Apparently App has legitimately been considered in Belk Bowl talks.

[ericsaid]

Where has Doug been in our push for the Cotton Bowl bid? Since our conference Commissioner has been non existent ,I did expect a louder Doug to push for us little harder. Maybe he is behind the scene with this Belk bowl thing? If so it would be a brilliant move on his part especially if it comes true.

Doug is quoted as saying it's not the commissioner's job to be out stumping. I think the majority of everyone except for a certain conferences fan base find the Aresco statements off putting and counter productive to the goals of the G5 at large.

However, it makes sense that he wasn't out saying anything about the Cotton Bowl because he knew odds were slim. I would be interested to know when the Belk Bowl conversations began and who initiated them. If the new guy, Gill, is who got those talks started and is close to or has already cemented an agreement, he deserves major kudos, as does the Sun Belt as a whole. To go from where they were in 2013 with only 2 bowl tie-ins, I believe, to 5 Bowl tie-ins and getting a conference member flexed to a $4.5 million payout bowl game against a P5 team would be a great indicator of how the perception of the Belt is changing.

[AppStFan1]

Oh and Boise have to lose as well ^^^

Boise is not that good this year, who knows. Also, we have to consider that the CFP committee reevaluate things each week--with our stud WR going down and a few less than stellar performances, maybe the committee was waiting to see if we can string two big wins together. If we pound ULL and Boise looks like they have all year, we will pass them. If Cinci beats Memphis in a dud game where both teams look like they have at times this year, maybe we pass them too. Who knows? Let's just win baby!

Go read the ULL board. They feel confident they are going to beat us for sure. They admit we have been the man but they say they are taking it from us. I really want to beat them down in a big way. Sadly, I don't think the SBC cares that we win but it would benefit the league greatly for us to win. #BeatLaLa #1-0

Go check out their twitter. They have this cool-ish feature on every weeks game. Basically an edited highlight tape but it offers some insight into the pre-game motivational and halftime speech given by Napier. He told them at the end of our game to keep their heads high as that's the type of games they prepared to play all offseason. He concluded by saying that as long as they finished the season the right way, they would get another shot.

I don't usually take personal looks at what other schools do with their teams but I came away with a healthy respect for their coach and team.

That said I hope App wins by 40.

Napier is a great coach. They won't have him much longer because some smart AD is going to scoop him up in the SEC or ACC. They have never won 10 games in existence and always had Troy or Arkansas State running the league. Now it is us leading everyone. They have a lot of NFL talent at ULL right now and they are clearly the best team we played in the SBC. We better be ready because Napier will get the most out of his group.

[Stonewall]

Where has Doug been in our push for the Cotton Bowl bid? Since our conference Commissioner has been non existent ,I did expect a louder Doug to push for us little harder. Maybe he is behind the scene with this Belk bowl thing? If so it would be a brilliant move on his part especially if it comes true.

All over it.All in .

[mike87]

In Doug we Trust.

[EastHallApp]

Where has Doug been in our push for the Cotton Bowl bid? Since our conference Commissioner has been non existent ,I did expect a louder Doug to push for us little harder. Maybe he is behind the scene with this Belk bowl thing? If so it would be a brilliant move on his part especially if it comes true.

Doug is quoted as saying it's not the commissioner's job to be out stumping. I think the majority of everyone except for a certain conferences fan base find the Aresco statements off putting and counter productive to the goals of the G5 at large.

However, it makes sense that he wasn't out saying anything about the Cotton Bowl because he knew odds were slim. I would be interested to know when the Belk Bowl conversations began and who initiated them. If the new guy, Gill, is who got those talks started and is close to or has already cemented an agreement, he deserves major kudos, as does the Sun Belt as a whole. To go from where they were in 2013 with only 2 bowl tie-ins, I believe, to 5 Bowl tie-ins and getting a conference member flexed to a $4.5 million payout bowl game against a P5 team would be a great indicator of how the perception of the Belt is changing.

Aresco doesn't care if people outside his league find his comments off-putting and he doesn't care about the goals of the G5 at large. He cares about the league that pays him, and he goes to bat for them relentlessly. And it is, at the least, not hurting, and quite possibly working.

[moonshine]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

[Rekdiver]

VaTech and App would be a huge draw.............Save3 me a crapload of $ not having to go to NoLA

[AppStFan1]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

I have faith in Gillin but I don't have faith in the SBC getting it right. The new commissioner has shown to be average at best. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't see it.

Here is the thing though. If Georgia does not beat LSU then there is no shot this happens. So we just have to focus on our team and then after our game check on that score. If that one game does not go our way it appears there would be no other path towards it.

[appst89]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

I have faith in Gillin but I don't have faith in the SBC getting it right. The new commissioner has shown to be average at best. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't see it.

