Gophers vs West Virginia in Guaranteed Rate Bowl

[highwayman]

I genuinely appreciate the attempts to explain the process and keep folks level-headed, but these read as a little pedantic to me. We're not children over here. Most of us understand how bowl placement works. We know WHY bowl committees elevate 7-5 (4-5) PSU to the Outback Bowl over 3 teams that won 8 (6) games. Doesn't mean we need to agree. As a fan I'd like MN to get the biggest stage possible in bowl season. I want them to play a marquee opponent with a good record at a convenient time when the largest possible audience can watch. I'd like the team to have the chance at a national ranking if they win. I'd like them to a have a fair shot to continue building a reputation for traveling to desirable games rather than perpetuating the self-fulfilling prophecy that they don't travel because they're often assigned to low-tier bowl games against mediocre teams. I'm less upset today than I was yesterday, but I'm still irritated.

You literally have no idea if "our admin" asked for Arizona.

I’m sorry if it doesn’t fit your paradigms. Still makes more sense than conspiracy theories. They are apparently more real.

 

[dr4golf]

listened to new episode of "Gopher Gridiron Radio."

one of the hosts (not sure who was who) said that people connected to the program have suggested that the Gophers preferred Arizona over some of the other possible locations. I believe the exact quote was that the Gophers 'may have' declined an invitation to another site because they preferred Arizona over the other available options.

apparently, the weather and alumni in the area were reasons to like Arizona as a destination.

Regardless, I'm glad it is there. great weather, family, lots to do.

 

[MGGopher]

I’m sorry if it doesn’t fit your paradigms. Still makes more sense than conspiracy theories. They are apparently more real.

Who's talking about conspiracy theories? Bowls pick teams they think will travel well, increase their brand, put butts in seats, and get eyes on TVs. I get it. I don't need it explained to me, and there's no conspiracies needed. I simply wish they were forced to pick based upon on-field performance using similar parameters to how division winners are decided. It's unlikely to ever happen, but I can wish/hope.

 

[builtbadgers]

This doesn't hold up. Let's look at PSU only. They are 7-5 and 4-5 in conference. So it's not about W's and L's. They share 3 L's with us as well as having the extra 2 in conference and 1 overall.

The Gophers sent over 8,000 fans to the Outback Bowl and were lauded by the local Tampa community and Outback Bowl for how they showed up and in mass. So it's not about attendance.

You can say it's because we were just in the Outback Bowl 2 years ago, but that doesn't support the drop from Outback to Guarantee Rate and doesn't answer why WI isn't in Outback then.

Yea, No one is likely to show for Guarantee Rate. It's an odd date, late night, and too expensive to justify going. $989 for a hotel and 'Sota Social package that doesn't include the game or travel? $800 airfare (maybe $650 on Spirit)? So, we won't sell well and that will be used against us. Even though our strong showing in Tampa isn't a credit.

There's more to this.

Several Big 10 programs have way more fans travel than we do.

 

[builtbadgers]

UW played in Tampa in 2019 also as they opened the season at South Florida. Was that a reason they were not chosen?

Vegas is odd because the basketball team just played in Vegas tournament over Thanksgiving. Doubt those fans are going to travel again.

Most UW fans wanted Vegas instead of Tampa anyway. Tampa is only great because it is on January 1.

Did Covid play a role in this? Were bowls afraid of poor travel by all teams so chose teams with most local fans?

UW will bring 20,000

 

[DarthGopher]

6-6 West Virginia
8-4 Arizona state but pac 12 is probably the 6th or 7th best conference this year
6-6 Va tech
7-5 Tennessee

They’re all mediocre opponents

In terms of name Arizona state is probably least sexy of the 3


at the end of the day.
The Outback bowl is a second tier bowl.
All the others are third tier.

All bowls are nothing more than dedicated brand marketing campaigns. A business decision that is part of some VP's P&L for the year. Outside of the New Year's Six, which are part of the CFP, there are no "tiers". All the rest are just independent events. A festivus for the rest-of-us.

Search high and low for a "ranking" of bowl games. You won't find anything official, because it doesn't exist.

