If the cougs take care of business,which bowl game beckons?. A 9-3 record would seemingly be quite an enticement for Bowl committees.If the cougs continue to play inspired football,they can control a good part of their destiny.
Which Bowl game?
- Thread starter ElComanche
- Start date
As I understand it, with our 7th win we're essentially guaranteed one of the conference's contracted bowl berths, but not a specified one. That won't change with 2 more wins. But the contract bowls pick in sequence, and the teams with more wins usually (not always) get picked first. The Alamo isn't obligated to take #2 if they think someone else is a better fit for them.
Bottom line, there's no way to be sure until after AC.
Bottom line, there's no way to be sure until after AC.
FWIW, CBS's Jerry Palm has the Cougs playing in the Sun Bowl (El Paso) vs. North Carolina State. I'm hoping for the Holiday Bowl in San Diego instead...but I won't be greedy. (He has Utah going to Holiday Bowl, USC going to Alamo Bowl, Stanford going to Rose Bowl). Still a lot to be decided.
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
It really depends. Holiday, Alamo, Sun, and Vegas seem the most likely to me.
I personally would prefer either the Holiday Bowl, or the Foster Farms bowl.
The other ones are great bowls, but having a bowl in California is great for recruiting because we could invite recruits to it during the holiday break, and that is way cool.
If we have to travel to the other bowls in Texas, or I think the Cactus bowl in Arizona the recruiting impact will be minimal unless we play a big opponent.
I personally would prefer either the Holiday Bowl, or the Foster Farms bowl.
The other ones are great bowls, but having a bowl in California is great for recruiting because we could invite recruits to it during the holiday break, and that is way cool.
If we have to travel to the other bowls in Texas, or I think the Cactus bowl in Arizona the recruiting impact will be minimal unless we play a big opponent.
Actually, an invite to the Alamo Bowl might be the best simply because it would mean the Cougs will have won their last two games and be in position to be the conference's #2 team. But I get the recruiting advantage that a CAL bowl would provide. Isn't it great to actually be talking about which bowl we can/should go to? Been awhile since we've been able to do that!
Glad Cougar
Glad Cougar
I've always told my wife, "don't send me a wedding invite, or schedule a wedding on a COUG football Saturday". Guess what? Yep. We've got an invite, (one of these Father and the Bride $$$$$ weddings), where six months ago, we received a teaser Post Card. "Save the Date", with the picture of of the beautiful couple, (my very good friend's daughter). And then last month, received the Invitation and the RSVP dinner reception card. Wedding is Saturday, January 2nd, at 5:00PM. So no. I don't want the Alamo Bowl. 
What's funny is the Bride is a COUG!
What's funny is the Bride is a COUG!Might be grounds for a divorce but in your friends defense, who among us would have reserved January 2nd for a possible bowl game prior to the season's start?I've always told my wife, "don't send me a wedding invite, or schedule a wedding on a COUG football Saturday". Guess what? Yep. We've got an invite, (one of these Father and the Bride $$$$$ weddings), where six months ago, we received a teaser Post Card. "Save the Date", with the picture of of the beautiful couple, (my very good friend's daughter). And then last month, received the Invitation and the RSVP dinner reception card. Wedding is Saturday, January 2nd, at 5:00PM. So no. I don't want the Alamo Bowl.
The Holiday Bowl and the Alamo Bowl would be my preferences in that orderi think that if the cougs win out,they go to the Holiday Bowl. They will be a more desirable team than Utah at that point
I looked at the possibilties this morning. If we win out, we could very likely end up in a three way tie for 2nd place. I think the Cougs will be very attractive to the Alamo Bowl because Leach fans in Texas might go along with having a motivated fanbase. If we finish 8-4, it may mean that we are in a tie for 4th place with USC. Unless there are some upsets that move things around, WSU is probably too high in the conference standings to end up in Vegas or in the Cactus Bowl. Who thought we'd be able to say that with a two games to go?
This is my best friend's daughter getting married. My wife is just going along for the ride. But, if we do end up with a January 2nd Bowl, can you imagine the scenario I'm in? I'll have to DVR the game, and watch it around 9PM Saturday night. I don't mind sacrificing conference games on tape delay, but our Bowl Game? Very sad, and this is a Wedding that we must be present for. Frankly, this also prohibits me to travel to the game. Either way, the wedding wins.
My point with this drama is that my whole adult life, everyone arounds me knows that I've said, "don't schedule a wedding on a Coug football Saturday"! I feel this is going to backfire on me. Oh well.
How the hell is the Sun Bowl even a thing? El Paso is an armpit, no major airport, and its most redeeming quality is now a haven for drug lords and cartels (Juarez). Ugh, I hate finishing middle of the Pac and having that possibility - I'd rather give up a contracted bowl spot than have that one.
Please dear sweet baby Jesus, don't let the Cougs go to the Sun Bowl.
Please dear sweet baby Jesus, don't let the Cougs go to the Sun Bowl.
Fiesta Bowl at large..... I would have to think we would be a top 12 team if we were to win out and #2 in the PAC 12. I can dream, right?
