what are the possible Bowl Game sites this year?

[FazaUSF]

How could the Gator Bowl NOT want us? Assuming we're vying for a Gator Bowl selection at the end of the year, not that these things will necessarily happen, say we go 9-3 or 10-2 but we're short of the BCS pick... we'll have beaten a few top-25 or even top-10 teams, and we'll be within driving distance of the game.  We sold out our allottment to Auburn, which is a lot farther, and typically fans will travel for a good bowl game more than an individual away game (I know, Auburn is the biggest away game we've had). If USF does all this, we'd be media darlings throughout the whole season thanks to the preseason fever of calling us "sleeping giants" and whatnot. Essentially we'd steal Rutgers' thunder from last year. The Gator Bowl would have a great publicity opportunity and a team in Florida, which I would think would trump a Wake Forest or something like that. If we sold 4-5,000 tickets for the Meineke Bowl, we'd easily get many more fans for a bowl within easy driving distance.

[NormalBull]

I can't argue with what you have written Faza, but you miss the point of most bowl games.  They want fans to come and stay for several days in their cities.  The allure of Jax is the beaches.  People from Oklahoma want to go there in the winter to enjoy the sun and fun.  Most fans of USF have these same things back home.  Most of our fans would drive up on New Years Eve, party that night, go to the game the next day and drive home after the game.  Hotels, restaurants, etc. would not benefit much from our fans.  We would need to bring three times as many fans as say Nebraska fans because we would not impact the economy of Jax as greatly as Nebraska fans would.

The Gator Bowl loves WVU, ND, Clemson, and Big Twelve teams like Okla, Neb, Tex, etc.  These folks travel en masse to bowl games and spend many days there, spending tons of money.  We would not have that type of impact at this time, no matter what our record as a team is.

That's bowl Econ 101 reality.

Normal

[mutt]

That's what it's all about...  putting butts in the seats and staying in the host town...  They love our money.

[JoeB]

ND will win more than 6 games this year, mark it down.  Might not win 9, but it will be more than 6.  

I'm thinking they could steal the Big East #2 spot from the Gator.  I don't think that would be USF, more like Louisville perhaps, but at 9-3 for example they'd also have to be rated in the Top 12 to be BCS eligible.   ND will have a hard time gaining any ground in the polls in the last month of the season due to only playing Army, Navy, Ari Force, and Stanford.  This won't happen (finishing in Top 12), so the next best thing for them is either Jacksonville or Dallas.  They haven't played in Dallas since '93 so the Cotton Bowl might be the best option for them.  Last time they played in Jax was '99 (lost to GT- I was there).

While I agree, the ND schedule is tough for the first 8 weeks of the season, the back of it is a breeze.  If they can survive the first 6 weeks, they are going to be looking at the Gato or Cotton.  It all starts with Georgia Tech this weekend.  If they win that game, they could finish in the 8-4, 9-3 range.    

[BULLfreak]

what bowl game does the BE Champ go to

[Guest]

ND will win more than 6 games this year, mark it down.  Might not win 9, but it will be more than 6. 

I'm thinking they could steal the Big East #2 spot from the Gator.  I don't think that would be USF, more like Louisville perhaps, but at 9-3 for example they'd also have to be rated in the Top 12 to be BCS eligible.  ND will have a hard time gaining any ground in the polls in the last month of the season due to only playing Army, Navy, Ari Force, and Stanford.  This won't happen (finishing in Top 12), so the next best thing for them is either Jacksonville or Dallas.  They haven't played in Dallas since '93 so the Cotton Bowl might be the best option for them.  Last time they played in Jax was '99 (lost to GT- I was there).

While I agree, the ND schedule is tough for the first 8 weeks of the season, the back of it is a breeze.  If they can survive the first 6 weeks, they are going to be looking at the Gato or Cotton.  It all starts with Georgia Tech this weekend.  If they win that game, they could finish in the 8-4, 9-3 range.   

Notre Dame will be 1-7 or 2-6 after their first 8 games:  vs Ga Tech, @ Penn State, @ Michigan, vs Michigan State, @ Purdue, @ UCLA, vs Boston College, vs USC...

Then you have vs Navy (which could be a tough game, could the Midshipmen end their 43 year losing streak?), vs Air Force, vs Duke and @ Stanford...

I think ND will be 5-7 this year, and no bowl game.

what bowl game does the BE Champ go to

The Big East is the only BCS conference without a dedicated tie-in for the Champion.  Historically it has been the Orange or Sugar Bowl.  I would expect to have the Big East in the Sugar Bowl this year.