I'm not sure where this originated, but my guess is people's natural tendencies to "rank" things based on some arbitrary criteria. Location, date, longevity and sponsor are the ones most frequently used. For example, if longevity were the primary criteria, the Sun Bowl should be tops on everybody's list. If weather is the primary driver, anything in Florida, Arizona or Southern California are by far the best bowls. Using date, the Texas Bowl on January 4 must be the consolation game of the national championship. None of these are true.

I suppose you could go by payout, but that has more to do with the sponsor than anything else. Plus, the money doesn't go directly to the school. It goes to the conference, and they decide how to divide it up amongst the member institutions. The Outback Bowl had a most recent payout of $6.4M. The Citrus and Alamo Bowls payout $8.5M and $8M respectively. The Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl - $4M each. So the Rose and Fiesta must be lesser games. Not exactly.

My suggestion, just accept it for what it is worth. These are big money events and the BIG stands to net nearly $80M or more this year. Their motivations are simple - place as many teams as possible, spread out brand exposure and maximize revenue. That has more to do with placement than anything. Fans can squabble about which bowl is better, but the truth is, it doesn't much matter outside of playing for the national championship. Personally, Phoenix is a substantial upgrade from Nashville, on par with Florida and better than Vegas IMHO. I was dreading the Music City Bowl - multiple days of country music which I cannot stand and a home game for Tennessee. No thank you.

Go Gophers!

 

[Axe]

I just looked at Appleton to Mesa on Allegiant. $322 for the outbound leg on Tuesday arrives at 3 pm. Kinda tight on time...
$170 return on Thursday.

 

[GSUsTALON]

It may not be the Bowl the Gophers wanted or deserve, but It's a Bowl that the GOPHERS WILL WIN and add that Bowl Win to your record!!!!

 

[hungan1]

Have anyone looked into AirBnBs? Maybe if you get a house large enough to accommodate a group of a dozen people, it may be considerably cheaper. You just need to worry about car/commuter van rentals and airfares.

Find homes in Phoenix on Airbnb

Looking for a place to stay? Book unique homes hosted by locals on Airbnb and experience the city like you live there.

www.airbnb.com

 

[disco]

If you're willing to drive 5 hours to PHX, perhaps you'd be willing to do it on this end.
Milwaukee - PHX, leaving on 12-27 and returning on 12-30 is as low as $345.

 

[hungan1]

How about chartering a bus from Minnesota to Arizona?

الهلال والشباب مباشر

www.minnesotacoaches.net

 

[disco]

If you're willing to fly out on Christmas night, you can fly from St. Cloud to Mesa non-stop, returning on the 29th on Allegiant for about $530.

 

[GSUsTALON]

TALON SAYS THE GOPHERS WIN BY 10+ points​

Offensive Stat Comparison​

Stat	WVU	MINN
Yards/Play	5.2	5.4
Points/Play	0.327	0.386
Rush Play %	47.07%	67.41%
Pass Play %	52.93%	32.59%
Completion %	65.63%	59.02%
3D Conv %	38.22%	44.59%

 

[Pompous Elitist]

Chase Field is grass. ("Bobsod" ... A bermudagrass hybrid specifically designed for "Bank One Ballpark," which was the original name of the Diamondback's ballpark.)

I'd be surprised if they close the roof for the game. Typically somewhere in mid 40s overnight in Phoenix that time of year. Kickoff should still be in the 60s.

They lay turf over the grass for this game so as not to tear up the grass.

Genuinely interesting. Bermuda grass is a misnomer, it’s a tough and damn near impossible to kill weed; a supernatural sci-fi like organism that forms dense mats and deep roots, regrows and spreads rapidly even if denied water, trampled on, denuded, scalped, torn up, burned, napalmed. Would a football game would leave any visible marks within 72 hours.

 

[get off my lawn]

Sioux Falls is another option. Alleigent flies direct out of FSD too. Normally really cheap flight, I checked a couple days ago and it was around $450 round trip. My sister has a condo in Scottsdale, if it wasn't a Dec. 28th game I'd go.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

24. Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota vs. West Virginia​

Dec. 28, 10:15 p.m. -- OK, so this game probably isn't going to be high-scoring, but it should be close, and sometimes that's good enough. While they go about it in different ways -- Minnesota runs the ball so frequently you might confuse it for an option team -- the result is the same. Both teams average 2.25 points per drive, just above the national average of 2.22.

