(07-07-2013 01:34 PM)Crump1 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 01:09 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 12:34 PM)Crump1 Wrote:  If state somehow ran the table we would definitely crack the top 16. I think ULL probably would as well. You have to have consecutive successful season like NIU and Boise put together to finally convince voters to put you ahead of some middle of the pack team from a power conference,

Neither one of you are close to what Boise did leading up to their first BCS berth, but even NIU is a little ahead of what you guys have done. NIU won 11 in 2010, 11 in 2011 and 12 in 2012. I'm not saying there's no way you guys get the bid, but I think, at least in 2013, you would likely still be on the outside looking in.

I am just talking about being ranked in the top 16 but NIU didn't go undefeated in any of those seasons either. 12-0 following back to back 10 win seasons would be new territory. La. Tech had a shot if they had run the table in the remnants of the WAC last year but they slipped.

Do you think MTSU cracks the BCS if they go indefeated?

Middle Tennessee in the BCS rankings at 13-0? Highly unlikely. It would depend on what type of seasons BYU and UNC had, you guys having back to back 10 win seasons is certainly an advantage that we don't have, but an advantage we would possibly have is an end of seaaon showcase in the CUSA title game against a ranked Tulsa team for example.

At the end of the day, I don't think either of us have much of a shot at 12-0 and even being 12-0 I think a lot still rides on what OOC opponents do and our odds would depend even more on a potential CUSA title game opponent, beating an 8-4 Rice team likely isn't helping, a 11-2 Tulsa team on the other hand might give us that final push. So I'd put your odds at slim to none and ours at slimmer to none.

(07-07-2013 01:09 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 11:55 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:51 AM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:07 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  

(07-06-2013 06:10 PM)Louisianafanrcajun90 Wrote:  If we go 12-0 we should get ranked and we will get offers from bigger and better bowls.

The only better bowl that the SBC contract allows for is a BCS bowl. It ain't happening. Did you look at the teams in the SBC, NMSU, and Lamar? Lamar does not count, and between NMSU, and the SBC teams we have six of the lowest preseason ranked teams in the Orlando Sentinel.

In reality we are not going 12-0, and will be lucky to be SBC champs, so much can happen to a team that is bad as opposed to good. But the proposition was if we did go 12-0 and if we do it will again be NOLA Bowl.

Lamar? Living in the past? We play Nichols this year.. Get past Arkansas and K. State and I like our chances as much as N. Illinois getting there by loosing to a 6-6 Iowa and beating Kansas. And Sugar Bowl has an at-large pick this year. I promise you, Sugar Bowl folks were not happy Florida/Louisville could not even come close to filling the stadium..

An at-large in the Sugar Bowl is irrelevant, unless you finish 12th or better in the BCS rankings(even at 12-0 I'd call that a major long shot) or finish between 13th and 16th and have an AQ conference champion finish behind you. I could absolutely see a 12-0 Sun Belt team not even cracking 16, but even if you do, you're still depending on someone other program's disappointment.

If stAte or UL goes 12-0, they will be in the Sugar. Each one would sell way more tickets than Florida did last year.

You're delusional. It took Houston blowing out everyone on their schedule by 30-40 points to be considered and CUSA at that time was much better than the Sunbelt. Since 1995 every single team in the Sugar Bowl has been in a BCS conference except Hawaii, and after the way that turned out you really think they're going to give you an invite? Never gonna happen. And to even be ranked higher than #15 you'd have to blow out every single team on your schedule, meaning state would have to manhandle Auburn at their home stadium along with Missouri at theirs.

And ULL would have to blow out Arkansas and beat Kansas State....at their stadiums. I even went back as far as 1975 and Hawaii is the ONLY non BCS conference team that's ever gotten an invite. Good luck with that. And just for the record, the WAC was a stronger conference then and Hawaii was already ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. They were also #10 at the end of the regular season. More than likely though, you can thank that 41-10 final score for being the reason that invite will never come. The ratings of that game probably tanked after halftime.

(07-07-2013 03:31 PM)AlwaysSunny Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 01:09 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 11:55 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:51 AM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:07 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  The only better bowl that the SBC contract allows for is a BCS bowl. It ain't happening. Did you look at the teams in the SBC, NMSU, and Lamar? Lamar does not count, and between NMSU, and the SBC teams we have six of the lowest preseason ranked teams in the Orlando Sentinel.

