Why is Virginia in the Orange Bowl?

WilliamsArenaGuy

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What’s the rule there? Please explain how they get a bowl like that over Alabama, et al... Seems really stupid.
 




Highest ranked ACC team not in the CFP

Correct. Sort of tells you just how good the ACC is. I was following Wake Forest this year -- they were playing well, and then, oof. WF is now playing Sparty in NYC! Wow.

B10 fans reported liking the Orange Bowl, so that is another target for the Gophers.
 


The ACC was hot on the B1G's heels there for a minute but other than Clemson it's really mediocre. They added football schools and then those football schools proceeded to tailspin; see Miami, VTech, and BC. Then they saw the traditional ACC powers flounder in FSU and Georgia Tech.
 

Yes.

it just so happens that the second best ACC team is mediocre

They should add a fail safe to that: something like the team has to be top 20 or the bowl goes outside the ACC.
 

If the B1G sucked other than Ohio State we would be sending so so or bad teams too.
 

They should add a fail safe to that: something like the team has to be top 20 or the bowl goes outside the ACC.
I totally agree, could you imagine being 10-2 Utah and having to go to San Antonio to face 7-5 Texas? What a complete screw job for Utah, I mean that could have been us being 10-2 having to face some bullshit 5 loss team.
 





I totally agree, could you imagine being 10-2 Utah and having to go to San Antonio to face 7-5 Texas? What a complete screw job for Utah, I mean that could have been us being 10-2 having to face some bullshit 5 loss team.

I was just talking about the Orange Bowl. A 7-5 team can be a good team depending on its schedule. Texas A&M is 7-5 but their losses are to 4 top SEC teams and Clemson. I admit that 10-2 Utah should do better. Wonder why they aren't going to the Holiday Bowl to play Iowa?
 

What’s the rule there? Please explain how they get a bowl like that over Alabama, et al... Seems really stupid.
Perhaps because Alabama didn't beat a single ranked team...not one. SOS
 



I was just talking about the Orange Bowl. A 7-5 team can be a good team depending on its schedule. Texas A&M is 7-5 but their losses are to 4 top SEC teams and Clemson. I admit that 10-2 Utah should do better. Wonder why they aren't going to the Holiday Bowl to play Iowa?
These types of match ups are a result of the massive increase of bowl games and the tie-ins related to them.
 


None of this is supposed to be "fair". Each conference has certain bowl tie ins. The highest ranked team in the conference goes to the "best" bowl. After that it is a bit of a crap shoot with the bowls having some choice, teams that played in that bowl last year etc.
You could make yourself nuts trying to make sense of it all. Accept the bowl your team is in and make the best of it. No whining.
 

Just eliminate 10-12 bowl games. Problem solved.
Utah has fewer top 25 wins than Memphis.
Utah should be rated no higher than Minnesota. Minnesota has a better win and better losses and the same amount of losses.
I feel no sympathy for Utah
 

These types of match ups are a result of the massive increase of bowl games and the tie-ins related to them.


Just eliminate 10-12 bowl games. Problem solved.

Well, that's your opinion and I don't share it. I like that there are as many bowls as there are. Gives lots of teams one additional game on national TV and a chance to end their seasons on a high note. I also like that fans have an opportunity to see lots of teams that they would never watch during the regular season. Maybe that means nothing to you (I suspect you only watch the Gophers and a few other high profile games) but I enjoy tuning in during the bowl season to see a few minutes of play from teams I haven't seen before.
 

Well, that's your opinion and I don't share it. I like that there are as many bowls as there are. Gives lots of teams one additional game on national TV and a chance to end their seasons on a high note. I also like that fans have an opportunity to see lots of teams that they would never watch during the regular season. Maybe that means nothing to you (I suspect you only watch the Gophers and a few other high profile games) but I enjoy tuning in during the bowl season to see a few minutes of play from teams I haven't seen before.
I watch 12-15, so pretty much those that have a ranked team.
 

They should add a fail safe to that: something like the team has to be top 20 or the bowl goes outside the ACC.
I believe they have to be top 25. If not, Notre Dame can take that spot. Not sure what happens if no one is in the top 25 though.
 

They should add a fail safe to that: something like the team has to be top 20 or the bowl goes outside the ACC.
I've seen this idea floated around before. I would say that it would be universally agreed to, by fans, TV, and probably the Orange Bowl too.

Everyone, except the ACC. They'd go to court to block it. Just like a damned neighbor who sues you to have one of your own trees, on your property, cut down so that the branches don't "infringe on his rights".
 

I believe they have to be top 25. If not, Notre Dame can take that spot. Not sure what happens if no one is in the top 25 though.
Notre Dame can't represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl. That was the one bowl that the ACC would not allow ND to "have the milk without buying the cow" (ie, not joining the ACC as a full football member).

Instead, Notre Dame can be selected as the opponent in up to two Orange bowls, in the eight years that the Orange isn't a CFP semi final. But they have to be the top ranked team available over any Big Ten or SEC teams after the Sugar and Rose pick. BT and SEC are guaranteed at least three Orange each, while ND is guaranteed no more than two.
 
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The ACC came very close this year, to being the first time in the CFP's first six seasons that a contract bowl would've been forced to take a team that was not ranked in the the final CFP top 25.

The previous three times that the Orange had to take the 2nd place ACC team have all worked out pretty well:
2014 - Florida State #3 (CFP), Georgia Tech #12
2016 - Clemson #2 (CFP), Florida St #11
2017 - Clemson #1 (CFP), Miami #10
 

Notre Dame can't represent the ACC in the Orange Bowl. That was the one bowl that the ACC would not allow ND to "have the milk without buying the cow" (ie, not joining the ACC as a full football member).

Instead, Notre Dame can be selected as the opponent in up to two Orange bowls, in the eight years that the Orange isn't a CFP semi final. But they have to be the top ranked team available over any Big Ten or SEC teams after the Sugar and Rose pick. BT and SEC are guaranteed at least three Orange each, while ND is guaranteed no more than two.
I think you're right. I had seen that ND could represent the ACC if there weren't anyone available that is ranked. But it appears that is wrong.
 

Utah has fewer top 25 wins than Memphis.
Utah should be rated no higher than Minnesota. Minnesota has a better win and better losses and the same amount of losses.
I feel no sympathy for Utah
Correct. Utah got pasted by a top-10 team (although Oregon's credentials as Top 10 team are also shakey) and MN did the same. MN other loss was to a 3-loss top 15ish team, while Utah's was to a 4-loss top 25ish team. Utah's best win was...Washington? Not sure. MN's best win was obviously PSU.

It was pretty clear the CFP committee dropped Minnesota dramatically to ensure there was NO talk of the Rose Bowl taking them. They didn't want a situation where Wisc was 8, PSU 10, and MN 11 or something like that. The "cluster" described in bowl agreements.
 

The committee hit the easy button on Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan. Stuck Minn behind Iowa, with a one team buffer, and did the same to Iowa behind Michigan.
 






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