Nice write up by the Rep of Cincy on the AAC and UC Bowl outlook.

http://www.republicofcincinnati.com/inde...15-edition

Updated 11/02/15:



With the Bearcats now sitting at 5-3 (2-2), they're 1 win away from becoming bowl eligible. After week 9, the following AAC teams are already bowl eligible:



Temple: 7-1 (4-0)
Houston: 8-0 (4-0)
Memphis: 8-0 (4-0)
Navy: 6-1 (4-0) - already accepted Military Bowl bid





As of 11/01/15, ESPN has the following projections for the AAC:



Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Florida vs Memphis (Mark Schlabach) / LSU vs Memphis (Brett McMurphy)
Birmingham Bowl: Cincinnati vs Kentucky (Schlabach) / ECU vs Auburn (McMurphy)
Military Bowl: Louisville vs Navy (Schlabach) / Miami vs Navy (McMurphy)
St Petersburg Bowl: USF vs Middle Tennessee State (Schlabach) / Marshall vs Houston (McMurphy)
Hawaii Bowl: Temple vs Boise State (Schlabach) / Temple vs BYU (McMurphy)
Boca Raton Bowl: Tulsa vs Western Michigan (Schlabach) / Cincinnati vs Bowling Green (McMurphy)
Miami Beach Bowl: Houston vs Western Kentucky (Schlabach) / FIU vs USF (McMurphy)
AutoNation Cure Bowl: Tulsa vs Arkansas State (McMurphy)





2015 AAC bowl lineup:



Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, FL - vs CUSA - December 21, 2015 - 2:30pm EST

Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, FL - vs MAC - December 22, 2015 - 7:00pm EST

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HI - vs Mountain West - December 24, 2015 - 9:00pm EST

St Petersburg Bowl - St Petersburg, FL - vs CUSA - December 26, 2015 - 11am EST

Military Bowl - Annapolis, MD - NAVY vs ACC - December 28, 2015 - 2:30pm EST

Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, AL - vs SEC - December 30, 2015 - 11am EST

Which would you attend?

Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, FL - vs CUSA - December 21, 2015 - 2:30pm EST - NO

Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, FL - vs MAC - December 22, 2015 - 7:00pm EST - NO

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HI - vs Mountain West - December 24, 2015 - 9:00pm EST - NO

St Petersburg Bowl - St Petersburg, FL - vs CUSA - December 26, 2015 - 11am EST - NO

Military Bowl - Annapolis, MD - NAVY vs ACC - December 28, 2015 - 2:30pm EST - YES BUT NAVY ALREADY ACCEPTED

Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, AL - vs SEC - December 30, 2015 - 11am EST - YES

Been to PJB, OB, SB, Liberty, Belk, Belk, Military but most of our bowls are too close to Christmas obligations and not vs. P5. Being close to Christmas travel dates makes last minute flights hard to get. I have used almost all of my fractional shares for this year and it cannot do HI trip as it is beyond it's range.

Even though I hate the bowl, venue, and city as a destination, I might consider Birmingham if the SEC opponent is interesting. I will not go this year just to go through the motions.

The rest are definite no-go's.

(11-02-2015 12:22 PM)dossbig Wrote:  Which would you attend?

Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, FL - vs CUSA - December 21, 2015 - 2:30pm EST - NO

Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, FL - vs MAC - December 22, 2015 - 7:00pm EST - NO

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HI - vs Mountain West - December 24, 2015 - 9:00pm EST - NO

St Petersburg Bowl - St Petersburg, FL - vs CUSA - December 26, 2015 - 11am EST - NO

Military Bowl - Annapolis, MD - NAVY vs ACC - December 28, 2015 - 2:30pm EST - YES BUT NAVY ALREADY ACCEPTED

Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, AL - vs SEC - December 30, 2015 - 11am EST - YES

Been to PJB, OB, SB, Liberty, Belk, Belk, Military but most of our bowls are too close to Christmas obligations and not vs. P5.

Looks about right.

I think the Cure bowl in Orlando against the Sun Belt is in the mix as a primary tie-in. There might a secondary spot or two available as well. If UC can get seven wins or more they should have priority over all the other 6-6 AAC teams.