With that said, the Alamo by a mile. Let's fill up the river walk with Cougs!!!!
With that said, the Alamo by a mile. Let's fill up the river walk with Cougs!!!!
I don't know how the shuffle of bowl games panned out but I want whatever game is "higher up" in status. I don't care about location, I only want the highest status.
The only caveat for me that MIGHT hold water is to have a lower bowl (slightly) in CA, in order to help with recruiting. But man, a higher status bowl should trump that, I would think.
You, good sir, have a problem but a nice one to have. "Coug football Saturdays" have traditionally ended with the start of December. Ideally, your best friend's daughter will only marry once. If the trend continues we may have a number of game days occurring after our normal cut off date in the future. Record the game, attend the wedding, insert ear plugs after the game starts and watch the replay at night. Nine pm isn't that far off from a regular night game time anyway. If Leach continues to build the program we will all have many chances to attend bowls in person in the coming years. Like I said, not a terrible problem to have. Oh, and in the future you may need to warn those close to you not to schedule important events on scheduled football dates or from the second week of December to the second week of January. Let us hope we have this problem fitting bowl games into our social schedules on a regular basis from now on. That is a problem we should be delighted to have.
Then you want the Alamo bowl if the Fiesta isn't available. The Alamo is the #2 bowl for the PAC 12. Holiday, historically #2, is now #3. Santa Clara is #4 and the Sun #5.
One would think that the cougs at 9-3 would be more desirable than Utah. Having Falk and his receivers are an attractive package. The Bowls like to have "names" so that fans will be attracted to the game.I cannot even remember who plays for Utah. Leach in himself may be a big draw. Hell, I have convinced myself,if the cougs win out,they go to the Alamo Bowl.
Selection order for Pac-12 bowls:
1. Rose
2. Alamo (Big 12/Pac 12)
3. Holiday (Big 10/Pac 12)
4. Foster Farms (Big 10/Pac 12)
5. Sun (ACC or Notre Dame/Pac 12)
6. Vegas (Mt. West or BYU/Pac 12)
7. Cactus (Big 12/Pac 12)
I don't see any way we land in the Rose. That'll take the winner of the conference championship (which we can't reach), and since the Pac-12 is extremely unlikely to have a playoff representative, there won't be any backfilling with a lower team.
Alamo is a decent game, and with only 4 games on Jan. 2 (Cactus, Liberty, and TaxSlayer), this one will arguably be the most watched west of the Mississippi. Starts early enough (3:45 PT) that most of the east coast could watch if they wanted to. Probably not the one we'll travel to the best, and tickets are relatively expensive ($85-135). Decent exposure in a good recruiting ground, but not our primary one.
Holiday is also a decent game, and there's also only 4 games on Dec. 30 (Music City, Belk, Birmingham), and this is the only one in the west. Late start (7:30 PT) means most of the east will probably miss it. We'll likely travel pretty well, San Diego is a decent destination, I've heard almost universally good things about the 2003 experience, and at least some tickets are pretty affordable ($45-135). Good exposure in a primary recruiting area.
Foster Farms is fairly middling. One of 6 games on Dec 26, likely overshadowed in the west by the Sun Bowl, in the east by the Independence (plus St. Petersburg, Heart of Dallas, and Pinstripe). It should be the only game on in the evening (6:15 kick), but questionable how many will care. Travel is relatively easy, but I'm not sure how many will go the day after Christmas. Travel won't be cheap. Endzone tickets start at $54, but if you want sideline, they get over $100 ($54-189). Also a primary recruiting area, but it's a second tier bowl that I don't think will inspire a lot of excitement.
Sun is similar, although I think it's slightly higher profile than Foster Farms. It'll be an 11 AM PT kickoff, and will lose its Midwest audience to the Heart of Dallas bowl, and part of its east coast audience to the Pinstripe bowl at halftime. El Paso isn't a destination for anyone, it's not that easy to get there, and the early start means you have to spend Christmas day there. Tickets are the most reasonable ($57-72), but I don't think we'll travel very well. It's in Texas, but it's not really in recruiting country...don't know that it gets us much benefit from that angle.
Vegas is probably a 3rd tier bowl, and is one of 6 on Dec 19 (Celebration, Cure, New Mexico, Camellia, New Orleans). It's the only one that day with a major conference representative, so might be the one that gets the most viewers. 12:30 start, so it's available for everyone. It'll have first half conflict with New Mexico and 2nd half conflict with Camellia, but both of those are small market games, so the majority probably stay with it. Travel will be reasonable, although it'll probably be short notice. But, it's Vegas, and it's a small stadium, so we'll travel OK. All tickets are $85. Minimal recruiting edge, although maybe we can use it as a bridge to SoCal.
