(06-11-2021 06:30 AM)esayem Wrote: (06-11-2021 12:12 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote: (06-10-2021 11:51 PM)bullet Wrote: (06-10-2021 04:01 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote: Interesting thing here is that they are saying that Bowls will be both quarter and semi final sites. I’m curious how that will work because the Rose is pretty dead set on being on NYD, seeing as there’s a big parade and all. I see two ways this could go:
The Rose is locked in as a permanent quarterfinal site, while the other 5 alternate between being semis and quarter sites
Alternatively, I can see where 2 of the 6 NY6 bowls host two games when it’s their turn to be a semi final: an exhibition on/around NYD, and then the semifinal 7-10 days later. This would be similar to the later half of the BCS era, where there would be a Rose Bowl game and then a BCS NCG in Pasadena later in January.
Maybe a bowl like the Fiesta will WANT to be a semi and give up NYD.
Maybe it goes this way (whiteboarding this off the top of my head):
(1) The 3 contract bowls are all permanent quarterfinals with tie-ins if their respective conference partners make the top 4: Rose gets the best top 4 Big Ten or Pac-12 champ, Sugar gets the best top 4 SEC or Big 12 champ, and Orange gets the best top 4 ACC champ (or Big Ten or SEC champ if they don’t make the Rose/Sugar).
(2) 1 access bowl is the fourth quarterfinal and the other 2 are semifinals, with the mix rotating each year.
(3) National championship game is bid out to a neutral site just like today.
I could see that but I could also see the Sugar hosting a semi and the Peach hosting the SEC champ some years if the Sugar wants to host a semi.
I suppose it depends on what the bowls want.
Were the NY6 bowls on this committee, or will they be subject to decisions made without their input? I could see how the Rose Bowl might not be happy about all this. If there are going to be four quarterfinal games on New Years, they probably wouldn't agree to be in a rotation in which they have to move away from their traditional New Year's every third year. Likewise with the Sugar Bowl, and maybe the Orange Bowl as well.
Let's say that, to accommodate them, the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Fiesta are designated as permanent quarterfinal sites on New Year's, while the semis are always played at the Peach and Cotton Bowls. Then all six could potentially rotate as Finals hosts.
If both the B1G and PAC champs earn a bye, then they can't meet in the Rose Bowl. There could only be a B1G-PAC pairing if one of them gets a bye and the other wins a first round game. The same would be true for the SEC and Big 12 in the Sugar Bowl, except that tie-in is fairly recent, and doesn't carry the baggage of tradition.
If the Peach and Cotton Bowls are designated as semifinal hosts, would they be able to stage a late December bowl game as well? I'm sure they wouldn't be permitted to have a New Year's date in competition with the quarterfinal sites, but they could play as late as New Year's Eve.
Would the four quarterfinal bowls object to hosting what some might think is a less important game than a semifinal, thus reducing them somewhat in stature. Would their egos allow that?
In any case, the NY6 won't know what teams they are getting until a couple of weeks later than they do now. How will that impact travel plans for fans of the participants? Will it mean host sites will have to rely more heavily on ticket sales to locals (which will cut into the tourist dollars)?
At this stage of the decision process, we are left with more questions than answers.