Citrus Bowl or Bust for Me
On the way home Valenti and Foster were doing the usual baiting Michigan fans into calling up since there are no ratings in talking MSU football.
The premise was would you root for MSU to help Mich get to the BCS? I don't care about that but based on all the diaries posted on here and the callers it does appear that a lot of fans do want to go to the BCS.
My question is why? Bowls hold very little interest for me. The only bowls that I find compelling are against top teams. I would much rather test ourselves against Arkansas than play Houston. If the BCS bid meant we were guaranteed to play Oklahoma, Oklahoma or Stanford than I would be fine with it, but Houston? Who wants that?
If you are not going to the game the only thing that matters about the bowl game is bragging rights and entertainment. Michigan does not need publicity. Come on it's Michigan! So I don't but that argument to go to the BCS
Let's look at the other factors.
Gametime- Advantage Citrus. 1:00 start day off work vs a midnight finish on a work night
Opponent- Advantage Citrus. Arkansas vs Houston Not even close. Plus a win gives us Seee Ceee bragging rights and continues our historical domination of them.
So to those of you that want to go to the Sugar Bowl can you explain why?
November 30th, 2011 at 8:58 PM ^
I think Hoke has changed the tide on the postseason. Hell people in Ohio are going to have two schools in the Pizza Bowl. Never in a million years would I have thought that. Going to a BCS game would be a better start than going to the Capital One Bowl.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:03 PM ^
your logic defies reasoning...the Sugar Bowl has been a prestigious bowl from the beginning..Its a BCS Bowl..the standard which successful programs are measured..It continues the long Michigan tradition of playing in the most pretigious bowls on News Year Day (or near there)..
Playing a undefeated ANYBODY this late in the year in a BCS bowl would end up being the absolutely BEST CASE SCENARIO any of us could have imagined at the years beginnng..
Its New Orleans fergodsakes...Its a FUN city to go for a few days/nights..It will be a great trip for M fans to plalce we havent been to in awhile...
it will help recruitin ALOT....
I mean there are probably 50 other such reasons why you go to a BCS Bowl...
November 30th, 2011 at 9:14 PM ^
Not sure I agree with your logic here but you're entitled to your own opinion. Here are some reasons why I would like Michigan to go BCS bowling.
1. Recruiting-playing on a big stage will help those young kids realize their goals, dreams and aspirations.
2. Although Houston is not the most exciting match-up in the world. It would give us a chance to give a team a loss that hasn't lost a game all season.
3. Behind closed doors if you had a conversation off the record I would bet a lot of money that Dave Brandon would say he wants to go to the BCS because it brings our athletic dept more money.
4. This should be #1(although these are in no particular order) but it shouldn't be about what WE WANT AS FANS, it should be about, WHAT THE PLAYERS FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DESERVE!!!
November 30th, 2011 at 9:35 PM ^
The way I look at it, a BCS bowl is a BCS bowl no matter who the opponent is. Big Ten teams have not always played the most attractive opponents in a BCS game.
Wisconsin played an 8-4 unranked Stanford team in the Rose Bowl in 1999. They only beat 2 teams who barely finished over .500 and they lost to a 3-7 San Jose State team. The year before, the Badgers beat a UCLA team in the Rose Bowl that had a RichRod type of defense giving up 37 points a game.
Penn State played an 8-4 Florida State team in the Orange Bowl in 2005. The only reason the Noles were in a BCS game was because a conference champion from the crappy ACC had to go.
Iowa played a Georgia Tech team in the Orange Bowl 2 years ago that had no business even being in a BCS Bowl.
If we played Houston in the Sugar Bowl, this would be no different. If we get a chance to play them, great! Plus the Sugar Bowl is the only major bowl we have never won. We played in it once in 1983 against Auburn and we kept the great Bo Jackson (who laughed at the mere thought of playing us) out of the end zone all night. But Auburn kicked a field goal in the final minute to beat us 9-7. I say we go to New Orleans and get a little redemption.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^
I'll give you Stanford and FSU, but the other teams were highly thought of.
That UCLA team (with off. coordinator Al Borges) was set to play for the national championship before they lost to Miami on the last weekend of the season. (Craig James, by the way, called that Wisconsin team, "the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl, though quarterback Mike Samuel is the most underrated QB in college football," why does he still have a job?) I'm sure UCLA was a substantial favorite
Georgia Tech was ranked 9th going into the Orange Bowl and favored by 4 over Iowa. They just ran into a very well prepared Iowa D.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
not thrilled about possibility of playing Houston, which isn't a guarantee because they can lose to Southern Miss, I don't mind the additional national attention this team would get playing in a BCS Bowl.
