It's getting to be bowl season again....

[Beaker]

"It all boils down to these two big games, tomorrow night against Ohio, and on the 29th against Buffalo."
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I hope we don't beat Ohio then completely disregard EMU and start our prep for Buffalo a week early. The Hurons have been really bad this year, but with Stan Parrish now at the helm and likely a candidate for the full time job, their players are probably putting forth a better effort to impress the new boss. That might explain them getting their first win last week, following 8 consecutive losses. A win after a dry spell like that has to be a confidence boost and give them more pep in their gidde up.

Certainly, we should beat that team, but if we don't take it seriously, we could get bitten. Clawson may want to show the team some clips from that 2008 homecoming game and let them know what that loss did to our season that year.

[BGSU33]

I can't think of a scenario where we win the east without closing it out with 4 straight wins..

We lose to Ohio
Toledo beats Buffalo
We beat Buffalo

All three teams finish 6-2 and are 1-1 against each other...BG goes to Detroit based on cross-division SOS.

Boom.

I could be wrong, but looking at the MAC tie breaker, to me it looks like DIVISION breakdown is decided before going to cross-division and if so, it features a kicker that could doom UB. Let's say for the big games remaining that BG lost to OU, UB lost to UT and BG beat UB (with everything playing out such as BG beating EMU, OU beating UMass, etc). We would have a 3-way tie in the East at 6-2 with BG, OU and UB all 1-1 vs each other. But here's the kicker, UB's win percentage in the East would be lower than OU and BG because UB plays one less MAC East game than OU and BG does. I believe that is what rule 2a means (Record of tied teams within the division [versus rank order, highest to lowest, of division teams), which would then give OU the tie break over BG (head to head) if all that happened. If all three teams played the same number of East games, then the cross-division games would help BG. That is how I read those rules. Bottom line, we must beat OU.


Here's the info:

Divisional Champions
The divisional championship shall be decided on conference winning percentage. If two or more teams are tied for the championship, they shall be considered divisional co-champions. The following tie-breaking formula shall be used to determine which team will represent that division in the MAC Championship game:

1. Head-to-head competition
a. In the event of a multiple-team (two or more teams) tie, the team with the best head-to-head record amongst the tied teams wins the tie-breaker;

b. In a two-team tie, head-to-head competition will be the first criteria;

c. If two teams did not play, the second criteria is used to break the tie;

2. Record of tied teams within the division [versus rank order, highest to lowest, of division teams]
a. The above tie-breaker procedure is used to determine rank order in the division;

b. Team(s) eliminated in the second tie-breaker criterion are not included in further consideration in the tie- breaking formula;

c. Head-to-head competition is again used to break the tie between the remaining tied teams.

3. Comparison of conference winning percentage of cross-over opponents of tied teams;
a. Tie-breaker is awarded to the team whose cross-division opponents had the best cumulative conference winning percentage;

b. Head-to-head competition is used to break the tie between the two tied teams.

4. If multiple teams remain tied, the final tie-breaker is as follows:
a. Record of tied teams versus cross-division opponents in rank order;

b. Head-to-head competition is used to break the tie between the two tied teams.
- See more at: http://www.mac-sports.com/News/tabid/96 ... xTeqT.dpuf

[Lord_Byron]

What about infinity TIMES infinity?

[Schadenfreude]

The East Division winner is guaranteed a bowl game. Take care of business and we are in. The loser of tonight's Bowling Green-Ohio game is almost certainly not playing in a bowl game.

[BGSU33]

The East Division winner is guaranteed a bowl game. Take care of business and we are in. The loser of tonight's Bowling Green-Ohio game is almost certainly not playing in a bowl game.

Right. Win the next two and we get in. Lose one of them and we could be sitting at home at 8-4. Right now there are 58 teams already bowl eligible and another 16 teams needing just one win to become so as well. There are also several .500 teams out there still alive. This year is almost certain to have multiple teams bowl eligible who are left out. The MAC has three ties but after that, we're likely to get possibly one more. But there will not be 5, 6 or 7 MAC teams getting in this year, that much is for sure.

[BGSU33]

Almost 10 more schools became bowl eligible yesterday, bringing the total to about 66 teams eligible for the 70 spots with a few weeks remaining. There are about a dozen more schools needing just one more win to become eligible meaning there is going to be no problem filling the bowls this year and there are going to be numerous schools who are bowl eligible left sitting at home this year. Fo BG, it's simple, we MUST beat Buffalo and win the East to assure a spot in a bowl or we could very easily be an 8-4 team with no bowl at all.

[Class of 61]

Almost 10 more schools became bowl eligible yesterday, bringing the total to about 66 teams eligible for the 70 spots with a few weeks remaining. There are about a dozen more schools needing just one more win to become eligible meaning there is going to be no problem filling the bowls this year and there are going to be numerous schools who are bowl eligible left sitting at home this year. Fo BG, it's simple, we MUST beat Buffalo and win the East to assure a spot in a bowl or we could very easily be an 8-4 team with no bowl at all.

Again, since these rules seem to change from moment to moment....would a 6-6 team be placed ahead of an 8-4 team? Seems to me that there was something like that in effect in previous yrs.

[AyZiggy97]

There are 65 teams eligible right now. Over at hustlebelt, they predict 6 extra teams, including OU and CMU. I came up with 5 extras. Regardless, BG's chances of another bowl appearance improved a lot in the last week....regardless of the Buffalo outcome.*

*OF COURSE we all want a MAC title.

http://www.hustlebelt.com/2013/11/17/51 ... 13-edition

[BGSU33]

UNLV is about to become bowl eligible tonight as the Rebels are all over Air Force.