And you know what the matchup reminds me of? Go back to when this game was called the Cheez-It Bowl (not to be confused with the Cheez-It Bowl), and TCU and California played in a 10-7 thriller that needed overtime to find a winner. It was the worst-played great game of all time and will live on forever in the Bad Bowl Game Hall of Fame. While it's an impossible standard to meet, I think we could see history repeat itself here. Oh, and it's played in a baseball stadium. So much potential for stupid here.

From CBS Sportline's ranking of all 42 bowl games.
Yikes.

 

[MplsGopher]

The article didn't say "conference wins." Iowa was two wins overall above us.

Doesn't Iowa have 2 more wins than Gophers?

The post I was replying to was @cjbfbp 's post where it was said "If we had beaten Illinois, we would have finished 9-3"

So I thought it was clear that I was referring to the scenario of the Gophers beating ILL and thus being 9-3, as proposed.

 

[MplsGopher]

Greyhound is about $300. Takes 40 hours. Anyone elite enough for this action?

40 hours to sit and try to sleep two nights on a bus with people probably doing drugs constantly.

Yeah, definitely worth $300.


I buy flights to places like Atlanta and Dallas for less than $300, all the time.

Such a joke

(and yes I know you were likely joking)

 

[MplsGopher]

People might be bowled out for the day by then.

Oh easily. Nobody should be surprised if this bowl game is the Big Ten's lowest TV ratings, and maybe not even close.

 

[MplsGopher]

According to the bowl's website, the roof will be open for the pregame program and then closed for the game. They warn you that evening temps could drop into the 40s and that, while there is a roof, there is no heat.

So .... does it rain a lot in Phoenix??

They built a roof for the stadium, but no climate control?


Oh .... nevermind, I get it. Duh. It's so they can protect people from the blazing sun and probably do have big time A/C. Just no heat. That makes total sense.

 

[MplsGopher]

Do most of the people here go to bed at 8:00 after getting the early bird special for dinner? God forbid anyone stay up until midnight to watch the game.

Game starts at 915pm Central, and football games usually go 3-3.5 hours.

For the worst Big Ten bowl against a 6-6 team?? Not gonna happen for me, live. No chance. Will DVR it though, of course.

 

[MplsGopher]

If you're willing to drive 5 hours to PHX, perhaps you'd be willing to do it on this end.
Milwaukee - PHX, leaving on 12-27 and returning on 12-30 is as low as $345.

Barf. Spirit.

That's no bags and no carry-ons included in the fare. So buyer beware.

 

[MplsGopher]

If you're willing to fly out on Christmas night, you can fly from St. Cloud to Mesa non-stop, returning on the 29th on Allegiant for about $530.

Again no bags or carry-ons.

I assume, for the cheapest airline in the country ... like legit skimps on maintenance. Not sure I'd ever sink down to that level, but to each their own.

 

[Some guy]

All bowls are nothing more than dedicated brand marketing campaigns. A business decision that is part of some VP's P&L for the year. Outside of the New Year's Six, which are part of the CFP, there are no "tiers". All the rest are just independent events. A festivus for the rest-of-us.

Search high and low for a "ranking" of bowl games. You won't find anything official, because it doesn't exist.

I'm not sure where this originated, but my guess is people's natural tendencies to "rank" things based on some arbitrary criteria. Location, date, longevity and sponsor are the ones most frequently used. For example, if longevity were the primary criteria, the Sun Bowl should be tops on everybody's list. If weather is the primary driver, anything in Florida, Arizona or Southern California are by far the best bowls. Using date, the Texas Bowl on January 4 must be the consolation game of the national championship. None of these are true.

I suppose you could go by payout, but that has more to do with the sponsor than anything else. Plus, the money doesn't go directly to the school. It goes to the conference, and they decide how to divide it up amongst the member institutions. The Outback Bowl had a most recent payout of $6.4M. The Citrus and Alamo Bowls payout $8.5M and $8M respectively. The Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl - $4M each. So the Rose and Fiesta must be lesser games. Not exactly.

