl, I'm of mixed emotions. But I think for college football overall, it would be WAY better to have the bowls reduced to make them more... "special".

IF Troy makes it to 6 wins we will be bowling just because we travel so well...

p.s. I doubt we make it to 6 wins.

i don't see us with another win and 6-6 should not be good enough for a bowl with our attendance.

we've lost 2 in a row at home going back to creative ways to lose like we did when we went 0-26.

our road game is at lafayette. we all saw what they did yesterday. on the road.

this was a really promising season that has come crashing down.

and it has had nothing to do with jakes. it's not on him.

(11-04-2012 05:33 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  i don't see us with another win and 6-6 should not be good enough for a bowl with our attendance.

we've lost 2 in a row at home going back to creative ways to lose like we did when we went 0-26.

our road game is at lafayette. we all saw what they did yesterday. on the road.

this was a really promising season that has come crashing down.

and it has had nothing to do with jakes. it's not on him.

I feel ya Beed.

(11-04-2012 05:33 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  i don't see us with another win and 6-6 should not be good enough for a bowl with our attendance.

we've lost 2 in a row at home going back to creative ways to lose like we did when we went 0-26.

our road game is at lafayette. we all saw what they did yesterday. on the road.

this was a really promising season that has come crashing down.

and it has had nothing to do with jakes. it's not on him.

WKU is a 16.5 point favorite at home over Florida Atlantic, and you don't think WKU will win this game?

Be theriouth!

(11-04-2012 03:28 PM)TheRevSWT Wrote:  This is an interesting question, since the SBC right now is still regarded as the new guy...

Would you prefer it go back to 10-15 bowls and that's it? Makes getting to a bowl WAY more difficult, but makes it mean more to the general public.

Or keep it this way, where more teams get the chance at going, but it gets watered down so it may not be as meaningful.

For me, because my bobcats still have a (WAY) outside shot at being invited to a bowl, I'm of mixed emotions. But I think for college football overall, it would be WAY better to have the bowls reduced to make them more... "special".

As my team just moved into the neighborhood, I can't wait to go bowling, no matter how small. However, the bowl landscape is watered way down. When every season we are waiting until the last weekend just to see if all the bowl slots are going to be filled by the required win totals. I'd like to see some contraction, win requirements moved to 7 and make it a reward for a decent season versus anything .500 or better gets you in. The concept is to reward teams for success not mediocrity.

(11-04-2012 10:50 AM)MTowho Wrote:  Here's my take on the bowl situation right now. ArkStFan probably has some better insight into where everyone would go, but this is my shot on it after following the past few weeks and projections from different sites. Safe to say yesterday was a GREAT day for Sun Belt's bowl hopeful teams.

ACC - 8 Bids
Florida St, Duke, Clemson, and winner or NC State/Wake Forest is in. Miami is essentially in. Loser of NC State/Wake Forest still has a good shot. Other than that, Virginia Tech is the only other team that would likely have a shot. If all of those teams get in, they're still one short.
Open slots: Military, maybe Independence

Big 12 - 8 slots
They'll have 8 on the dot. Nothing dramatic here.
Open slots - None.

Big East - 6 slots
Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincy are in. No one else has an easy road, but out of Temple, Pitt, and Syracuse I'd say that one of them gets hot and makes it. It probably won't be Temple as they only have 11 games and already have 5 losses. Big opportunity here, but the MAC has backup agreements with the first two available bowls - Birmingham and St. Pete.
Open slots - Beef O Brady's, BBVA Compass, maybe Pinstripe

Big Ten - 8 slots
Nebraska, Michigan, Northwestern, Wisconsin. Michigan State likely. That very well could be it given the tough schedules for the rest of the 4 and 5 win teams. I'll say one of Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana makes it, leaving them with 6 teams.
Open slots - Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, maybe Meineke (Houston)

CUSA - 6 slots
ECU, UCF, and Tulsa are in. Nothing else is guaranteed but 4 win teams SMU, Houston, and Marshall have shots but they'll need upsets in a few cases. One of them will get in.
Open slots - Military, maybe two more (NOLA or Beef O Brady's)

Independents
Notre Dame will take a BCS at large. Navy and BYU get into their respective bowl games. Army/CUSA leaves the Military slot open as mentioned above.

