Bowl Projections - Huskers vs Sooners Fiesta Bowl?

by Jon Johnston on Nov 15, 2011 12:33 PM CST in 2011 Nebraska Huskers Football

Taking a lot at the bowl projections from several media outlets, at least two - Rivals.com and USA Today - project Nebraska getting into the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma.

If anything, that sounds like wishful thinking. Nebraska may have an outside shot at an at-large BCS bowl bid if they win the rest of their games and don't make the B1G title game. Oklahoma would have to lose to Oklahoma State (given these projections) and still be acceptable, although, can you imagine the Nebraska - Oklahoma match up wouldn't be sellable to ticket holders and television?

	Rose	Fiesta	Sugar	Orange	BCS National Title
Rivals	Oregon-Wisconsin	Nebraska-Oklahoma	Alabama - Stanford	Clemson - West Virginia	LSU - Oklahoma State
USA Today	Oregon-Wisconsin	Nebraska-Oklahoma	Alabama - West Virginia	Virginia Tech - Houston	LSU - Oklahoma State
SB Nation - Bill Connelly	Oregon-Wisconsin	Stanford - Oklahoma	Alabama - Houston	Virginia Tech - Cincinnati	LSU - Oklahoma State
ESPN - Mark Schlabach	Oregon-Michigan State	Stanford-Oklahoma	Alabama-Houston	Clemson-Cincinnati	LSU - Oklahoma State
ESPN - Brad Edwards	Oregon-Wisconsin	Stanford-Oklahoma	Alabama-Houston	Clemson-Cincinnati	LSU - Oklahoma State
SI - Stewart Mandel	Oregon-Wisconsin	Stanford-Oklahoma	Alabama-Houston	Clemson-Cincinnati	LSU - Oklahoma State

Those who didn't project Nebraska into a BCS bowl made the following choices:

SB Nation - Bill Connelly - Gator Bowl vs Auburn

ESPN - Mark Schlabach - Insight Bowl vs Missouri

ESPN - Brad Edwards - Insight Bowl vs Texas A&M

SI - Stewart Mandel - Outback Bowl vs South Carolina

Comments:

Alabama vs Houston in the Sugar Bowl? Hey, maybe Alabama won't want to play and Houston will kick their buttocks much like Utah did in 2009. That wouldn't be so bad to watch.

What are your comments on the rest of these match ups, and if Nebraska doesn't make a BCS bowl, where and who would you like to see them play?

Tweet Comment 32 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Worst case scenario:

Nebraska is a lock to play an SEC team in either the Capital One Bowl/Outback Bowl/Gator Bowl, based on pecking order (2,3,4 respectively). Even if NU loses both of their remaining games, I still don’t see Nebraska falling to the Insight Bowl in the pecking order—especially if Michigan gets a BCS at-large.

I don’t know about most Husker fans, but I wouldn’t be too disappointed with that as a worst case scenario.

by GBR918 on Nov 15, 2011 12:45 PM CST reply actions

We can start beating up on the SEC early!

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 12:46 PM CST up reply actions

How could all three of those bowls pass up on the B1G’s shiny new member…and their travelling fans?!

by GBR918 on Nov 15, 2011 12:47 PM CST up reply actions

One correction

That I note below. The Insight Bowl picks ahead of the Gator Bowl this year. They rotate.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Nov 15, 2011 1:47 PM CST up reply actions

The only Big XII team

I’d be on-board with playing would be Oklahoma, for obvious reasons. Otherwise, no thanks.

by GBR918 on Nov 15, 2011 3:02 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Very true

Although I hate Texas enough to like the idea of somehow getting matched with them. I would hope that being a new conference would break the curse against them.

Look me up on youtube sometime...if you're really bored.

by Billgrip on Nov 15, 2011 3:34 PM CST up reply actions

Well

Bill’s got Texas finishing the year 1-2 (KSU, @Baylor, @A&M, I can see it) to end up 7-5 and in the Insight Bowl. Somehow, Bill has the Insight Bowl preferring PSU over Nebraska if they have the same records, which isn’t happening period. Personally I think a 9-3 Nebraska would probably be taken by the Outback Bowl while an 8-4 NU would probably fall to the Gator Bowl. I wouldn’t say the window for that is wide open but it is an intriguing possibility isn’t it? My gut says we’d finally get it done this year.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Nov 15, 2011 4:06 PM CST up reply actions

Nebraska vs. any Big 12 team would probably be considered an "intriguing" matchup

Whether or not we like the idea.