Here is the thing though. If Georgia does not beat LSU then there is no shot this happens. So we just have to focus on our team and then after our game check on that score. If that one game does not go our way it appears there would be no other path towards it.

I don't think that's the case. Georgia will likely get a NY6 bid anyway. The key is having as many SEC teams as possible get NY6 bids. If LSU is in the CFP and Georgia, Auburn, Florida and Alabama get into the NY6 then the door is open.

[Yosef10]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

I have faith in Gillin but I don't have faith in the SBC getting it right. The new commissioner has shown to be average at best. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't see it.

Here is the thing though. If Georgia does not beat LSU then there is no shot this happens. So we just have to focus on our team and then after our game check on that score. If that one game does not go our way it appears there would be no other path towards it.

I don't think that's the case. Georgia will likely get a NY6 bid anyway. The key is having as many SEC teams as possible get NY6 bids. If LSU is in the CFP and Georgia, Auburn, Florida and Alabama get into the NY6 then the door is open.

From my understanding per Joe Giglio, the Belk gets to choose from a pool of 6 from SEC. If SEC gets into the Orange bowl (highly likely) then the SEC only has 5 teams for the pool of 6, one school short. If they get into the Cotton bowl along with the Orange then they’re 2 teams short of the 6. Seems like we could pretty easily find ourselves in Charlotte New Years Eve Day.

[hotrod2001]

For what it's worth, apparently the Sun Belt Championship ticket is in higher demand than the Pac12 championship. lol

[ericsaid]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

I have faith in Gillin but I don't have faith in the SBC getting it right. The new commissioner has shown to be average at best. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't see it.

Here is the thing though. If Georgia does not beat LSU then there is no shot this happens. So we just have to focus on our team and then after our game check on that score. If that one game does not go our way it appears there would be no other path towards it.

It would appear that this discussion even taking place was likely the work of the commissioner.

Also, i'm fairly certain that UGA doesn't have to win.

[ericsaid]

For what it's worth, apparently the Sun Belt Championship ticket is in higher demand than the Pac12 championship. lol

I'm watching on my computer at work (I have three monitors), I chose the regular broadcast which had no sound for the guys in the booth but did for the stadium. Needless to say, it sounds like almost no one is there. It's pretty glorious, actually, to see the mighty mighty Pac 12 have attendance on par with what will be in Boone.

[Yosefus]

I think Pac12 is moving their championship to Las Vegas in coming years hoping for better attendance. 0 folks in upper decks same as last year there.

[AppStFan1]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

I have faith in Gillin but I don't have faith in the SBC getting it right. The new commissioner has shown to be average at best. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't see it.

Here is the thing though. If Georgia does not beat LSU then there is no shot this happens. So we just have to focus on our team and then after our game check on that score. If that one game does not go our way it appears there would be no other path towards it.

I don't think that's the case. Georgia will likely get a NY6 bid anyway. The key is having as many SEC teams as possible get NY6 bids. If LSU is in the CFP and Georgia, Auburn, Florida and Alabama get into the NY6 then the door is open.

Georgia getting in playoff is key. I don't think the NY6 is going to take 4 SEC teams. Notre Dame is a big money name and I could see them getting in there. A lot depends on who wins the conference title games because if Oregon beats Utah they likely take #2 Pac-12 for at-large over a #5 SEC.

[AppStFan1]

I think Pac12 is moving their championship to Las Vegas in coming years hoping for better attendance. 0 folks in upper decks same as last year there.

Finebaum was 100% right. Nobody really wants to see Utah. I saw Nagy on Twitter standing up for them and Utah taking offense to that comment but clearly there is not as much interest. I think the winner of the Big 12 gets in the CFP if Georgia loses. There just isn't that many Utah fans.

I'm not as impressed with the Pac-12 right now. They have had great teams in the past but I don't see anyone that I would not believe we have a 50/50 chance of beating. I feel like the AAC is just as good as the Pac-12.

[ericsaid]

I think Pac12 is moving their championship to Las Vegas in coming years hoping for better attendance. 0 folks in upper decks same as last year there.

Finebaum was 100% right. Nobody really wants to see Utah. I saw Nagy on Twitter standing up for them and Utah taking offense to that comment but clearly there is not as much interest. I think the winner of the Big 12 gets in the CFP if Georgia loses. There just isn't that many Utah fans.

I'm not as impressed with the Pac-12 right now. They have had great teams in the past but I don't see anyone that I would not believe we have a 50/50 chance of beating. I feel like the AAC is just as good as the Pac-12.