November 30th, 2011 at 10:22 PM ^
I'd like to see Michigan in the Sugar Bowl, but if they end up at the Citrus Bowl, I may actually get a chance to see them play (it's ten minutes from my house). So I wouldn't be too disappointed. Plus, Michigan played pretty darn well the last time they were here -- I seem to recall lots of glorious Tim Tebow tears...
November 30th, 2011 at 11:18 PM ^
Greater prestige, greater hype. ESPN will talk about all the majors. And the rest will all be lumped together. That helps the program look to to fans, to recruits. The programs seen as successful are the ones that are regularly playing in BCS games. Even a "name" program like Michigan is seen as down if they're playing too many years in a row in Florida, and not Pasadena or some place more BCS-y.
Houston > Arkansas. You may say "we're Michigan"...but we haven't been Michigan for a number of years. We're not completely back yet. And we can more likely beat Houston out of Conference USA than Arkansas. And right now the program benefits in recruiting and all that other stuff by winning a game to go 11-2 than losing a close game (or...gulp...getting blown out) by an Arkansas. And lets be real...Arkansas is good, but they're not one of the prestige teams in the SEC. It's not beating Bama. There's really not a lot more credit for beating them than Houston...just a lot tougher time doing it. Right now we benefit more from a win than "Taking on all comers". That time will come.
I guess money, but that's a small part. You're getting the bowl ticket screw job at all bowls. Sure, they're more expense at the big bowls..but you're a lot more likely to sell more. Individuals like U-Conn can take gas on it, but with the Big Ten's profit sharing, no one gets hit up that badly.
Fun for those going. Primarily the players, but the fans too. The players get more glory to go to the Sugar Bowl. And they get to go to New Orleans. Don't get me wrong, the Orlando trip is a lot of fun, and wouldn't mind going there. But we've been there quite a few times over the last decade or so. Heck, there are even a few players left who probably have already gone there once. And we haven't been to the Sugar Bowl in almost 30 years. It's a rare chance to get to go there. When you get it, you should take it. (Not to mention, the better the bowl, the WAY better the bowl gifts are for the players. I'm pretty sure I know which way all the players would vote).
And regarding MSU, if someone could show me that MSU losing would absolutely, mathematically, without a doubt, if not get us in, get us a legitimately better chance at getting to a BCS game, I'd root for them. Michigan's success matters more than someone else's failure. But I've seen no one really prove that if MSU loses we're really that much more likely out, so go Badgers.
December 1st, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^
After the last three years this is an awesome conversation to have.
December 1st, 2011 at 1:05 AM ^
If you gave me the option of a guarenteed win in the Sugar vs Houston vs a guarenteed win in the CAPITAL ONE BOWL(formerly Citrus Bowl) against Arkansas(or any SEC team for that matter), I would take the Sugar and here is why. Since the BCS has started, we have been to 4 BCS Bowls (3 Rose and an Orange). We are 1-3. In the BCS era, we are 5-2 against SEC teams in Bowl games. We are not Ohio; we do not need to "prove" we can beat SEC teams(in Bowl Games). I'll take the BCS victory, regardless of who it is against!
December 1st, 2011 at 6:58 AM ^
Sugar Bowl for sure.
<br>
<br>1. Prestige
<br>2. Recruiting
<br>3. Money
<br>
<br>On a personal level, it's within driving distance for me and I'm off that week. Uh, yes please!
December 1st, 2011 at 7:35 AM ^
December 1st, 2011 at 7:45 AM ^
I want to win a BCS bowl so please give me the team we have the best chance to beat. Im very realistic, it hasn't been a great decade. We've won two out of the last ten bowl games we've played. After we win a few then I'll be the tough guy who wants the team that will test us. Unless we're playing for the championship why does it matter anyway? Bring on the weakest team we can play and our first BCS win and I'm a happy man.
December 1st, 2011 at 8:52 AM ^
have an exciting game (Denard v Keenum) versus possibly getting beaten v SEC team in lesser bowl--yup, I'll take the Citrus???
December 1st, 2011 at 9:59 AM ^