(11-12-2019 09:46 PM)NJDuke97 Wrote: I figured they deserved their own thread. I’ll admit this has been. Big year for App and they have taken a big step.
2 wins vs P5 teams
Top 25 Ap
Top 25 CFP ranking
Still a semi long shot for the NYD G5 vs P5 bowl game but I think their bowl opponent will be higher level and they can lay the ground work to take another step next year.
Kudos to App they’ve been near perfect since going FBS and it’s really starting to pay off for them.
Agree and impressed w/ what Appy has accomplished so far. Given their short FBS tenure and the inherent limitations of their location and conference, they have rapidly approached the glass ceiling. Can they break through and get that NYD Bowl game? Or better yet, position themselves for an AAC invite? I actually could see the former but am skeptical about the latter.
My concern for them (and us if we had joined one of the bottom three G5 conferences) is the lack of quality bowl tie-ins. It's kind of all or nothing. Finish as the highest ranked G5
OR be rewarded with a Bowl against another G5 school. They could theoretically finish 10th nationally. But if Boise St. finishes 8th, they are stuck with their conference bowl affiliations-which means no P5 opponent.
As it stands now for the Sun Belt, these are their Bowl tie-ins:
Highest-ranked champion from the AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW & Sun Belt will play in a New Year’s Six bowl.
The Sun Belt doesn’t have a true pecking order after the champion goes to the New Orleans Bowl. The bowl matchups are based on best possible games and geography.
1. R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl vs. Mountain West
– Dollar General Bowl vs. MAC
– Raycom Media Camellia Bowl vs. MAC
– AutoNation Cure Bowl vs. American Athletic
– NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl vs. Mountain West