Look me up on youtube sometime...if you're really bored.

by Billgrip on Nov 15, 2011 4:19 PM CST up reply actions

"We"

are the ones potentially travelling/not travelling to the bowl game, though. Right?

by GBR918 on Nov 15, 2011 4:44 PM CST up reply actions

"We"

Will flock to a bowl game in pretty much any scenario in which the Huskers are playing a team they haven’t already played this year. (And even that didn’t stop the Big 12 and the bowls last year.)

So what Husker fans want really doesn’t matter to them.

by Cheeseandcorn on Nov 15, 2011 5:21 PM CST up reply actions

People that have a second B1G team in the BCS

haven’t completely forgotten about a one loss Stanford and don’t believe that Houston will win out. There’s still a lot of football to be played, but Nebraska will have to wait in line at 10-2 until someone else loses.

We still have to beat Michigan this weekend and then Iowa next week.

In the deed, the glory.
Corn Nation!
Follow @Aaron_Musfeldt

by Aaron Musfeldt on Nov 15, 2011 12:51 PM CST reply actions

Order: BCS, BCS No. 2, Capitol One, Outback, Gator, Insight, Meineke, TicketCity, Little Caesar's.

Assumptions:
Sparty Wins Out
Nebraska/Michigan Winner Wins Out

Winner of Big Ten Game—> Rose
Winner of Neb/Mich → BCS, probably Fiesta
Loser of Big Ten Champ OR Neb/Mich Winner (Must take loser of B1G game if record is better than other choices)→ Capitol One
Loser of Neb/Mich Or Loser of Big Ten Champ —> Outback
Gator etc, get to pick, with no requirements.

My guess is Nebraska to the Fiesta or Nebraska to Capitol One. I don’t see us falling past the Outback unless we drop our last two games (which apparently ESPN thinks we will).

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 12:57 PM CST reply actions

Not sure why those are crossed out. Fun!

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 12:58 PM CST up reply actions

Obviously if B1G only gets one pick, everyone shuffled down one bowl slot.

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 12:58 PM CST up reply actions

I think Bill hates us

Is what I think. Being a Missouri fan, he probably took last year’s meddling by the Big 12 in the Insight Bowl as a legitimate victory for Missouri over Nebraska’s bowl allure. There is no way in hell Nebraska falls all the way to the Gator Bowl.

The Gator Bowl picks AFTER the Insight Bowl this year, which means Connelly is projecting Nebraska to be the 5th Big Ten team chosen, which is utter nonsense, even with him predicting no second BCS team for the Big Ten.

Let’s take a look at his picks:

First, he picks us losing to Michigan and beating Iowa which is not at all unreasonable. We’d finish 9-3. These are his picks for who the bowls would take over Nebraska.

Rose: Wisconsin (11-2) – No complaints here, probably will happen

Capital One: Michigan (10-2) – If Michigan does indeed finish 10-2, then they’ve earned this slot, however I put their odds of losing to either Nebraska or Ohio State WAY over 50%.

Outback: Michigan State (10-3) – This one is close. MSU has one more win, but the same number of losses and is damaged goods from the CCG. I think Nebraska gets the nod here by virtue of being the new addition to the league, crushing Sparty head to head, and having better name recognition and a traveling fan base second to none.

Insight: Penn State (9-3): Um…how about NO? First off, PSU is reeling and personally I’ll be surprised if they don’t lose out. Second Nebraska went into Happy Valley to beat them head to head. Third…well I think we all know what third is. There is no way in hell a 9-3 Joe Paterno-less, scandal-plagued PSU squad is getting picked over a 9-3 Nebraska squad that beat them. Not happening. Period.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Nov 15, 2011 1:43 PM CST reply actions

CBSSports and others reporting that the Big Ten bowls are already shopping Penn State to other mid-major bowl games.

Penn State’s only hope of a respectable game is to win out and get to the Rose Bowl.

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 2:38 PM CST up reply actions

I've gotten that vibe ever since I've read his stuff

Mizzou homerism is a disease that has no cure. Nonetheless, he’s a great writer and his analysis is second to none (for the most part), and that’s why I still read his stuff, despite his subtle anti-Nebraska flavor.