If Memphis wins the league and earns the Peach Bowl, a seven or more win UC team is probably the best bet for Birmingham. If Memphis earn the access bid, they are most likely headed to Birmingham. Houston probably is the best candidate to play in Hawaii against BYU, Boise State, or SDSU. If Boise State is in Hawaii it wouldn't shock me if TV is looking for either the Bearcats or Cougars to fill in that spot.

Temple, ECU, UConn and USF are likely to fill in games in Florida. From a UC perspective I wouldn't be against playing Marshall, Ohio, Toledo, Boise State, or SDSU.

Could a B12 spot open?

Big 12 has eight bowl slots guaranteed. The Conference is partnered with nine bowls. However the arrangement with the Gator Bowl is for it to select a Big 12 team twice over a four-year period. In the two years in which the Gator does not select a Big 12 team, the Sun Bowl will.
Following is the selection order:
BCS
Cotton
Holiday
Gator (when it selects a Big 12 team)
Alamo
Sun (when the Gator does not take a Big 12 team)
Insight
Independence
Texas
Big 12 Conference Overall
TCU
5-0 8-0

Oklahoma State
5-0 8-0

Baylor
4-0 7-0

Oklahoma
4-1 7-1

Iowa State
2-3 3-5 must win 3 of 4

Texas
2-3 3-5 must win 3 of 4

Texas Tech
2-4 5-4 must win 1 of 3

West Virginia
0-4 3-4 must win 3 of 5

Kansas State
0-4 3-4 must win 3 of 5

Kansas
0-5 0-8

I won't be going to a bowl game this year. QSECOFR Jr. will be visiting through the holidays from Orlando.

I wouldn't actually attend this, but I wouldn't mind us playing Boise in the Hawaii bowl if that ends up being an option.

(11-02-2015 01:25 PM)dossbig Wrote:  Could a B12 spot open?

Big 12 has eight bowl slots guaranteed. The Conference is partnered with nine bowls. However the arrangement with the Gator Bowl is for it to select a Big 12 team twice over a four-year period. In the two years in which the Gator does not select a Big 12 team, the Sun Bowl will.
Following is the selection order:
BCS
Cotton
Holiday
Gator (when it selects a Big 12 team)
Alamo
Sun (when the Gator does not take a Big 12 team)
Insight
Independence
Texas
Big 12 Conference Overall
TCU
5-0 8-0

Oklahoma State
5-0 8-0

Baylor
4-0 7-0

Oklahoma
4-1 7-1

Iowa State
2-3 3-5 must win 3 of 4 (@OK, OK State, @K-State, @WVU)

Texas
2-3 3-5 must win 3 of 4 (Kansas, @WVU, T.Tech, @Baylor)

Texas Tech
2-4 5-4 must win 1 of 3 (@WVU, K-State, @TX)

West Virginia
0-4 3-4 must win 3 of 5 (T.Tech, TX, @Kansas, Iowa State, @K-State)

Kansas State
0-4 3-4 must win 3 of 5 (Baylor, @T.Tech, Iowa State, @Kansas, WVU)

Kansas
0-5 0-8 (N/A)

Just so others can see what the schedule is like. While nothing is guaranteed, playing Kansas seems like as close to a guaranteed W as one can get. That aside, T.Tech, needing only one additional W, seems like a likely bowl eligible candidate. Everything else seems to be something of a crapshoot, with an emphasis on the crap part.

And if a team like TCU makes the playoff, does that mean the B12 has one more bowl spot to fill?

(11-02-2015 11:31 AM)Bearcat2012 Wrote:  Nice write up by the Rep of Cincy on the AAC and UC Bowl outlook.

http://www.republicofcincinnati.com/inde...15-edition

Updated 11/02/15:



With the Bearcats now sitting at 5-3 (2-2), they're 1 win away from becoming bowl eligible. After week 9, the following AAC teams are already bowl eligible:



Temple: 7-1 (4-0)
Houston: 8-0 (4-0)
Memphis: 8-0 (4-0)
Navy: 6-1 (4-0) - already accepted Military Bowl bid





As of 11/01/15, ESPN has the following projections for the AAC:



Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: Florida vs Memphis (Mark Schlabach) / LSU vs Memphis (Brett McMurphy)
Birmingham Bowl: Cincinnati vs Kentucky (Schlabach) / ECU vs Auburn (McMurphy)
Military Bowl: Louisville vs Navy (Schlabach) / Miami vs Navy (McMurphy)
St Petersburg Bowl: USF vs Middle Tennessee State (Schlabach) / Marshall vs Houston (McMurphy)
Hawaii Bowl: Temple vs Boise State (Schlabach) / Temple vs BYU (McMurphy)
Boca Raton Bowl: Tulsa vs Western Michigan (Schlabach) / Cincinnati vs Bowling Green (McMurphy)
Miami Beach Bowl: Houston vs Western Kentucky (Schlabach) / FIU vs USF (McMurphy)
AutoNation Cure Bowl: Tulsa vs Arkansas State (McMurphy)





2015 AAC bowl lineup:



Miami Beach Bowl - Miami, FL - vs CUSA - December 21, 2015 - 2:30pm EST

Boca Raton Bowl - Boca Raton, FL - vs MAC - December 22, 2015 - 7:00pm EST

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HI - vs Mountain West - December 24, 2015 - 9:00pm EST

St Petersburg Bowl - St Petersburg, FL - vs CUSA - December 26, 2015 - 11am EST

Military Bowl - Annapolis, MD - NAVY vs ACC - December 28, 2015 - 2:30pm EST

Birmingham Bowl - Birmingham, AL - vs SEC - December 30, 2015 - 11am EST

I wouldn't mind Kentucky in Birmingham, but I'm beginning to wonder if Kentucky will even get bowl eligible. They've been absolutely destroyed the last two weeks. Granted, they don't have a tough schedule the rest of the way and should probably beat Charlotte and Vandy but after the way they struggled with E. Kentucky and UL-Lafayette, I don't think six wins for them is guaranteed.

^^^ I think we need to keep our fingers crossed that UK gets bowl eligible. The bowl people down in Birmingham (along with TV) would probably prefer a UC v. Kentucky matchup to UK v. Memphis. There would be a lot of people driving down from the 513/859 area code for a UC v. UK matchup. Not so much for UK/Memphis.

Kentucky might fill a bowl game if they showed up without any opponent. Toss in Cincy, just 85 miles from Lexington, with a solid tradition of selling bowl tickets and the folks in Birmingham can already envision a full house and see the credit card readers flashing.

It would require a meltdown of epic proportions for Kentucky to lose to Vandy and Charlotte. But if history holds true, they're capable of that.

I go to just about any bowl game I can, I remember not having that option. Sometimes it's about the destination, not the game.

Edit: Not having that option because for years the program was horrible and also being active duty and/or deployed during bowl season.

Birmingham prob would get the most UC fans. Drivable and the timing is not awful. I just hope the coaching staff treats this as a business trip and not a vacation.

(11-02-2015 02:31 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  ^^^ I think we need to keep our fingers crossed that UK gets bowl eligible. The bowl people down in Birmingham (along with TV) would probably prefer a UC v. Kentucky matchup to UK v. Memphis. There would be a lot of people driving down from the 513/859 area code for a UC v. UK matchup. Not so much for UK/Memphis.

UC vs. UK, Auburn or Tennessee would be great.

Bad season for American Bowl ties...not that it's ever really great. Assuming the American lands the Access spot, only 3 of the 8 slots are against P5 and Navy has already secured one of them.

That means Cincinnati, Houston, Temple and Memphis are left to fill the Access and Birmingham Bowls and two of them will be left with CUSA or lower opponents.

Next year is slightly better when in addition to the access spot, there will be bowls against, SEC, ACC (2) and Big 12.

(11-02-2015 03:38 PM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  

(11-02-2015 02:31 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  ^^^ I think we need to keep our fingers crossed that UK gets bowl eligible. The bowl people down in Birmingham (along with TV) would probably prefer a UC v. Kentucky matchup to UK v. Memphis. There would be a lot of people driving down from the 513/859 area code for a UC v. UK matchup. Not so much for UK/Memphis.

UC vs. UK, Auburn or Tennessee would be great.

Good point Clifton. UC/UK has a built in "regional rivalry" feel for fans and would seem to generate stronger interest for tv ratings. Would love for UC to play Auburn but I would have to watch the game in a house divided since my wife is a Tigers alum.

I could see TV wanting a UC Auburn matchup because of TT. I personally would rather play UK.

as crud as this year has been, if we ended up crushing UK in a bowl game it'd put a smile on my face