In reality we are not going 12-0, and will be lucky to be SBC champs, so much can happen to a team that is bad as opposed to good. But the proposition was if we did go 12-0 and if we do it will again be NOLA Bowl.

Lamar? Living in the past? We play Nichols this year.. Get past Arkansas and K. State and I like our chances as much as N. Illinois getting there by loosing to a 6-6 Iowa and beating Kansas. And Sugar Bowl has an at-large pick this year. I promise you, Sugar Bowl folks were not happy Florida/Louisville could not even come close to filling the stadium..

An at-large in the Sugar Bowl is irrelevant, unless you finish 12th or better in the BCS rankings(even at 12-0 I'd call that a major long shot) or finish between 13th and 16th and have an AQ conference champion finish behind you. I could absolutely see a 12-0 Sun Belt team not even cracking 16, but even if you do, you're still depending on someone other program's disappointment.

If stAte or UL goes 12-0, they will be in the Sugar. Each one would sell way more tickets than Florida did last year.

You're delusional. It took Houston blowing out everyone on their schedule by 30-40 points to be considered and CUSA at that time was much better than the Sunbelt. Since 1995 every single team in the Sugar Bowl has been in a BCS conference except Hawaii, and after the way that turned out you really think they're going to give you an invite? Never gonna happen. And to even be ranked higher than #15 you'd have to blow out every single team on your schedule, meaning state would have to manhandle Auburn at their home stadium along with Missouri at theirs.

And ULL would have to blow out Arkansas and beat Kansas State....at their stadiums. I even went back as far as 1975 and Hawaii is the ONLY non BCS conference team that's ever gotten an invite. Good luck with that. And just for the record, the WAC was a stronger conference then and Hawaii was already ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. They were also #10 at the end of the regular season. More than likely though, you can thank that 41-10 final score for being the reason that invite will never come. The ratings of that game probably tanked after halftime.

The highest non-AQ team goes if in the top 16, not 12. The Sugar Bowl officials realized, we outdrew Louisiville and Florida individually in ticket sales and school attendance in our game last year. And had the opposing team been a better attendance group than East Carolina was, the New Orleans Bowl would have had a larger attendance then the Sugar Bowl.

Make no mistake, the Bowl system is all about money. New Orleans sports commission knows that and if they believe that the Cajuns can hang and has a chance of beating the SEC opponent, then a 12-0 team that has already beaten an SEC and Big 12 team would be in the converstion amongst Sugar Bowl officials. Our fans did not just go the New Orleans the day of the last two bowl games. They were there starting on Tuesday and Wednesday..and they spent a whole lot of money. We are the poster child of fans for partying...

You are right that we would have to dominate teams to have a chance. But for an offense that scored 35.5 points per game last year, and is arguably much better this year then last, makes for a chance at a number of blowouts this year for UL. Gotta believe man, gotta believe..

(07-07-2013 04:41 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 03:31 PM)AlwaysSunny Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 01:09 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 11:55 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:51 AM)garmen Wrote:  Lamar? Living in the past? We play Nichols this year.. Get past Arkansas and K. State and I like our chances as much as N. Illinois getting there by loosing to a 6-6 Iowa and beating Kansas. And Sugar Bowl has an at-large pick this year. I promise you, Sugar Bowl folks were not happy Florida/Louisville could not even come close to filling the stadium..

An at-large in the Sugar Bowl is irrelevant, unless you finish 12th or better in the BCS rankings(even at 12-0 I'd call that a major long shot) or finish between 13th and 16th and have an AQ conference champion finish behind you. I could absolutely see a 12-0 Sun Belt team not even cracking 16, but even if you do, you're still depending on someone other program's disappointment.

If stAte or UL goes 12-0, they will be in the Sugar. Each one would sell way more tickets than Florida did last year.

You're delusional. It took Houston blowing out everyone on their schedule by 30-40 points to be considered and CUSA at that time was much better than the Sunbelt. Since 1995 every single team in the Sugar Bowl has been in a BCS conference except Hawaii, and after the way that turned out you really think they're going to give you an invite? Never gonna happen. And to even be ranked higher than #15 you'd have to blow out every single team on your schedule, meaning state would have to manhandle Auburn at their home stadium along with Missouri at theirs.