My suggestion, just accept it for what it is worth. These are big money events and the BIG stands to net nearly $80M or more this year. Their motivations are simple - place as many teams as possible, spread out brand exposure and maximize revenue. That has more to do with placement than anything. Fans can squabble about which bowl is better, but the truth is, it doesn't much matter outside of playing for the national championship. Personally, Phoenix is a substantial upgrade from Nashville, on par with Florida and better than Vegas IMHO. I was dreading the Music City Bowl - multiple days of country music which I cannot stand and a home game for Tennessee. No thank you.

Go Gophers!

There are no official tiers but If you don’t think citrus, Outback are a different tier than music city and guaranteed offer bowl you’re kidding yourself

 

[disco]

Barf. Spirit.

That's no bags and no carry-ons included in the fare. So buyer beware.

Yeah, I don't know if I'm desperate enough to fly Spirit, and to jump through those kinds of hoops to do it.

If it wasn't Christmas night, the St. Cloud option would be somewhat tempting. Yes it's Allegiant, but you're flying out of and into very small airports with no hassle. That alone might be worth it.

Sun Country runs a non-stop out of Duluth, but it's only on Monday and Friday.

 

[corcorangopher]

I genuinely appreciate the attempts to explain the process and keep folks level-headed, but these read as a little pedantic to me. We're not children over here. Most of us understand how bowl placement works. We know WHY bowl committees elevate 7-5 (4-5) PSU to the Outback Bowl over 3 teams that won 8 (6) games. Doesn't mean we need to agree. As a fan I'd like MN to get the biggest stage possible in bowl season. I want them to play a marquee opponent with a good record at a convenient time when the largest possible audience can watch. I'd like the team to have the chance at a national ranking if they win. I'd like them to a have a fair shot to continue building a reputation for traveling to desirable games rather than perpetuating the self-fulfilling prophecy that they don't travel because they're often assigned to low-tier bowl games against mediocre teams. I'm less upset today than I was yesterday, but I'm still irritated.

I’m still guaranteed irate. I get why it played out the way it did. But nothing will change if there is no push back on these recurring outcomes. I for one do not want these same outcomes year after year. The team deserved better than the PSU team. Do we tell the team and the future recruits that we will beat other teams and have better results, but we are okay getting passed over as we are second class in the B1G. Not pushing back is saying we accept being treated as second class. Others may be okay with that. I’m not.

 

[cjbfbp]

I’m still guaranteed irate.

Well done, sir! That should be our nickname for this bowl.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

One aspect about this idea that the U to some extent wanted Phoenix over other games.

So when we play the Thursday night opening game it's because we want 'exposure'.

But come bowl game time we want to play at 9:15 at night ... on a Tuesday ... so we can visit a few folks in Phoenix ?

Weird balancing there...

 

[Some guy]

One aspect about this idea that the U to some extent wanted Phoenix over other games.

So when we play the Thursday night opening game it's because we want 'exposure'.

But come bowl game time we want to play at 9:15 at night ... on a Tuesday ... so we can visit a few folks in Phoenix ?

Weird balancing there...

Other options 930 on a Thursday in Vegas
2pm on a non holiday Thursday in Nashville

You act like the alternatives are good times slots

If one of the other options was on a weekend. Holiday, or 7pm you’d have a better point

 

[cjbfbp]

Oh easily. Nobody should be surprised if this bowl game is the Big Ten's lowest TV ratings, and maybe not even close.

Might be one of the lower rated TV bowls period. I watch a small number of bowls (or at least parts of them) every season where I don't care at all about the teams playing. As long as the game is expected to be fairly close, I might tune in and, if it's a good one, might watch most or even all of it. Although I have a great deal of work flexibility right now, I don't think I would have that positive attitude about a bowl that ends at 12:30 AM. I'll watch this one, of course, but I would only watch a game like this if I had a strong interest (either positively or negatively) in the teams playing. If I had to travel to work early the next day, I wouldn't watch a game like this for anyone other than the Gophers.

Add in the fact that it's the 5th bowl of the day and that leaves even fewer interested parties.