CBS Ranks Top 35 2013-14 bowl rankings (Minnesota/Syracuse #29)

[BleedGopher]

per CBS:

No. 29 Texas Bowl -- 12/27, 6 p.m.

Minnesota 8-4 vs. Syracuse 6-6

Minnesota finished the regular season 8-4, and if bowl games were actually about rewarding teams instead of making money, the Gophers would be in a better game than this. However, the glass-half-full look says Minnesota should be happy to be in this game because it's got a much better chance of beating a mediocre Syracuse team than it does any SEC team playing in Florida on New Year's.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...24370140/the-top-35-your-201314-bowl-rankings

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Athlon ranks our bowl #31:

31. Texas – Syracuse (6-6) vs. Minnesota (8-4) – Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. ET
Minnesota is back in the Texas Bowl for the second consecutive season. The Golden Gophers were one of the Big Ten’s best stories in 2013, rallying around interim coach Tracy Claeys while Jerry Kill took time away from the team to deal with medical concerns. Syracuse squeaks into the postseason after a last-second win against Boston College. The Orange dealt with transition to a new conference, as well as a new quarterback, yet still made it into a bowl in Scott Shafer’s first season. Both teams have enjoyed success on the ground this year, with Syracuse averaging 194.3 yards per game and Minnesota rushing for 200.9 per contest.

http://athlonsports.com/college-foo...ollege-football-bowls-2013-must-see-must-miss

Go Gophers!!

 

[MNVCGUY]

Nice of CBS to point out the flaw in the way the system works. Not surprised to see this game coming in near the back of these lists because there is very little there that is going to get anyone outside of the teams fan bases excited about this one.

 

[Rescooter]

Nice of CBS to point out the flaw in the way the system works. Not surprised to see this game coming in near the back of these lists because there is very little there that is going to get anyone outside of the teams fan bases excited about this one.

MNVGGUY - I usually agree with you, but not on this one. Last year, our game with Texas Tech was rated 12th out of the 35 bowl games last year and was picked by the same to be the worst bowl to watch. The Pinstripe Bowl between Syracuse and West Virginia was rated 11th. I don't think 4.5 million viewers can be wrong....it was a decent bowl game despite what the "services" said.

Yes, we have a large Twin Cities market and Syracuse gets a little NYC love (very little), but the interest was there - even though the fanbases didn't travel.

 

[MNVCGUY]

MNVGGUY - I usually agree with you, but not on this one. Last year, our game with Texas Tech was rated 12th out of the 35 bowl games last year and was picked by the same to be the worst bowl to watch. The Pinstripe Bowl between Syracuse and West Virginia was rated 11th. I don't think 4.5 million viewers can be wrong....it was a decent bowl game despite what the "services" said.

Yes, we have a large Twin Cities market and Syracuse gets a little NYC love (very little), but the interest was there - even though the fanbases didn't travel.

Could certainly turn out to be a good game and get decent ratings based on the teams markets and the fact that there are no other games on at the same time. But in terms of generating buzz leading up to the game there is very little in the matchup to do that. You have a Syracuse team that just barely managed to get bowl eligible against a Minnesota team that has been a nice story but is also coming off back to back losses and 10 consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown. Of the two teams we are the only one with any sort of compelling story behind it, Syracuse brings very little to the table this season.

 

[mnsports1]

Could certainly turn out to be a good game and get decent ratings based on the teams markets and the fact that there are no other games on at the same time. But in terms of generating buzz leading up to the game there is very little in the matchup to do that. You have a Syracuse team that just barely managed to get bowl eligible against a Minnesota team that has been a nice story but is also coming off back to back losses and 10 consecutive quarters without an offensive touchdown. Of the two teams we are the only one with any sort of compelling story behind it, Syracuse brings very little to the table this season.

You can say that outside of the two markets other people are not excited about this match-up, fine. But the bolded won't be a reason. If anyone who is not a Gopher fan knows that, they are interested in the program and are going to watch.