And ULL would have to blow out Arkansas and beat Kansas State....at their stadiums. I even went back as far as 1975 and Hawaii is the ONLY non BCS conference team that's ever gotten an invite. Good luck with that. And just for the record, the WAC was a stronger conference then and Hawaii was already ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. They were also #10 at the end of the regular season. More than likely though, you can thank that 41-10 final score for being the reason that invite will never come. The ratings of that game probably tanked after halftime.

The highest non-AQ team goes if in the top 16, not 12. The Sugar Bowl officials realized, we outdrew Louisiville and Florida individually in ticket sales and school attendance in our game last year. And had the opposing team been a better attendance group than East Carolina was, the New Orleans Bowl would have had a larger attendance then the Sugar Bowl.

Make no mistake, the Bowl system is all about money. New Orleans sports commission knows that and if they believe that the Cajuns can hang and has a chance of beating the SEC opponent, then a 12-0 team that has already beaten an SEC and Big 12 team would be in the converstion amongst Sugar Bowl officials. Our fans did not just go the New Orleans the day of the last two bowl games. They were there starting on Tuesday and Wednesday..and they spent a whole lot of money. We are the poster child of fans for partying...

You are right that we would have to dominate teams to have a chance. But for an offense that scored 35.5 points per game last year, and is arguably much better this year then last, makes for a chance at a number of blowouts this year for UL. Gotta believe man, gotta believe..

Garmen some of the NO Bowl officials (off the record, of course) believe that the NO Bowl was better attended than the Sugar Bowl. Something about numbers being fudged to avoid embarrassment.

Z

I remember watching the Sugar Bowl last year thinking it was strange there were so many empty seats. I can't remember that ever happening before.

(07-07-2013 03:31 PM)AlwaysSunny Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 01:09 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 11:55 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:51 AM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 08:07 AM)CajunExpress Wrote:  The only better bowl that the SBC contract allows for is a BCS bowl. It ain't happening. Did you look at the teams in the SBC, NMSU, and Lamar? Lamar does not count, and between NMSU, and the SBC teams we have six of the lowest preseason ranked teams in the Orlando Sentinel.

In reality we are not going 12-0, and will be lucky to be SBC champs, so much can happen to a team that is bad as opposed to good. But the proposition was if we did go 12-0 and if we do it will again be NOLA Bowl.

Lamar? Living in the past? We play Nichols this year.. Get past Arkansas and K. State and I like our chances as much as N. Illinois getting there by loosing to a 6-6 Iowa and beating Kansas. And Sugar Bowl has an at-large pick this year. I promise you, Sugar Bowl folks were not happy Florida/Louisville could not even come close to filling the stadium..

An at-large in the Sugar Bowl is irrelevant, unless you finish 12th or better in the BCS rankings(even at 12-0 I'd call that a major long shot) or finish between 13th and 16th and have an AQ conference champion finish behind you. I could absolutely see a 12-0 Sun Belt team not even cracking 16, but even if you do, you're still depending on someone other program's disappointment.

If stAte or UL goes 12-0, they will be in the Sugar. Each one would sell way more tickets than Florida did last year.

You're delusional. It took Houston blowing out everyone on their schedule by 30-40 points to be considered and CUSA at that time was much better than the Sunbelt. Since 1995 every single team in the Sugar Bowl has been in a BCS conference except Hawaii, and after the way that turned out you really think they're going to give you an invite? Never gonna happen. And to even be ranked higher than #15 you'd have to blow out every single team on your schedule, meaning state would have to manhandle Auburn at their home stadium along with Missouri at theirs.

And ULL would have to blow out Arkansas and beat Kansas State....at their stadiums. I even went back as far as 1975 and Hawaii is the ONLY non BCS conference team that's ever gotten an invite. Good luck with that. And just for the record, the WAC was a stronger conference then and Hawaii was already ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. They were also #10 at the end of the regular season. More than likely though, you can thank that 41-10 final score for being the reason that invite will never come. The ratings of that game probably tanked after halftime.

There would have been no consideration had Houston won the CUSA championship game, they would have been there. It's the rules. In a typical year, any team from a non AQ conference that goes undefeated and plays some teams from AQ conferences, should qualify for a BCS bowl. It's happened every single time: Boise St (twice), Utah (twice), Hawaii, and TCU (twice.) Had Houston and Ball St won their conf. championship games, they would have gone to a BCS bowl too. While I said the Sugar, it might actually be the Fiesta or Orange. It would also be contingent on not having a higher ranked undefeated like Boise St. You said that Hawaii is the only non BCS school to play in the Sugar Bowl, well you were wrong. Utah played there too. Your bias against the SunBelt is too strong to realize an undefeated UL or stAte will be ranked high enough at the end of the year. A bowl might not want to invite us, but they will have too. If Northern Illinois can be ranked high enough with one loss and their schedule, and undefeated SunBelt team can too.