MAC - 3 slots
6 are in, with Miami (OH) having an outside shot. They have a backup agreement with Military, which leaves them with 2 extra teams. Likely to send them to Beef O Brady's and BBVA Compass unless something weird happens.
Open slots - None

Mountain West - 5 slots
4 teams are already in, with a max of two more, which would fill out their bids with an extra team. New Mexico likely doesn't make it, which leaves them even.
Open slots - none.

PAC 12 - 7 slots
Five are in, with Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, Utah all fighting for a slot. They get an extra team in the BCS, leaving them with the possibility of an open slot.
Open slots - Maybe New Mexico

SEC - 10 slots
Seven teams are in. Mizzou, Tennessee, Vandy, Ole miss still have a shot. Vandy is likely in, while the loser of Mizzou and Tennessee is probably out. Ole Miss is the wild card. IF they make it, they cover all 10. If not, they don't. They'll likely get an extra BCS slot, leaving another game open.
Open slots - Independence, BBVA Compass

Sun Belt - 2 slots
Four teams are in. ULL is likely in. Troy is a wild card.
Open slots - none.

WAC - 1 slot
Louisiana Tech, Utah State, and San Jose State are in. That's it.
Open slots - none.


Extra teams
Sun Belt - 4
MAC - 3
WAC - 2

So, the following slots are what I think will be open.

Beef O Bradys
BBVA Compass (x2)
Little Caesars
Heart of Dallas
Military (x2)
Independence

That means we have one extra team past the 70 slots. LA Tech likely gets the Independence slot. MAC teams get Beef, BBVA, and one Military slot. That leaves BBVA, Little Caesars, Heart of Dallas, Military for 4 Sun Belt teams, and likely San Jose St (Utah St takes WAC's only bowl bid in Boise). Sun Belt snags BBVA, Little Caesars, and Military. From there, you've got one more Belt team, and San Jose St battling for Heart of Dallas. Sun Belt convinces them of Cajuns' ticket sales and San Jose State is the team left out. The "Sun Belt Six" all go home happy.

Edit: Missed Boise State's loss. Doesn't change much except the Pac 12 could now be the conference that leaves the New Mexico bowl slot open.

Based on the bowls you have listed, I would say that LA Tech goes to Heart of Dallas Bowl and ULM ends up in Independence if they can get one more win. Maybe even without it. Indy Bowl took a 6-6 Northern Illinois team. Liberty Bowl and Heart of Dallas Bowl reps were in Ruston this weekend for our game with UTSA. So, I think a Sun Belt team will be in Shreveport.

(11-04-2012 03:28 PM)TheRevSWT Wrote:  This is an interesting question, since the SBC right now is still regarded as the new guy...

Would you prefer it go back to 10-15 bowls and that's it? Makes getting to a bowl WAY more difficult, but makes it mean more to the general public.

Or keep it this way, where more teams get the chance at going, but it gets watered down so it may not be as meaningful.

For me, because my bobcats still have a (WAY) outside shot at being invited to a bowl, I'm of mixed emotions. But I think for college football overall, it would be WAY better to have the bowls reduced to make them more... "special".

I can tell you it is way better now for non AQ schools. We sat at home with 9 and 8 win seasons in the 1990s and it sucks. Much better to have a good feeling about your program going to the off season than feel your team got screwed.

(11-04-2012 08:12 PM)WinstonTheWolf Wrote:  

(11-04-2012 05:33 PM)dahbeed Wrote:  i don't see us with another win and 6-6 should not be good enough for a bowl with our attendance.

we've lost 2 in a row at home going back to creative ways to lose like we did when we went 0-26.

our road game is at lafayette. we all saw what they did yesterday. on the road.

this was a really promising season that has come crashing down.

and it has had nothing to do with jakes. it's not on him.

WKU is a 16.5 point favorite at home over Florida Atlantic, and you don't think WKU will win this game?

Be theriouth!

we were a 10 point favorite over middle and got butt-raped.

we look like we're back in that 0-26 groove where we came up with ways to lose at home. fau is at western. they've been coming on.

we've lost 2 out of our last 3 games and our 'special' dee can't stop anyone. perhaps they read too many articles. i'm sincerely not putting it on jakes or andrews.

we've backslid into not getting plays in and using up timeouts. our special teams are atrocious.

you tell me how we have a chance?