Hard to imagine a bowl would actively seek out a team with a small fan base which had just lost 6 straight games.
Harder to imagine that we would turn down a bowl if one was offered.
Good points. Also, if I understand correctly, if you are not going to a bowl, things basically shut down after the last game. A bowl trip allows the team to continue practicing until the game, which can only help with player development for the future. Only downside of a bowl trip is that most of these low tier bowls end up being pretty big money losers, but compared to the amounts they are planning to raise in the capital campaign, that would be a drop in the bucket and a problem I'd love to hsbr.
Perhaps the most important thing about playing in a bowl at this point in time is the additional practice time allowed. Coach Cutcliffe holds spring practice pretty early in order to get the guys back on the field as soon as possible. He's said from the beginning that the additional practice time granted by a bowl appearance is very important to maintaining and building the program.
It's over. Perhaps the quickest vigil we've ever had?
Not sure what to do with this thread. Doesn't necessarily need to be locked, as there's still the issue of which bowl (and bowl-eligible doesn't mean we'll necessarily go, right?) Is this now the Bowl Selection Vigil?
Go to hell vigil go to hell! We are going to a bowl!
No way, Duke gets passed over. They loosened the rules so 5-7 teams can be bowl eligible. And Duke's first bowl since '94-'95 makes for a great storyline. Not to mention, I assume that teams that haven't made it in 18 years probably tend to travel pretty well especially if they get some place Northeast with a Duke alum base.
Personally, I'm rooting for the Music City Bowl because I'm living in Knoxville right now, but we'll probably need another win or two for that.
I agree that the practice time is important, but I think it's just bigger that the program made it over the hurdle. I think getting this close and not making would have ended up being a step backward despite the better record and play. You can just see how much it means to these guys.
Yeah, I'm sure they'd prefer to take a NC team. It'll be interesting to see if Duke can jump some teams in conference for the bowls because its Duke and they haven't been there in so long. As mentioned, the Belk is in NC, the Music City bowl might be able to pit Vandy versus Duke so you'd have all those comparisons, and the Military Bowl gives you Washington, DC with a pretty large alumni base.
As indicated earlier in this thread, only FIVE teams in the entire Division I FBS can be bowl eligible at 5-7 and that's only if there are still available spots after giving first option to the 6-6/6-7 teams. This is determined by the top five APR teams in the nation.
http://www.cbssports.com/general/blo...fill-the-bowlsThe top five APR teams this season are Northwestern, Duke, Boise State, Ohio St (not eligible for other reasons) and Northern Illinois.
Those are the only teams that could conceivably be eligible for a bowl with only 5 wins, but it would have still been unlikely. In any event, we don't have to worry about that anymore!
5-7 teams only get in if there aren't enough 6-6 teams. 6-6 teams can be picked over other teams like a 7-5 team. My main point was that if they had to include a rule that 5-7 teams could get a bid, it probably means there will be enough room for Duke.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/...wins-5-7-teams