Tech's bowl possibility….you thought Shreveport was bad
November 16, 2010
Brace yourself for this possibility: Instead of playing in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., there’s a chance that Georgia Tech could end up in San Francisco….on Jan. 9…for a 9 p.m. game.
“How could that be?” you ask.
The ACC has eight natural tie-ins to bowls, including the BCS’ Orange Bowl.
There’s a good chance the conference could have nine teams qualify for a bowl.
If that happens, the musical chairs would likely end with Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Boston College waiting for a call from the Independence or Military bowls, which have the seventh and eighth picks among the ACC’s bowl partners. The Yellow Jackets and Eagles need one more win to qualify.
If the ACC has more teams than bowl slots, it has an agreement to send a team to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (try fitting that onto a ring) if its partners, the Pac-10 and WAC, don’t have enough teams qualify.
That appears to be a possibility. The Fight Hunger Bowl is supposed to take the Pac-10’s sixth team vs. a WAC opponent.
The Pac-10 has five bowl tie-ins, not counting the Rose Bowl. As of last weekend, three of its teams have qualified. There’s a good chance that Oregon will be playing in the BCS national championship game, thinning the Pac-10’s pool of candidates.
Stanford and Arizona have qualified. There are three more Pac-10 teams — Oregon State, Cal, UCLA — who have a chance to reach bowl eligibility. Stanford can’t go the Rose Bowl if either Boise State or TCU win nine games, finish in the top 12 of the final BCS standings and don’t play for the national championship. In that case, either the Broncos or Horned Frogs would automatically be invited to the Rose Bowl to take on the Big Ten champ.
But that may not affect the ACC because it appears that the WAC may not be able to fill its bowl slots.
The WAC has four bowl tie-ins. As of last weekend, four WAC teams have qualified, but Boise State will likely end up in a BCS bowl. That leaves three teams for four slots. There are three more teams – Louisiana Tech, Utah State and Idaho — who have 4-6 records. Looking at their remaining schedules, only Idaho has a realistic chance at reaching six wins. So, there’s a chance the WAC may not have enough teams for bowls.
Therefore, the Yellow Jackets, Tar Heels or Eagles could be invited to San Fran. Boston College played in it last year, when it was the Emerald Bowl. The Yellow Jackets played there in 2005. Just 25,742 fans attended that game against Utah. The Utes later said they thought some of the Jackets quit playing during the 38-10 loss. That loss also started Tech’s bowl losing streak, which is at five games.
The knock against Tech isn’t new: its fans don’t travel well, which bowl officials do take into consideration when issuing invitations. The same is true of BC.
There’s also this possibility: Tech could reach six wins, but not have a bowl game to go to if the ACC tie-ins go with North Carolina and Boston College, and the Hunger bowl gets its Pac-10 vs. WAC matchup.
So, while the rest of the country is looking forward to the national championship game on Jan. 10, two teams will be playing in the fog by the bay.
<a href="http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2010/11/15/techs-bowl-possibility-you-thought-shreveport-was-bad/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_tech_sportstag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2010/11/15/techs-bowl-possibility-you-thought-shreveport-was-bad/?cxntfid=blogs_georgia_tech_sportsMon, 15 Nov 2010 19:54:11 GMT 00:00″>Tech's bowl possibility….you thought Shreveport was bad
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