[TG1996]

Almost 10 more schools became bowl eligible yesterday, bringing the total to about 66 teams eligible for the 70 spots with a few weeks remaining. There are about a dozen more schools needing just one more win to become eligible meaning there is going to be no problem filling the bowls this year and there are going to be numerous schools who are bowl eligible left sitting at home this year. Fo BG, it's simple, we MUST beat Buffalo and win the East to assure a spot in a bowl or we could very easily be an 8-4 team with no bowl at all.

Again, since these rules seem to change from moment to moment....would a 6-6 team be placed ahead of an 8-4 team? Seems to me that there was something like that in effect in previous yrs.

I don't believe a 6-6 team can be picked as an at-large bid over a 7+ win team, but a 6-6 team gets picked ahead of 7+ if it fills a conference bowl affiliation.

[BGSU33]

Per John Wagner on Falcon Fodder (couple great points at the end): BG bowl projections

Is it too early to start looking at potential bowl projections for the BG football team? Probably. Is it putting the cart before the horse to do so? Absolutely. But that never stopped me before ...

The Bowling Green football team still has two games to play, its contest at Eastern Michigan Saturday (Nov. 23) and its winner-takes-the-East-Division contest at Buffalo on Friday, Nov. 29. But the Falcons are bowl-eligible, and 2013-14 bowl predictions are being made ... so let's take a peek, shall we?

But before we do, a few quick thoughts. First, the Mid-American Conference only has three guaranteed bids: the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, Dec. 21 starting at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN); the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl in Detroit on Thursday, Dec. 26 starting at 6 p.m. (ESPN); and the GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Sunday, Jan. 5 starting at 9 p.m. (ESPN).

My understanding is that the MAC has "secondary" arrangements with several bowls, meaning the MAC will fill openings should the "primary" leagues involved don't have enough bowl-eligible teams to do so. The only bowl that seems to have an opening the MAC will fill in this instance is the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego on Thursday, Dec. 26 starting at 9:30 p.m. (ESPN).

There are other possible bowls with openings, but more on that in a moment.

Here are some of the projections by football media around the country. A few notes: I didn't use every projection available; I tried to use projections made by people I thought might have some insider information on the process. So here we go ...

Athlon Sports: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl v. UNLV. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

CBS Sports: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl v. Arkansas State. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

College Football News: Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl v. Washington State. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

ESPN (Brad Edwards): Poinsettia Bowl vs. Boise State. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach): Heart of Dallas Bowl v. North Texas State. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

National Football Post: Famous Idaho Potato Bowl v. San Diego State. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

Phil Steele: None. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

Sports Illustrated: GoDaddy Bowl v. Arkansas State. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

USA Today: Pinstripe Bowl v. Cincinnati. Click here to read the entire bowl projections.

So what do we have? A consensus, a mixed-up bowl picture -- and a warning.

First, the consensus, which is that Bowling Green will play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. But notice that the consensus is anything but a consensus, since only three of the nine predictors have BG traveling to Boise. In fact, the state of the bowl picture for the MAC is anything but clear: BG is listed as having six different destinations, and that's not uncommon for most of the MAC schools.

You will notice that some predictors have BG going to the Heart of Dallas Bowl and the Pinstripe Bowl. Other MAC schools have been mentioned for the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl and the AdvoCare V100 Bowl, and obviously Northern Illinois remains in play for a BCS bowl. Yes, it's still mixed up, and some sorting remains. I would be shocked if the MAC matches last year's total of seven bowl bids, primarily because I suspect the ACC and Pac 12 will have enough bowl-eligible teams to fill their responsibilities -- and fill a few others to boot.

And that's where the warning comes in. Notice Phil Steele's prediction? He has only four MAC teams in bowls -- and that includes filling an opening in the Advocare V100 Bowl (the Independence Bowl), and very few, if any, other predictors have a MAC team in that bowl game. He does not have a MAC team going to the Poinsettia Bowl, which I believe is guaranteed, but the warning is still valid: Bowl bids are going to be tough to come by, and bowl-eligible teams are going to go without bids this year.

We've put the cart before the horse in thinking about the bowl picture for the Falcons. Before a bowl becomes a reality, it would be in BG's best interest to take care of business in its final two games, win the East, and guarantee a bowl spot.

[BGSU33]

For those of you maybe watching some or a little of the Navy vs San Jose State game tonight and want a reason to care, San Jose State would become bowl eligible with a win, so unless you're a Spartan fan, we're pulling for Navy tonight.

[ilive4fri]

Pardon my ignorance, but when do we find out who makes what bowl game? Is there a calendar date when that is decided and if so what date is it?

[BGFalconfromCincy]

Pardon my ignorance, but when do we find out who makes what bowl game? Is there a calendar date where that is decided and if so what date is it?

All the bowls will officially be fulled on Sunday December 8th, the day after the regular season ends. During the week leading up to that final Saturday of games some bowls will start handing out their invites, like to teams that are in conferences that have title games but they aren't in said title game. With the MAC title game being a Friday news on the MAC bowls may come out that Saturday, unless like last year NIU is in the BCS discussion again if they are still unbeaten. Eveything will be known though by the end of the night of December 8

[Falcon137]

Navy win is important on 2 fronts. Should San Jose beat Fresno, NIU will be in the BCS. Should they lose another bowl slot opens. Way to go Midshipmen!