There is no way to know how good the AAC is. Their games against out of conference ranked opponents didn't go well. Cincinnati lost 41-0 at Ohio State and Navy lost 52-20 to Notre Dame and was down 35-3 at halftime. Memphis beat Navy by 12, at home, and is ranked 2 places lower than Notre Dame. Either Notre Dame is too low or Memphis is too high. The fact Navy is ranked at all after that game while Notre Dame is ranked only 15th is a joke. That type of beat down over a ranked opponent is usually reserved for Top 5 teams, which Notre Dame is not. It isn't reserved for teams 9 spots apart.

Their best P5 OOC win came over a 4-8 Ole Miss team. The rest of their games out of conference were not impressive, by any stretch of the imagination. Their "best wins" according to the committee came in conference which is a terrible barometer for gauging the strength of the conference.

[AppStFan1]

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, if Belk comes calling, Gill and the Sun Belt better get it right!

I have faith in Gillin but I don't have faith in the SBC getting it right. The new commissioner has shown to be average at best. I hope he proves me wrong but I don't see it.

Here is the thing though. If Georgia does not beat LSU then there is no shot this happens. So we just have to focus on our team and then after our game check on that score. If that one game does not go our way it appears there would be no other path towards it.

It would appear that this discussion even taking place was likely the work of the commissioner.

Also, i'm fairly certain that UGA doesn't have to win.

I hope he is doing better privately than he is publicly. It would be a no brainer to me because of the money increase.

It looks like the SEC does not have enough anyway but I'm assuming there is another league or Notre Dame that would get a spot that is making this where dominoes need to fall?

Here is the SEC Bowl Tie-ins list I could find.

College Football Playoff Semifinal: If Selected

1. Sugar Bowl vs. Big 12

2. Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl vs. Big Ten or ACC

The SEC will assign teams to the respective bowls in this pool.

– AutoZone Liberty Bowl vs. Big 12
– Belk Bowl vs. ACC
– Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl vs. ACC or Big Ten (most likely the ACC)
– Outback Bowl vs. Big Ten
– TaxSlayer Bowl vs. ACC or Big Ten (most likely the Big Ten)
– Texas Bowl vs. Big 12

Second Tier

– Jared Birmingham Bowl vs. American Athletic
– Walk-On’s Independence Bowl vs. ACC


Here are the SEC teams who are bowl eligible
East
Georgia 11-1
Florida 10-2
Tennessee 7-5
Kentucky 7-5

West
LSU 12-0
Alabama 10-2
Auburn 9-3
Texas A&M 7-5
Miss State 6-6

[AppStFan1]

I think Pac12 is moving their championship to Las Vegas in coming years hoping for better attendance. 0 folks in upper decks same as last year there.

Finebaum was 100% right. Nobody really wants to see Utah. I saw Nagy on Twitter standing up for them and Utah taking offense to that comment but clearly there is not as much interest. I think the winner of the Big 12 gets in the CFP if Georgia loses. There just isn't that many Utah fans.

I'm not as impressed with the Pac-12 right now. They have had great teams in the past but I don't see anyone that I would not believe we have a 50/50 chance of beating. I feel like the AAC is just as good as the Pac-12.

There is no way to know how good the AAC is. Their games against out of conference ranked opponents didn't go well. Cincinnati lost 41-0 at Ohio State and Navy lost 52-20 to Notre Dame and was down 35-3 at halftime. Memphis beat Navy by 12, at home, and is ranked 2 places lower than Notre Dame. Either Notre Dame is too low or Memphis is too high. The fact Navy is ranked at all after that game while Notre Dame is ranked only 15th is a joke.

The AAC struggled against Notre Dame and Cincy but the AAC actually did great vs OOC. They blew away the SBC and MWC. Without us the SBC would have had a losing record for sure in OOC games.

Here is how the G5s did this year.
1. American - 33-14 (.702)
2. Mountain West - 29-18 (.617)
3. Sun Belt - 22-18 (.550)
4. Conference USA - 24-32 (.429)
5. Mid-American - 18-30 (.375)

I would say 33-14 overall is really good. If anyone, including us, in the SBC had played Ohio State and Notre Dame I'm pretty sure we would all lose.

I agree Memphis is too high and Notre Dame is too low. My thought is Notre Dame should be around 10 while Memphis should be 21-22. I don't get how Navy is ranked. I also think Utah and Oregon are 12-17 type teams. I don't see them as legit top 10 right now. I am not 100% sold that Boise State is a top 25 team. They need to look good against Hawaii or I could see the committee dropping them a couple spots.

[AppSt94]

If Baylor can beat Oklahoma, it all but guarantees LSU and Georgia get into the playoff. Auburn would go to the Sugar Bowl and Alabama would likely go to the Cotton. Three of the six remaining go to Florida bowls. Which leaves three to fill out the remaining six.