Neo
11-28-2005, 03:45 PM
http://files.aximsite.com/sec/seclogo.gifAfter USC-Texas, All Bowl Bets Are Off.
By: Joey Johnston
Tampa Tribune
jjohnston@tampatrib.com
The Bowl Championship Series is about one thing -- the final standings. That's when it matches the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in a rotating title game. After the polls and computer rankings produce data, there's your answer. Barring an upset Saturday, that means USC and Texas are headed to the Rose Bowl.
After that, all bets are off.
The other BCS games -- and others down the bowl food chain -- are the creation of bowl directors, network executives and conference officials. Sometimes the matchups may not seem logical. But look again. They make perfect sense, when considering the goal -- filling stadiums and producing attractive matchups for television.
Bottom line: Notre Dame is going to the Fiesta Bowl, probably against 9-2 Ohio State (leaving 10-1 Oregon to settle for the less glamorous Holiday Bowl).
Another bottom line: Despite Florida's sudden excitement with an 8-3 finish and a smashing victory against Florida State, Tampa's Outback Bowl is expected to select Steve Spurrier's 7-4 South Carolina Gamecocks as its SEC representative.
Last week, Oregon athletic officials launched a preemptive strike, flying to Arizona for a lobbying sessions with the Fiesta Bowl brass. They talked up the strength of the Ducks, chiefly their 10-1 record (only loss was to USC, in a game Oregon led 13-0) and how a Notre Dame-Oregon game would be a better geographical fit.
Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen even referred to the potential Notre Dame-Ohio State matchup as a "regional game," while tabbing Notre Dame-Oregon as a national game.
Good luck with that argument.
In TV-speak, Notre Dame against anyone is a national game. Yes, the rules are different for Notre Dame. It matters not that the Irish have lost seven consecutive bowl games. It matters not that other programs have better records.
Coach Charlie Weis' resurgent Irish represent TV gold. Also, lots of green. Saturday night's come-from-behind 38-31 win at Stanford meant a BCS payout in excess of $14 million, and independent Notre Dame gets to keep it all.
Meanwhile, after the Orange Bowl likely picks Big Ten champion Penn State to face the ACC champions, the Fiesta should turn to the 9-2 Buckeyes. Again, Notre Dame-Ohio State is good for TV.
"You ought to go for the best football teams," Hansen said. "You ought to be fair to all the teams and players. If they [Fiesta Bowl officials] want 9-2 teams, that's their choice."
Just like the Outback Bowl has the latitude to select the 7-4 Gamecocks over the 8-3 Gators.
South Carolina, Outback champions in 2001 and '02, has been one of the most attractive programs ever to visit Tampa. More than 30,000 fans could make the trip. The Outback probably gets its pick of 7-4 Big Ten teams -- Michigan is a bigger name and TV draw than Iowa -- making for an appealing matchup.
Spurrier's Gamecocks have been the talk of the SEC, ripping off a five-game winning streak (and a victory against the Gators) after a 2-3 start. Momentum was quelled somewhat with a 13-9 loss to rival Clemson, and the perception that South Carolina had slipped behind other SEC teams in the bowl pecking order.
But as Outback Bowl CEO Jim McVay said last week, "Anyone who thinks we have eliminated South Carolina from our consideration is wrong."
The SEC bowl shakedown may not be complete until Saturday night's league championship game between LSU and Georgia.
Here are possible contingencies:
•LSU wins the SEC: LSU to the Sugar Bowl, Auburn to the Capital One, South Carolina to the Outback, Alabama to the Cotton, Georgia to the Peach, Florida to the Independence.
•Georgia wins the SEC: Georgia to the Sugar Bowl, Auburn to the Capital One, South Carolina to the Outback, LSU to the Cotton, Alabama to the Peach, Florida to the Independence.
http://sports.tbo.com/sports/MGBFF446KGE.html
By: Joey Johnston
Tampa Tribune
jjohnston@tampatrib.com
The Bowl Championship Series is about one thing -- the final standings. That's when it matches the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in a rotating title game. After the polls and computer rankings produce data, there's your answer. Barring an upset Saturday, that means USC and Texas are headed to the Rose Bowl.
After that, all bets are off.
The other BCS games -- and others down the bowl food chain -- are the creation of bowl directors, network executives and conference officials. Sometimes the matchups may not seem logical. But look again. They make perfect sense, when considering the goal -- filling stadiums and producing attractive matchups for television.
Bottom line: Notre Dame is going to the Fiesta Bowl, probably against 9-2 Ohio State (leaving 10-1 Oregon to settle for the less glamorous Holiday Bowl).
Another bottom line: Despite Florida's sudden excitement with an 8-3 finish and a smashing victory against Florida State, Tampa's Outback Bowl is expected to select Steve Spurrier's 7-4 South Carolina Gamecocks as its SEC representative.
Last week, Oregon athletic officials launched a preemptive strike, flying to Arizona for a lobbying sessions with the Fiesta Bowl brass. They talked up the strength of the Ducks, chiefly their 10-1 record (only loss was to USC, in a game Oregon led 13-0) and how a Notre Dame-Oregon game would be a better geographical fit.
Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen even referred to the potential Notre Dame-Ohio State matchup as a "regional game," while tabbing Notre Dame-Oregon as a national game.
Good luck with that argument.
In TV-speak, Notre Dame against anyone is a national game. Yes, the rules are different for Notre Dame. It matters not that the Irish have lost seven consecutive bowl games. It matters not that other programs have better records.
Coach Charlie Weis' resurgent Irish represent TV gold. Also, lots of green. Saturday night's come-from-behind 38-31 win at Stanford meant a BCS payout in excess of $14 million, and independent Notre Dame gets to keep it all.
Meanwhile, after the Orange Bowl likely picks Big Ten champion Penn State to face the ACC champions, the Fiesta should turn to the 9-2 Buckeyes. Again, Notre Dame-Ohio State is good for TV.
"You ought to go for the best football teams," Hansen said. "You ought to be fair to all the teams and players. If they [Fiesta Bowl officials] want 9-2 teams, that's their choice."
Just like the Outback Bowl has the latitude to select the 7-4 Gamecocks over the 8-3 Gators.
South Carolina, Outback champions in 2001 and '02, has been one of the most attractive programs ever to visit Tampa. More than 30,000 fans could make the trip. The Outback probably gets its pick of 7-4 Big Ten teams -- Michigan is a bigger name and TV draw than Iowa -- making for an appealing matchup.
Spurrier's Gamecocks have been the talk of the SEC, ripping off a five-game winning streak (and a victory against the Gators) after a 2-3 start. Momentum was quelled somewhat with a 13-9 loss to rival Clemson, and the perception that South Carolina had slipped behind other SEC teams in the bowl pecking order.
But as Outback Bowl CEO Jim McVay said last week, "Anyone who thinks we have eliminated South Carolina from our consideration is wrong."
The SEC bowl shakedown may not be complete until Saturday night's league championship game between LSU and Georgia.
Here are possible contingencies:
•LSU wins the SEC: LSU to the Sugar Bowl, Auburn to the Capital One, South Carolina to the Outback, Alabama to the Cotton, Georgia to the Peach, Florida to the Independence.
•Georgia wins the SEC: Georgia to the Sugar Bowl, Auburn to the Capital One, South Carolina to the Outback, LSU to the Cotton, Alabama to the Peach, Florida to the Independence.
http://sports.tbo.com/sports/MGBFF446KGE.html