Post by elp525 on Dec 2, 2009 12:23:03 GMT -5
December 1, 2009
By Dave Hickman
Staff writer
MORGANTOWN - It appears that if the Gator Bowl has its way, Jacksonville will be West Virginia's postseason destination regardless of what happens in this weekend's games to determine the Big East's pecking order.
One reason is that the Gator simply likes the idea of having the Mountaineers and an anticipated large following in its last year of a relationship with the Big East.
The other is that the Gator Bowl is fairly drooling at the thought of pairing the Mountaineers with Florida State in Bobby Bowden's last game as the Seminoles' coach.
The trouble is, the Gator Bowl's contract with the Atlantic Coast Conference may prohibit that.
Bowden, the 80-year-old Florida State coach - and former WVU mentor - officially announced his retirement Tuesday, but he won't step down until after he coaches the Seminoles in a bowl game. While practically any bowl in the country would like to serve as host for Bowden's swan song, it is the Gator that wants to match Bowden with his former team in Jacksonville, Fla.
"If we're able to do this, the college football world will be watching Bobby Bowden coach his last game in Jacksonville,'' Gator Bowl general chairman Dan Murphy told the Florida Times-Union. "It would be a game with an interest level behind only the BCS championship game.''
Regardless of the opponent, the Gator Bowl seems to have at least temporarily settled on West Virginia as its Big East representative to the Jan. 1 game after a Sunday night meeting of its selection committee. That could change, though, depending upon the outcome of this weekend's games, particularly if WVU loses to Rutgers and unbeaten Cincinnati falls at Pitt. The Gator might then switch gears and opt for an 11-1 Cincinnati team, but it could also stick with WVU because of its fan following.
West Virginia officials on Tuesday said they have had no contact with the Gator Bowl beyond the usual, meaning no invitation has been extended.
There's no question about which team the Gator wants from the ACC, however. During a Monday night meeting and in anticipation of Bowden's retirement, the bowl committee set its sights on the Seminoles and Bowden's farewell.
There's just one catch: The Gator Bowl might have to navigate through the rules in the contract between it and the ACC, specifically a one-win rule that would seem to preclude the Gator from passing on enough teams to get to the Seminoles, who finished their season 6-6 overall and just 4-4 in the league.
In general, that agreement prohibits any ACC-contracted bowl from choosing a team that is not within one league win of the other available ACC teams. The Gator Bowl has the third choice of ACC teams after the BCS and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. But there are three teams - Georgia Tech (7-1), Clemson (6-2) and Virginia Tech (6-2) - that are more than a game ahead of the Seminoles' 4-4 league mark.
Georgia Tech and Clemson play Saturday for the ACC championship with the winner gaining a berth in the Orange Bowl. Because of the one-win rule, the Chick-fil-A Bowl will have to choose either Virginia Tech or the loser of the ACC title game. And under the basic rules of the contract, that would force the Gator - again because of the one-win rule - to take the team that the Chick-fil-A Bowl does not.
The catch is that in the contract between the Gator Bowl and the ACC, the Gator is required to take the loser of the ACC title game only once in four years, which it did when it paired Georgia Tech against West Virginia after the 2006 season. The Mountaineers won 38-35.
The way the Gator Bowl sees it, if the Chick-fil-A Bowl opts for Virginia Tech instead of the ACC title game loser, then the Gator feels it would have a clear path to Florida State. It could pass on the Georgia Tech-Clemson loser because of the clause in its contract, then select from a pool of 5-3 and 4-4 teams, which would make Florida State eligible.
"That's our interpretation,'' Murphy said.
That, however, is only one interpretation. According to the ACC's publicly released version of the rule, it says that the Gator may pass on the ACC runner-up "to make another selection within one victory.'' If that means within one victory of the ACC runner-up, it would seem to force the Gator to take one of the two 5-3 teams - Boston College or Miami. Gator Bowl officials, however, insist that the wording of the contract is different.