(07-07-2013 04:41 PM)garmen Wrote:  The highest non-AQ team goes if in the top 16, not 12.

Gotta be 12 or better to be guaranteed, 13-16 only helps if there is an AQ conference champion that finished behind you in the rankings. If you finish 13th and Louisville(as the Big East champ) finishes 12th .001 ahead of you, you're in the New Orleans bowl, if you finish 13th and the Big East champion finishes 14th, you're in(provided Boise or some other non-AQ didn't finish like 7th.

(07-07-2013 08:28 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 04:41 PM)garmen Wrote:  The highest non-AQ team goes if in the top 16, not 12.

Gotta be 12 or better to be guaranteed, 13-16 only helps if there is an AQ conference champion that finished behind you in the rankings. If you finish 13th and Louisville(as the Big East champ) finishes 12th .001 ahead of you, you're in the New Orleans bowl, if you finish 13th and the Big East champion finishes 14th, you're in(provided Boise or some other non-AQ didn't finish like 7th.

I think you've got that backwards.

However, if Louisiana placed 13 and Louisville finished 12 like the scenario you presented, they could still get an invite. It would up to the bowl selection committee to determine if they wanted to invite the undefeated Louisiana, or a higher ranked at large team.

(07-07-2013 08:28 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 04:41 PM)garmen Wrote:  The highest non-AQ team goes if in the top 16, not 12.

Gotta be 12 or better to be guaranteed, 13-16 only helps if there is an AQ conference champion that finished behind you in the rankings. If you finish 13th and Louisville(as the Big East champ) finishes 12th .001 ahead of you, you're in the New Orleans bowl, if you finish 13th and the Big East champion finishes 14th, you're in(provided Boise or some other non-AQ didn't finish like 7th.

Automatic qualification
1. The top two teams in the final BCS Standings shall play in the National Championship Game.

2. The champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and Southeastern conferences will have automatic berths in one of the participating bowls through the 2013 regular season.

3. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:

A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls.

No more than one such team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference shall earn an automatic berth in any year. (Note: a second team may be eligible for at-large eligibility as noted below.) If two or more teams from those conferences satisfy the provisions for an automatic berth, then the team with the highest finish in the final BCS Standings will receive the automatic berth, and the remaining team or teams will be considered for at-large selection if it meets the criteria.

4. Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it is in the top eight of the final BCS Standings.

5. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 4, and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 3 in the final BCS Standings, that team will become an automatic qualifier, provided that no at-large team from the same conference qualifies for the national championship game.

6. If any of the 10 slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 5, and if no team qualifies under paragraph No. 5 and an at-large team from a conference with an annual automatic berth for its champion is ranked No. 4 in the final BCS Standings, that team will become an automatic qualifier provided that no at-large team from the same conference qualifies for the national championship game.

At-large eligibility
If there are fewer than 10 automatic qualifiers, then the bowls will select at-large participants to fill the remaining berths. An at-large team is any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible and meets the following requirements:

A. Has won at least nine regular-season games, and
B. Is among the top 14 teams in the final BCS Standings.

No more than two teams from a conference may be selected, regardless of whether they are automatic qualifiers or at-large selections, unless two non-champions from the same conference are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the final BCS Standings.

If fewer than 10 teams are eligible for selection, then the Bowls can select as an at-large team any Football Bowl Subdivision team that is bowl-eligible, has won at least nine regular-season games and is among the top 18 teams in the final BCS Standings subject to the two-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 14, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 15-18, a bowl can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 14.

If expansion of the pool to 18 teams does not result in 10 teams eligible for selection, then the pool shall be expanded by blocks of 4 teams until 10 eligible teams are available subject to the two-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 14, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 15 or lower, a bowl can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 14.

Relative to the two preceding paragraphs, all teams ranked in the top 14, other than those from conferences which have already had two teams selected, must be included in the bowl selections.

Unless Notre Dame is in the Natl Championship, odds are there will be a Non AQ and even had one this last year with N.D. in it.. After 2013, AAC wil no longer be guaranteed but will be in the same pool as SBC, CUSA, MAC,MWC.. A 12-0 or 13-0 non AQ team will have a good chance in 2013 to make it and have been doing so regularly for the last several years..

