(12-11-2019 03:07 AM)AuzGrams Wrote: (12-11-2019 12:01 AM)Hokie Mark Wrote: (12-10-2019 11:39 PM)AuzGrams Wrote: I'm still confused why Virginia gets the nod over a 10-2 Notre Dame, and I'm not the biggest Notre Dame fan.
The contract between the ACC and Notre Dame says that, in exchange for playing 5 ACC teams per year, the Irish get access to all ACC bowls BELOW the Orange.
If they want access to the Orange (and a shot at the ACC CG, too), they just have to play 3 more ACC teams.
Hm thought they had a deal including the Orange.
To be clear:
ND does have a deal that includes the Orange Bowl, but it is NOT part of their deal with the ACC.
The ACC deal says that ND is part of their bowl hierarchy but *excluding* the Orange Bowl, So ND cannot take the place of the ACC representative to the Orange Bowl, which is guaranteed when the Orange Bowl is not a playoff bowl. When the OB is not a playoff, the ACC is *guaranteed* a team in the Orange Bowl, no matter how sucky, like UVA.
But regarding the ACC's opponent in the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame IS part of that deal. That opponent is the highest-ranked team, as determined by the CFP, available among the B1G, SEC, and Notre Dame. Where "available" means teams that are not in the playoffs, and in the SEC's case, not in the Sugar Bowl, and in the B1G's case, not in the Rose Bowl.
So for example this year, for the B1G, Ohio State was ranked #2, thus to the playoffs. Wisconsin was ranked #8, so they go to the Rose Bowl, because the B1G Rose Bowl contract says the Rose Bowl gets the top B1G team not in the playoffs.
So the "first available" B1G team was Penn State, at #10.
For the SEC, LSU was #1 thus in the playoffs. Georgia was next at #5, thus to the Sugar Bowl, as the Sugar Bowl has the same arrangement with the SEC as the B1G does with the Rose Bowl. So the "first available" SEC team was #9 Florida.
Finally, Notre Dame was ranked #15.
So who plays the ACC rep in the Orange Bowl? The highest-ranked among Penn State, Florida, and Notre Dame, and that is ..... Florida.
One last thing: This Orange Bowl contract applies in the 8 years of the CFP where the OB is not part of the playoffs. The contract also says that the SEC and B1G are each guaranteed a *minimum* of three appearances. ND is not guaranteed any, but simple math says they can play in the OB a maximum of two times.
Looking at six years of the CFP so far, this contract has been in effect in 2014, 2016, 2017, and now 2019 (in 2015 and 2018 the OB was a playoff bowl). The teams that have played in the OB those years are:
2014 ... Mississippi State
2016 ... Michigan
2017 ... Wisconsin
2019 ... Florida
Thus, so far, the SEC and B1G have now each played twice in the OB. There will be four more such OBs in the coming years, and the SEC and B1G are each guaranteed one more appearance, so there is still time for ND to appear twice. But again, ND may be shut out entirely, they have no guarantees.
Finally, regarding money ... The SEC and B1G get $27.5m when their team plays in the OB during the 8 contract years. Likewise, if the ACC rep is playing an SEC or B1G team in the game, the ACC also gets $27.5m. So for example, this year, when Florida plays UVA, the SEC and ACC will each get $27.5m.
However, if Notre Dame is in the game, the Irish get $13.75m and the ACC gets $41.25m. So the ACC would very much like ND to play in the game because it will get a lot more, and Notre Dame would too, because ND would NOT share that $13.75m with the ACC, they get to keep it all, but so far it hasn't happened.
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Orange Bowl in a bad spot - Recommended Solution