By Dave Hickman
Staff writer
MORGANTOWN - It appears that if the Gator Bowl has its way, Jacksonville will be West Virginia's postseason destination regardless of what happens in this weekend's games to determine the Big East's pecking order.
One reason is that the Gator simply likes the idea of having the Mountaineers and an anticipated large following in its last year of a relationship with the Big East.
The other is that the Gator Bowl is fairly drooling at the thought of pairing the Mountaineers with Florida State in Bobby Bowden's last game as the Seminoles' coach.
The trouble is, the Gator Bowl's contract with the Atlantic Coast Conference may prohibit that.
Bowden, the 80-year-old Florida State coach - and former WVU mentor - officially announced his retirement Tuesday, but he won't step down until after he coaches the Seminoles in a bowl game. While practically any bowl in the country would like to serve as host for Bowden's swan song, it is the Gator that wants to match Bowden with his former team in Jacksonville, Fla.
"If we're able to do this, the college football world will be watching Bobby Bowden coach his last game in Jacksonville,'' Gator Bowl general chairman Dan Murphy told the Florida Times-Union. "It would be a game with an interest level behind only the BCS championship game.''
Regardless of the opponent, the Gator Bowl seems to have at least temporarily settled on West Virginia as its Big East representative to the Jan. 1 game after a Sunday night meeting of its selection committee. That could change, though, depending upon the outcome of this weekend's games, particularly if WVU loses to Rutgers and unbeaten Cincinnati falls at Pitt. The Gator might then switch gears and opt for an 11-1 Cincinnati team, but it could also stick with WVU because of its fan following.
West Virginia officials on Tuesday said they have had no contact with the Gator Bowl beyond the usual, meaning no invitation has been extended.
There's no question about which team the Gator wants from the ACC, however. During a Monday night meeting and in anticipation of Bowden's retirement, the bowl committee set its sights on the Seminoles and Bowden's farewell.
There's just one catch: The Gator Bowl might have to navigate through the rules in the contract between it and the ACC, specifically a one-win rule that would seem to preclude the Gator from passing on enough teams to get to the Seminoles, who finished their season 6-6 overall and just 4-4 in the league.
In general, that agreement prohibits any ACC-contracted bowl from choosing a team that is not within one league win of the other available ACC teams. The Gator Bowl has the third choice of ACC teams after the BCS and the Chick-fil-A Bowl. But there are three teams - Georgia Tech (7-1), Clemson (6-2) and Virginia Tech (6-2) - that are more than a game ahead of the Seminoles' 4-4 league mark.
Georgia Tech and Clemson play Saturday for the ACC championship with the winner gaining a berth in the Orange Bowl. Because of the one-win rule, the Chick-fil-A Bowl will have to choose either Virginia Tech or the loser of the ACC title game. And under the basic rules of the contract, that would force the Gator - again because of the one-win rule - to take the team that the Chick-fil-A Bowl does not.
The catch is that in the contract between the Gator Bowl and the ACC, the Gator is required to take the loser of the ACC title game only once in four years, which it did when it paired Georgia Tech against West Virginia after the 2006 season. The Mountaineers won 38-35.
The way the Gator Bowl sees it, if the Chick-fil-A Bowl opts for Virginia Tech instead of the ACC title game loser, then the Gator feels it would have a clear path to Florida State. It could pass on the Georgia Tech-Clemson loser because of the clause in its contract, then select from a pool of 5-3 and 4-4 teams, which would make Florida State eligible.
"That's our interpretation,'' Murphy said.
That, however, is only one interpretation. According to the ACC's publicly released version of the rule, it says that the Gator may pass on the ACC runner-up "to make another selection within one victory.'' If that means within one victory of the ACC runner-up, it would seem to force the Gator to take one of the two 5-3 teams - Boston College or Miami. Gator Bowl officials, however, insist that the wording of the contract is different.