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

You can say that outside of the two markets other people are not excited about this match-up, fine. But the bolded won't be a reason. If anyone who is not a Gopher fan knows that, they are interested in the program and are going to watch.

It's just super depressing that we have 2 more wins, better victories (Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State), and yet we are stuck in the same bowl (which is not my biggest concern), but against a team that only had 6 wins. Not to mention that they lost to two teams that we defeated (Northwestern & Penn State) and we played them LAST YEAR!

At the very least least give us a 7 win team!!! Syracuse is garbage and I am obviously very sour on this. Well, on the bright side, I feel a bit better after letting off some steam

 

[FlaGopher23]

We need a real stomping blow out of Syracuse to show these bowls the Gophers can do damage. It might get them to respect us a little more.

 

[MNVCGUY]

We need a real stomping blow out of Syracuse to show these bowls the Gophers can do damage. It might get them to respect us a little more.

We could beat Syracuse by 50 and next year still get passed over. Bowls could care less how the team performs on the field during the game. The only thing the bowl committees care about are the number of people that buy tickets and show up for the game. Until our fan base shows that it will travel the same way that some of our counterparts in the Big Ten do the bowls are going to keep on picking those other schools on reputation as opposed to taking a chance on us. Just the reality of the way the system is structured.

 

[FlaGopher23]

We could beat Syracuse by 50 and next year still get passed over. Bowls could care less how the team performs on the field during the game. The only thing the bowl committees care about are the number of people that buy tickets and show up for the game. Until our fan base shows that it will travel the same way that some of our counterparts in the Big Ten do the bowls are going to keep on picking those other schools on reputation as opposed to taking a chance on us. Just the reality of the way the system is structured.

That theory is flawed because it doesn't sound like Nebraska will be traveling well to the Gator Bowl this year. MN would have traveled much better due to the excitement of this bowl for us.

 

[MNVCGUY]

That theory is flawed because it doesn't sound like Nebraska will be traveling well to the Gator Bowl this year. MN would have traveled much better due to the excitement of this bowl for us.

If Nebraska doesn't travel well this year and we have a good showing in Houston fan wise that would help us for next year. Historically though their fan base travels very well, so as far as the bowl is concerned they are the safer pick. That being said we have no gripe going behind Nebraska in the pecking order this year because even though we beat them head to head they finished 5-3 in the conference and deserved to go to a better game then us in my opinion. The only valid complaint we have in regards to how the bowls shook out this year is with Michigan being selected ahead of us. MSU, OSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Nebraska all had better conference records then we did so regardless of fan base travel reputation, they should have been taken before us.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

The simple truth is Suckacuse should be playing in the pizza bowl or toilet bowl but because the Big12 doesn't have enough teams they get to move up to the MN Got Screwed Again Bowl. My response to that is crush the orangina!

They are lambs to slaughter. Their defense will look gravel under our road grater offensive line. We will run and run and run some more on them...and when it is done, the football world will know what we already do...that Suckacuse isn't in the same league as us (literally & figuratively) and that we should have been playing Georgia in the Gator Bowl (Who will most assuredly beat NE just as bad as we did!).

 

[Spoofin]

MNVGGUY - I usually agree with you, but not on this one. Last year, our game with Texas Tech was rated 12th out of the 35 bowl games last year and was picked by the same to be the worst bowl to watch. The Pinstripe Bowl between Syracuse and West Virginia was rated 11th. I don't think 4.5 million viewers can be wrong....it was a decent bowl game despite what the "services" said.

Yes, we have a large Twin Cities market and Syracuse gets a little NYC love (very little), but the interest was there - even though the fanbases didn't travel.

Texas Bowl last year benefitted from being only game at that time and on ESPN. If you wanted to watch CFB that Friday Night, you watched the Texas (MCC) Bowl. Same this year. That is the one reason the Texas Bowl may be better than the Gator. It doesn't sound as good, but may get us more exposure.