Any Chance Michigan would Turn Down Little Caesar's Bowl Invite?
Pat Caputo thinks Michigan would "turn its nose up at" the Little Caesar's Bowl. To me, that opinion contradicts all that is logical at this point for Michigan's program.
I don't think Michigan is in a position where it can reject any opportunity for post-season play.
If you were AD, would you turn down a Little Caesar's Bowl invite at this point? If so, how would you justify a rejection?
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=29764383&postID=20478880286611…
November 4th, 2009 at 1:08 PM ^
Why?
Because $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:11 PM ^
And miss out on the extra practices? That would be insane. Sounds like Caputo is trying to make the "M is elitist" cheapshot.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:59 PM ^
They will play in any bowl to get the extra 15 or so practices.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:18 PM ^
Is a fool and has the most pronounced "Michigan Accent" I have ever heard. I have one too, but this guy has an insane one.
Turning down the Motor City Bowl would be insane and would make us look horrible (School of Elitists)
I would be absolutely livid with the administration for doing so.
It ain't gonna happen.
Although I'd obviously like to see us play in a better bowl, I think the Motor City Bowl would be great. As a Royal Oak resident, I relish the opportunity to go to the game and party downtown afterwards.
Plus, this'll will probably (hopefully) be the only opportunity we will have to play in a Detroit Bowl game...our team better not even be in the conversation for this game in the future.
I would love to see a Motor City Bowl and don't think the admin would be stupid enough to turn down the invite.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:43 PM ^
BUT MICHIGAN HAS NO ACCENT AAHHHHHHHHHH!
November 4th, 2009 at 2:29 PM ^
I think you mean EEHHHHHHHHHH eh?
November 4th, 2009 at 1:20 PM ^
This would probably the only chance I'd ever get to go to a bowl game M is in.(lots of stuff going on during bowl season) So if they turned it down that would be one of many reasons i'd be pissed.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:24 PM ^
Brandon Graham alone deserves an extra game especially in front of his hometown, not to mention the other seniors who have had to deal with a difficult few years.
they go, it will also be my first chance to see them in a bowl game.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:24 PM ^
is a whack job.
What would a Michigan refusal to the LC Pizza Bowl invite say to the Metro Detroit area and the state of Michigan as a whole? That would be pretty damn cold if you ask me. Do you think that would affect recruiting? You bet.
Plus it would allow the team to have more practices, which was identified last year as a real loss.
This year's Michigan team is not the same as Caputo's daddy's Michigan team. It is a work in progress.
The Pizza Bowl should pit Michigan vs. MSU- part II.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:32 PM ^
Now that would give some spice to the Pizza Bowl!
November 4th, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^
If M were to turn down Pizza Pizza, Dantonio would eat it up. We'd never hear the end of "who the real Michigan team is".
November 4th, 2009 at 1:26 PM ^
PIZZA PIZZA
November 4th, 2009 at 3:54 PM ^
BOWL BOWL
November 4th, 2009 at 1:26 PM ^
Has anyone ever turned down a bowl game?
November 4th, 2009 at 3:25 PM ^
Yes. Buffalo turned down a bid several decades ago because they would've had to leave their African-American QB behind (this was segregated America, so yes, several decades ago).
November 4th, 2009 at 3:44 PM ^
ND turned down a bowl in the late 90's some time. I can't remember the bowl, but I think it was '96 and Lou Holtz was the coach (come to think of it, maybe they just said they wouldn't accept a non-major bid and were never offered). Then they didn't win one until 2008.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:08 PM ^
Hillsdale College turned down a bid to the Tangerine Bowl because it forbade any African-Americans from playing.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:00 AM ^
The last time Minnesota made the Rose Bowl was in 1961 when 1st place Ohio State turned it down because of "tension between academics and athletics" (per wiki).
November 4th, 2009 at 2:07 PM ^
Bowls have been turned down before. About 4 years ago, Virginia turned down the Champs Sports Bowl because the date interfered with final exams (something to chew over in vearious playoff scenarios that are put forward). (I forget whether UVa went somewhere else instead. I think Notre Dame turned one down within the last 5 - 10 years but maybe that was mere media speculation (not counting the decades before the 1970s when the Irish wouldn't participate in bowls). In 2004, Clemson and South Carolina turned down bowl invitations after a game-ending brawl in their season finale. Going back further, the Ohio State faculty council voted to turn down the 1961 Rose Bowl bid because the school was getting too much of a reputation as a football school. Think that wasn't controversial?