Notre Dame and a non-AQ got in last year because of Ohio State's postseason ban. If Ohio State were eligible last year, NIU isn't in the Orange Bowl.

(07-07-2013 09:40 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Notre Dame and a non-AQ got in last year because of Ohio State's postseason ban. If Ohio State were eligible last year, NIU isn't in the Orange Bowl.

And Alabama isn't playing for the NC.

(07-07-2013 09:40 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Notre Dame and a non-AQ got in last year because of Ohio State's postseason ban. If Ohio State were eligible last year, NIU isn't in the Orange Bowl.

Wisconsin would not have been in Rose Bowl either if Ohio St would not have made the Natl Champ game, ohio st would been in Pasadena. And given Alabama and N.D. season performance that would have been a real probability last year.

(07-07-2013 10:08 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 09:40 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Notre Dame and a non-AQ got in last year because of Ohio State's postseason ban. If Ohio State were eligible last year, NIU isn't in the Orange Bowl.

Wisconsin would not have been in Rose Bowl either if Ohio St would not have made the Natl Champ game, ohio st would been in Pasadena. And given Alabama and N.D. season performance that would have been a real probability last year.

Ohio St would have been in Miami playing ND for the title.

(07-07-2013 10:11 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 10:08 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 09:40 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Notre Dame and a non-AQ got in last year because of Ohio State's postseason ban. If Ohio State were eligible last year, NIU isn't in the Orange Bowl.

Wisconsin would not have been in Rose Bowl either if Ohio St would not have made the Natl Champ game, ohio st would been in Pasadena. And given Alabama and N.D. season performance that would have been a real probability last year.

Ohio St would have been in Miami playing ND for the title.

Not so sure. Ohio st did not rank higher than Alabama in any poll they were listed in that I could find.

(07-07-2013 10:27 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 10:11 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 10:08 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-07-2013 09:40 PM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Notre Dame and a non-AQ got in last year because of Ohio State's postseason ban. If Ohio State were eligible last year, NIU isn't in the Orange Bowl.

Wisconsin would not have been in Rose Bowl either if Ohio St would not have made the Natl Champ game, ohio st would been in Pasadena. And given Alabama and N.D. season performance that would have been a real probability last year.

Ohio St would have been in Miami playing ND for the title.

Not so sure. Ohio st did not rank higher than Alabama in any poll they were listed in that I could find.

Some polls did not even include Ohio St, and many voters did not rank them as high because of their suspension. Had they played and won the Big 10 championship game, that would bolster their ranking too. The BCS standings did not include Ohio St, so the fact that you haven't seen Ohio St ranked above Alabama isn't necessarily indicative of what the final BCS poll would have been.

Regardless of where Ohio St would have been bowling, they would have been the Big Ten champs and ranked ahead of NIU(as opposed to Nebraska who were ranked behind NIU) so since NIU wasn't in the top 12, the Orange bowl would not have been contractually obligated to take NIU, who they clearly didn't want.

(07-08-2013 12:12 AM)MTPiKapp Wrote:  Regardless of where Ohio St would have been bowling, they would have been the Big Ten champs and ranked ahead of NIU(as opposed to Nebraska who were ranked behind NIU) so since NIU wasn't in the top 12, the Orange bowl would not have been contractually obligated to take NIU, who they clearly didn't want.

Yes.

(07-06-2013 03:51 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-06-2013 12:18 PM)GoBigRed26 Wrote:  

(07-06-2013 12:12 PM)garmen Wrote:  

(07-06-2013 03:41 AM)airtroop Wrote:  

(07-05-2013 02:34 PM)AtlantaJag Wrote:  Interesting indeed. USA fans have the Tulane game circled as a toss-up at worse and moving into probable win territory based if the Jags do well in their opener against Southern Utah.

Do that and USA finishes the season 5-7. Loose them and

So you are projecting USA to beat Georgia St, Texas St, and who else?

Kent St. or Navy and one Sunbelt Upset.

Guys, we aren't supposed to beat Tulane. But it is very winnable IMHO. Let Tulane think we're pansies. 5 wins would be huge for USA next season. At the beginning of the season, we should be favored in exactly 2 games (as we travel to Texas State and Tulane). Tulane's big advantage over USA is in the kicking game guys. It would be an upset if USA won its first OOC FBS game on the road. But not much of one.