[BULLfreak]

Thanks

[Guest]

How could the Gator Bowl NOT want us? Assuming we're vying for a Gator Bowl selection at the end of the year, not that these things will necessarily happen, say we go 9-3 or 10-2 but we're short of the BCS pick... we'll have beaten a few top-25 or even top-10 teams, and we'll be within driving distance of the game.  We sold out our allottment to Auburn, which is a lot farther, and typically fans will travel for a good bowl game more than an individual away game (I know, Auburn is the biggest away game we've had). If USF does all this, we'd be media darlings throughout the whole season thanks to the preseason fever of calling us "sleeping giants" and whatnot. Essentially we'd steal Rutgers' thunder from last year. The Gator Bowl would have a great publicity opportunity and a team in Florida, which I would think would trump a Wake Forest or something like that. If we sold 4-5,000 tickets for the Meineke Bowl, we'd easily get many more fans for a bowl within easy driving distance.

Faza... I agree with what MikeB said, but I will go one farther...

USF sold less than 6,000 tickets to each of the first two bowl games... and although it sold out its Auburn allocation, the allocation was 2,400.

The allocation for the Gator Bowl is probably around 20,000 (could be more).  USF has not proven it can sell anywhere near that many tickets for a road game.  Texas A&M, Nebraska or Missouri could sell that many without blinking.

Sure, there is a compelling story for USF and we might make a case for bringing a larger crowd to Jax than B'ham or Charlotte... but 20,000?  About the only way we could sway them is to start selling bowl game "deposits" like LSU tried last year.  If we could "pre-sell" 10,000 tickets before a game was announced, that could make them notice.

I would love to be in the Gator Bowl... LOVE it... but I just don't see it happening ... yet.

[FazaUSF]

I can't argue with what you have written Faza, but you miss the point of most bowl games.  They want fans to come and stay for several days in their cities.  The allure of Jax is the beaches.  People from Oklahoma want to go there in the winter to enjoy the sun and fun.  Most fans of USF have these same things back home.  Most of our fans would drive up on New Years Eve, party that night, go to the game the next day and drive home after the game.  Hotels, restaurants, etc. would not benefit much from our fans.  We would need to bring three times as many fans as say Nebraska fans because we would not impact the economy of Jax as greatly as Nebraska fans would.

The Gator Bowl loves WVU, ND, Clemson, and Big Twelve teams like Okla, Neb, Tex, etc.  These folks travel en masse to bowl games and spend many days there, spending tons of money.  We would not have that type of impact at this time, no matter what our record as a team is.

That's bowl Econ 101 reality.

Normal

Darn good point, you got me there!

[FazaUSF]

How could the Gator Bowl NOT want us? Assuming we're vying for a Gator Bowl selection at the end of the year, not that these things will necessarily happen, say we go 9-3 or 10-2 but we're short of the BCS pick... we'll have beaten a few top-25 or even top-10 teams, and we'll be within driving distance of the game.  We sold out our allottment to Auburn, which is a lot farther, and typically fans will travel for a good bowl game more than an individual away game (I know, Auburn is the biggest away game we've had). If USF does all this, we'd be media darlings throughout the whole season thanks to the preseason fever of calling us "sleeping giants" and whatnot. Essentially we'd steal Rutgers' thunder from last year. The Gator Bowl would have a great publicity opportunity and a team in Florida, which I would think would trump a Wake Forest or something like that. If we sold 4-5,000 tickets for the Meineke Bowl, we'd easily get many more fans for a bowl within easy driving distance.

Faza... I agree with what MikeB said, but I will go one farther...

USF sold less than 6,000 tickets to each of the first two bowl games... and although it sold out its Auburn allocation, the allocation was 2,400.

The allocation for the Gator Bowl is probably around 20,000 (could be more).  USF has not proven it can sell anywhere near that many tickets for a road game.  Texas A&M, Nebraska or Missouri could sell that many without blinking.

Sure, there is a compelling story for USF and we might make a case for bringing a larger crowd to Jax than B'ham or Charlotte... but 20,000?  About the only way we could sway them is to start selling bowl game "deposits" like LSU tried last year.  If we could "pre-sell" 10,000 tickets before a game was announced, that could make them notice.

I would love to be in the Gator Bowl... LOVE it... but I just don't see it happening ... yet.

I guess I was looking through my green and gold glasses when I wrote that. Thanks for reminding me of reality =)