I am pretty sure there have been others, but I would be shocked if Michigan would turn down a bid this year, especially a game in Michigan that would support local groups and economy.
EDIT - In 1996, Notre Dame finished 8-3 and did not go to a bowl game, after playing in 10 straight New Year's Day Bowl games. I can't find whether they formally rejected a bid, but I would have thought that some bowl would have wanted them. I believe ND felt that anything less than a New Year's Day bowl was beneath it (at that time).
November 4th, 2009 at 2:13 PM ^
Yeah, Notre Dame felt that lower tier bowls were beneath it at the time.
http://www.uhnd.com/blog/notre-dame-football/notre-dame-decline-bowl-bi…
"After the 1996 season, a three loss Irish team turned down bowl bids for lesser tier bowls. This year a five or fix loss Irish team would do no such thing according to Charlie Weis. On Sunday Weis addressed that scenario."
There was quite a bit of scathing commentary at the time, but I'm having trouble finding it quickly.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:16 PM ^
I didn't say that teams have never turned down bowls before. I'm just saying no, Michigan will not turn down the Little Caesar's Bowl (or any bowl). Just so we're clear, you gave good examples and I'm not trying to refute anything that you said.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:21 PM ^
Your "no" comment was juxtaposed against the previous commenter's question and I failed to see your comment was not indented as a reply to the question.
In any event, there is some history of schools turning down bowl bids. (Won't and should not happen here if M is bowl eligible.)
November 4th, 2009 at 1:26 PM ^
I know it's off the schedule for next year but didn't know if it was an option for this year.
Motor City Pizza bowl would love the Wolverines or Spartans to come to Detroit, it could be it's only shot at a sell out.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:27 PM ^
We once accepted a bid to the Holiday Bowl, knowing we'd lose to BYU just because we needed the practice.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^
we would lose. As I remember Ty Detmer was running around on a broken leg and completed a touchdown pass at the end of the game to win it. Until last year, that was our worst season since, well, a long time.
EDIT: I was mostly right. It wasn't Detmer. It was Robbie Bosco. From Bentley archive:
"Aided by six Brigham Young turnovers and a blocked field goal attempt, Michigan held a 17-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. But BYU quarterback Robbie Bosco, hampered by an injured left knee and ankle suffered in the first stanza, led the Cougars to 80- and 83-yard TD drives to give BYU a 24-17 victory."
November 4th, 2009 at 1:27 PM ^
Who is Pat Caputo and why do we care what he says?
Not knocking the thread, but who is this idiot who thinks a 3-win team from a year ago would turn down an invite to any bowl.
You know, there is not much head left of mine to asplode, with people like this continued to be used as "expert" pundits.
Does he think its beneath UM? If so, he has got a more fraudulent view of the program's state of talent that most of those callers Brian had to deal with on WTKA the other day.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:50 PM ^
Not sure if you mean who is Pat Caputo as in "I've never heard of the guy" or who is Pat Caputo in the "Who is he to make such a prediction?" sense. Assuming you meant it the first way, he is a columnist for the Oakland Press and hosts a bevy of sports talk radio shows for WXYT AM 1270 in Detroit.
His over-saturation in the Michigan media-market doesn't make his opinion legitimate or rational but I thought that an opinion that dumb spouted by a prominent Detroit sports talk figure was worth mentioning, if only to ridicule.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:08 PM ^
I'm just south of the border here in Toledo, but I thought I knew most of the sports personalities. Thanks for the info.
I have zero problem with the thread.. Maybe by exposing dumb asses, we can slowly, but surely smarten up talk radio? I know we could use more folks like Brian on the airwaves, whether talking about Michigan or not. The world needs less Bayliss, Parkers and Caputos
November 4th, 2009 at 2:11 PM ^
not include Cowherd?
November 4th, 2009 at 1:33 PM ^
I think Notre Dame had considered it at one point in the not so distant past.
I'm not sure though.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:42 PM ^
You sure it wasn't just idiot sportswriters speculating that Notre Dame was considering it?