Look me up on youtube sometime...if you're really bored.

by Billgrip on Nov 15, 2011 3:58 PM CST up reply actions

Also

Singling out Nebraska-Auburn as a particularly bad matchup to watch is nothing more than hating. Two big names. Both have tended to rely on their offenses more than their defenses this year. It’d be a fun matchup but he thinks it’d be worse than umm…..Purdue-Ohio in Detroit? Apparently.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Nov 15, 2011 1:56 PM CST reply actions

This is why

I hate it when these projections come out. I think there is still too much football to be played to rule out any number of scenarios happening.
One thing I do know for sure is that if we lose to Iowa then:

Not the victory, but the action. Not the goal, but the game. In the deed, the glory.

by AdamTheTitan on Nov 15, 2011 2:53 PM CST reply actions

Not Oklahoma

They just played last year in the Big 12 Championship game. The SEC has ruled college football and I want Nebraska to get a shot at one of them.

Insert witty retort here.

by Robsa on Nov 15, 2011 3:57 PM CST reply actions

As Coach Bo would tell you...

All we can do is take care of us. We’ve got to win this week first. I hope they get it done, but it’s going to be a tough game. I’m not counting on a win, but I’m not counting on a loss either. If we win this week, then I will start to get excited about a BCS at large bid. Until then, I can’t. But hey, at this point we’re 8-2 and things are looking pretty good for a great bowl game that isn’t the Holiday Bowl.

Look me up on youtube sometime...if you're really bored.

by Billgrip on Nov 15, 2011 4:02 PM CST reply actions

Word

We win out, the absolute worst bowl we get is the Citrus* Bowl. And I can live with seeing our team go to Orlando for a week.

*Yeah yeah its the Capital One Bowl now, but these corporate labels are stupid and hurt the intimacy of some of these classic bowl games.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Nov 15, 2011 4:15 PM CST up reply actions

Nebraska-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl?

On its face it doesn’t sound likely, given Nebraska is probably ranked too low to warrant BCS Bowl consideration. But, according to Jeff Culhane on “Sports Nightly” last night, the Fiesta Bowl bigwigs are going really go after that OU-NU matchup hard if both teams win out. The Fiesta Bowl took it in the checkbook last year with that Oklahoma-UConn game. Sooner Nation was lukewarm to the trip and UConn brought virtually NOBODY. Bottom line: with bowl games, it’s about butts in the seats and eyeballs on the TV sets.

One possible wrench in the machinery, IMO: the evil political hand of Bevo. Remember, they screwed us out of the Insight Bowl game against Iowa and they might try to do it again.

Paddle faster, I hear banjos!!

by Section 37 on Nov 15, 2011 4:46 PM CST reply actions

Two things

One, Bevo’s puppet has been fired. Two, I’m not sure what leverage the Big 12 would have over a BCS bowl game. I could be very wrong, but I don’t think the Big 12 can successfully threaten the Fiesta Bowl with disaffiliation like it did with the Insight Bowl last year.

"My hardest job is to convince the people of Nebraska that 10-1 is not a losing season." - Tom Osborne

by jdhusker on Nov 15, 2011 5:03 PM CST up reply actions

Exactly

There is no way Texas plays any role in manipulating Nebraska’s bowl berth.

Attention conspiracy-theorist Husker fans: We may still care about Texas, but Texas doesn’t care about the Huskers anymore. They never really cared that much about the Huskers in the first place.

by Cheeseandcorn on Nov 15, 2011 5:26 PM CST up reply actions

Fiesta had no choice on UCONN last season.

They were last in the pecking order.

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 5:14 PM CST up reply actions

Let's all just realize this: They won't be sending the team to San Diego again.

A Cornhusker through feast or famine. Get up, dust yourself off and run the ball. That's the Nebraska way.

by Salt Creek and Stadium on Nov 15, 2011 5:15 PM CST reply actions

Bowl prediction

If the Huskers can’t go to the Rose as B1G champs, or the Fiesta Bowl as a few say they might if they win out, the best bowl they should get would be the Capital One Bowl in Orlando. Would like to see how we would do against a decent SEC team.

I went to that bowl game the last time Nebraska was there, when the Huskers were in the Big Eight and the game was called the Florida Citrus Bowl. I was a freshman in the marching band when we made that trip, and it was awesome! Hard to beat Universal Studios, Sea World, the game, and Walt Disney World in one trip. Getting beat by Georgia Tech totally sucked, but it was the best bowl trip I had been on. (It even beat out the four Orange Bowls I attended, and the last one was when we beat Miami to win the national championship.)

by TwinCities on Nov 15, 2011 6:01 PM CST reply actions