Cactus is bottom tier (although I'd rather play it than the New Mexico). Last of 4 games on Jan 2, with a 7:15 kick, so it won't have east coast following and will only snag the portion of the Midwest that follows the opponent. Might step on the end of the Alamo bowl, so probably starts on ESPN2, but once the Alamo ends, it's the only game on for the night owls. Travel to Phoenix shouldn't be bad, and tickets aren't too bad ($40-150). Also pretty minimal recruiting edge, it's not close enough to either SoCal or Texas to really give us a bump. At this point, I think this would be a disappointing destination. Between that and the lack of an associated attraction, I don't see this one as a very good travel game either.
I think best of all worlds puts us in the Holiday. We'll travel OK, it's a game that has some respect, and it gives us recruiting exposure where we want it. Plus it's the one I'm probably most likely to be able to make myself.
Now all we need to do is win out...because an 8-4 WSU team probably ends up in El Paso. I think we have to be 9-3 to have any chance of getting the Holiday over USC/UCLA.
Bingo. These bowl games are about attracting off-season tourists. Butts in the seats and spending money. The victorious return of Leach to the Lone Star state should have the Alamo Bowl administrators drooling. I agree with you and am thinking the same. We win out and I will be surprised if somebody else ends up in San Antonio.
I'm with you on that. The Sun Bowl will be New Mexico Bowl 2.0 in terms of travel and city/town experience. I pray that we at least get the Holiday Bowl spot.
Also, lets realize, without taking a leak in anyones Cheerio's here, that we still have 2 more games to play before we start demanding certain bowls. In 2 weeks, we might be happy with El Paso (please no, please no, please no). While I love how we are playing, I love the confidence our players have, I love that it surely seems we've made the MENTAL leap I've been hoping for, for 4 years, we still have to play. While I agree on paper, and watching our team and their demeanor, that we SHOULD win out, I just hate counting chickens before they hatch.
Kinda like UCLA. On paper, and based on their demeanor, UCLA should have won. Lets not think CO or UW aren't thinking the same thing we were last Friday...
I know fans don't reflect the players attitude, just sayin'...
Kinda like UCLA. On paper, and based on their demeanor, UCLA should have won. Lets not think CO or UW aren't thinking the same thing we were last Friday...
I know fans don't reflect the players attitude, just sayin'...
Beav fan and alumni here. Can tell you first hand that the Alamo Bowl was amazing when we went in 2012. San Antonio was great and the river walk was unique and fun. We flew in to Austin and stayed a night there. Then drove down to San Antonio. Lots of good BBQ and Tex-Mex food. You can walk to the stadium if you stay in the river walk area.
Yes the cougs have to continue to give 105% effort to win the two remaining games.They also have to impress the Bowl folks. I just read where reps from the Alamo Bowl will be in attendance at the Colorado game.The cougs have to win by a comfortable margin so they better be up for the game.A loss or close game will not impress and they will end up in El Paso.. The Apple Cup better be an all out effort as the mutts will be playing to become bowl eligible. If the coug players cannot be up for the AC,then something is seriously wrong with them.
What a terrific writeup, 95. Thanks for putting this together. I'm going to print it out and stick it on the bulletin board over the next couple of weeks to help me decipher the possibilities.
Glad Cougar
Hey, I like the passion, but I don't think there is any way the Cougs leap frog 12 teams in the rankings with wins over CU & UW.
Boy, that's tough. I'd sit through the wedding, quick hug to the bride at the reception, so she knows you're there, then high tail it out of there.
We actually can't "high tail it". We've already committed the RSVP'd with Halibut and Beef Tenderloin for the dinner reception. We can certainly leave after dinner, but will miss the dancing afterward, right? Like I said, it's a $$$$$ "Father of the Bride" wedding.
Granted, I watch many of our games delayed (DVR), because of my business. However, watching the Bowl Game five to seven hours later is a huge, huge bummer.
You have to be careful of MC's and phones as well. I officiated the Pullman/Orting playoff game which collided with the '05 Apple Cup (with Harvey's awesome run to win), and had it recording at home to watch as soon as I got back. Of course the damn announcer has to scream into the microphone: "Cougs win! Cougs win!"
So, keep you phone turned off and warn the MC's and others to keep their mouths shut. But if you DVR the games frequently, then you know the drill.
Good tip on the MC thing! You're also right about your phone. It's so easy to check the local paper, too. Also, another disappointment is I tend to listen to the full two-hours of pre-game and post game on IMG Radio. That won't happen either. Oh well, like an earlier poster said, "they'll be plenty of more Bowls in the future", assuming Mike stays.
You'll be at a wedding, so probably not an issue, but don't wear any gear either. Last thing you want is some jabroni seeing your Cougar tie and saying, "hey, great win for you guys today". I've made that mistake before.
I watch almost every game on DVR delay. I prefer to watch the games without distraction, so I usually start them after my kids go to bed. Not so bad with the recent 7:30 kickoffs, but man, I watched that ASU game a good 4 hours after it FINISHED. I deserve a medal for avoiding my phone and the TV for that long on a Saturday.
Some of those teams will play each other in the next three weeks (including conference championship games) so just by winning the next two games, we should move up 5-8 spots. We might be able to leapfrog 4 teams.
Not a guarantee, but as Lloyd Christmas would say, "so you're telling me there's a chance"
Similar threads