November 4th, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
There would be absolutely no justification in turning down a bowl invitation. It would be moronic, elitist, and the single dumbest decision made by anyone associated with the program. Not only would the seniors not get a 13th game, but, as others have said, the program would miss out on MUCH needed practice going forward.
Also, for this team, being so young, any bowl would be good for their self-esteem going into the off-season and spring practice. I wouldn't expect anyone from the program to turn down a bowl bid, but if someone were to, I don't know who makes that decision. They should be fired for negligence and stupidity. Caputo, merely implying this has lost all credibility.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:35 PM ^
The entire notion that Michigan would turn down post season play is the most absurd thing I have ever read in my entire life. At this point, I would like to see Michigan go to any bowl even if the bowl is the most ridiculously named game of all time.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:41 PM ^
It does have some competition, though, doesn't it?
Poulan Weed Eater Independence Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
The EagleBank Bowl
PapaJohns.com Bowl
galleryfurniture.com Bowl (wonder what the free swag was for that - an ottoman?)
The Boot Hill Bowl
Cigar Bowl
Oil Bowl
Will Rodgers Bowl (1947)
And, of course, the Salad Bowl (played in Phoenix in the 40s).
Or, how about the Professional Football's Tuna Bowl? No, I'm not kidding.
The best? The Bacardi Bowl, played in Cuba in 1937.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:02 PM ^
the Bluebonnet Bowl. It's both girlie and old-timey, as if Laura Ingalls is going to do the coin toss.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:26 PM ^
for the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl - Laura Ingalls and George Jetson together for the coin toss?
November 4th, 2009 at 10:42 PM ^
33-14 over UCLA in 1981.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:31 PM ^
in bowl games in 1981. (Beat Washington on NYD.)
November 4th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^
They have to accept the offer. What's the other option,
stay home?
November 4th, 2009 at 1:38 PM ^
I'm pretty sure no Big Ten team can turn down a bowl game... whether they want to or not. With the bowl revenue being split equally amongst the teams, the conference wants as many teams playing as possible.
So besides giving up on all the benefits of the extra practice... I don't think Michigan could do it if they wanted.
Plus... playing in Detroit would really cut down on expenses. That bowl would be way more profitable from a University stand-point than any other.
Bowl games aren't like the N.I.T..
November 4th, 2009 at 1:44 PM ^
There is no way they turn down any bowl.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:48 PM ^
Central will kill us...
I am a big Dan Lefevour fan, but it would not be fun to watch him put up Juice-type numbers against our D (and he will)
November 4th, 2009 at 2:13 PM ^
I read/heard(?) somewhere that CMU does not want to play in Detroit and would prefer to play in the GMAC bowl. Not exactly sure how the MAC determines who goes where... but if that's the case, I think Temple might be headed to Detroit.
Of course, CMU may say they want out of the Pizza Bowl... until they see who the opponent is. I can't see them passing up the chance to sweep the state of Michigan.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:29 PM ^
Yeah I agree. CMU is already a better team then when they played state. This would be a disaster if Michigan lost. There's not much to gain from a win either.
November 4th, 2009 at 1:58 PM ^
The ability to practice for at least one more month is reason alone to accept a bid. At this point, any bowl game is a win for this team, pride be damned.
And BTW, Pat Caputo may be one of the worst radio personalities I have ever heard in a major sports market - he acts like he is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, when in fact he mails in most of his columns and his "insight" on the radio is nothing more than reactionary rants about topics he knows very little about. I'm sure he is just trying to get some buzz going, but there is a reason he is an after-thought on the radio.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:10 PM ^
because there is NO WAY they're going to be bowl eligible. Honestly, what have you guys seen (or smoked) that makes you think we'll beat Purdue? I'm just hoping we use the last three weeks to improve on both sides of the ball, which means learning the new systems as much as anything else. Oh, and maybe stop giving the ball to the other team.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:18 PM ^
Wont happen. We will miss out on too many practices and that is crucial for a young team. Besides not playing in bowl games for 2 years straight is tough for this fanbase and this team. I don't think the seniors would let it happen.
November 4th, 2009 at 2:37 PM ^
I sure hope not. This would be my only chance to see UM in a bowl game this year (newborn on the way).
November 4th, 2009 at 3:06 PM ^
We are going to win at least 2 of the 3 games left and well go back to the Alamo Bowl.