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Monday, November 23, 2009

Bowl Predictions (11/23)

Not getting into all the nitty gritty this week. Instead, just a quick rundown...

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Alabama vs. Texas

SUGAR BOWL: Florida vs. Cincinnati

CAP ONE BOWL: Ole Miss vs. Iowa

OUTBACK BOWL: LSU vs. Wisconsin

COTTON BOWL: Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL: Tennessee vs. Clemson

MUSIC CITY BOWL: Georgia vs. Florida State

LIBERTY BOWL: Kentucky vs. East Carolina

INDEPENDENCE BOWL: Auburn vs. Kansas State

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL: South Carolina vs. Connecticut

Essentially, Georgia's bowl hopes come down to this:

-- If Tennessee beats Kentucky, the Vols will almost certainly land the No. 2 bid from the East, meaning they'll either go to the Outback or the Chick-fil-A, with LSU going to the other.

-- The Music City will then have to decide whether they want Georgia or Kentucky. The Cats have gone to Nashville three of the last four years, so that could be a factor. If Georgia can pull the upset next week, however, that could also give them an edge. But the potential of an FSU-Georgia matchup could be an attractive one regardless of anything else.

-- If Kentucky beats Tennessee, the whole situation is shaken up. The Cats would win second in the East with head-to-head wins over South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. That would probably send Kentucky to either the Chick-fil-A or Outback. The trickle down would likely put Tennessee in the Music City and land Georgia in competition with Auburn for spots in the Independence or Liberty Bowls. Worst case scenario: Auburn beats Alabama, South Carolina beats Clemson and Georgia falls to Tech. Then we'll be enjoying some of the finest ingredients delivery pizza has to offer.

Chris Low has Georgia sliding all the way to the PapaJohns.com Bowl. I can't see how they slide past Auburn and South Carolina, two teams they beat head to head, unless some serious upsets happen. But who knows.

And what do I know anyway? Mark Schalabach also has the Dawgs headed to Birmingham, while Bruce Feldman is banking on a trip to Shreveport for the Dawgs in ESPN's expert projections.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So Carolina beat UK!

Anonymous said...

Music City takes South Carolina for the following reasons:

1. Bowden vs. Spurrier rematch has some juice.

2. South Carolina has not played in Nashville this year, nor have they played in this bowl.

3. South Carolina fans are more upbeat about their team and will be more likely to make the trip.

David Jones said...

I think Outback takes UT (assuming a win over UK) - They pretty much have to take an East team. If they want a West team, they have to wait until Cotton picks a West team. No way will Cotton let a 9-3 Ole Miss or LSU team go in favor of a 7-5 Arkansas team.

With UT in Outback and Ole Miss/LSU in Cotton (with the other west team in Cap 1), Chick-fil-a would go with Auburn, who travels very well to Atlanta. Liberty would probably take Arkansas due to travel reasons/closeness, and Music City would pick between UK and UGA (with the other team headed to Independence).

South Carolina, coming off a four game losing streak sinks all the way to Papajohns.com.

Phil said...

My father, a near 80-year old, is a huge Notre Dame fan. He claims that way back, after a season like Georgia is having now, Notre Dame did not accept their bid to play in a low-tier bowl game because it was an embarrassment to their school and its football tradition. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but it made me start thinking.

I know schools today are all about the money that they get from bowl games, but I was wondering what you, David, and the rest of the folks commenting think about the unlikely scenario of us refusing to accept an offer to play in one of these lower bowl games that we are sure to get? Would you like to see us play in them? Would you rather us refuse to play? Would you think that it was a snobby move not to play? Just a thought...have fun with it.

Anonymous said...

After the 1925 Rose Bowl, Notre Dame did not accept any bowl invitations as a matter of policy until the end of the 1969 season.

During those years, the higher-ups determined the profit motive of the bowl committees and their sponsors were not consistent with the mission of the University.

Now, the football program is looked upon by Notre Dame and most large schools as a significant source of revenue, donations, and student recruiting for the unversity and its other athletic programs.

Most conferences have a bowl revenue sharing plan with other institutions in the conference, including the SEC.

It would be unwise to turn down a bowl invitiation as it will also put you in bad standing within your conference.

Anonymous said...

Who cares about the "standing with the conference" theme. You afraid to piss off the same conference that gave you those UGA/LSU officials? The hell with what the conference thinks! Turn down the bowl and demand more. Who the hell is going to travel to Shreveport, LA?

Dawgfan17 said...

It would be a horrible mistake not to to accept and invite to any bowl. We have lots of young players and our team obviously needs all the extra practice we can get. An extra few weeks of practice, especially for the 3 qb's who will be competing for the starting job next year can make a big difference. Not to mention if we do fire any coaches and are able to get the new hire in place quickly it will give him time to start installing some of his scheme.

Anonymous said...

Dawgfan17 you traveling to Shreveport, LA? Maybe you and 400-500 students! Have a good time.