Monday: Setting up bowling pins; two coaches fired in ACC
DESTINATION UNKNOWN: ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach projects the Hokies will head to Nashville to face Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl. Brad Edwards, meanwhile, projects that the Russell Athletic Bowl will pass on N.C. State and take the Hokies, who would face Louisville (full projections here). Either of these scenarios make you more likely to go?
SURE THING: One thing we know is that Notre Dame will be playing in the BCS national championship game on Jan. 7 in Miami, with the opponent almost certainly being the winner of this weekend’s SEC title game between Alabama and Georgia. The Crimson Tide is a 7.5-point favorite in that one.
PINK SLIPS: N.C. State fires Tom O’Brien and Boston College cans Frank Spaziani. Meanwhile, Auburn dumps Gene Chizik two years after he wins a national title.
HOOPS HEADS UP: The Hokies will put their 5-0 record on the line Tuesday night against Iowa in the Big Ten/ACC challenge. UVa draws Wisconsin on the road on Wednesday night. Tech hosts No. 20 Oklahoma State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
NFL STATEMENTS: Big road win for the 49ers, breaking the Saints’ five-game winning streak…Atlanta improves to 10-1 with a win in Tampa Bay…The Giants roll past the Packers 38-10 to open up a two-game lead over the Redskins in the NFC East (New York at Washington is next week’s Monday nighter)…Cutler returns from concussion, leads Bears past Vikings…Baltimore rallies past Chargers, now leads AFC North by three games over Steelers….Your Monday Nighter is Panthers at Eagles.
BRINKS TRUCK: Whoever lands Zack Greinke will have to pony up big bucks. MLB execs say they expect his contract to set a record for a right-handed pitcher.
NAME THAT TUNE
This old highway
Is like a woman sometimes
She can be your best friend
But she’s the real jealous kind
She’s the lady that leads me
To the life I dream of
She’s the mistress that keeps me
From the ones that I love
November 26, 2012 - 8:29 AM
Cam Newton was Gene Chizik’s Michael Vick. His only hope to ever make it to an MNC game.
Attend the bowl game that selects the 6-6 Hokies? No thanks. I attended lots of games in the regular season, and was ‘rewarded’ with what we have. I’ll stay home & watch on TV. This bowl game will set a new low in attendance for VT fans.
Rumor has it that IF NC State wants to consider bringing back O’Cain as HC, then VT alumni ans Season Ticket holders will ante up and pay up to 1/3rd of his first year’s salary. That same group will consider upping that to half of the first year’s salary if Stinespring and Newsome are made part of O’Cains staff at NCSU.
It is amazing how Chizik wound up being the same coach that he was at Iowa State (5-19 there I think) once he couldn’t pay players to come there and play. The real shame here is that the NCAA did not take away that famed Auburn title.
But, he gets a very soft pillow to land on I hear. Like a $7M one.
Hopefully NCSU will have some interest as their coaching carousel continues.
Look for TOB to wind up back at UVA possibly but I wish Frankie would talk to him. The guy would be a good QB coach and probably a good OC.
Cold Shoulder-Garth Brooks for the song.
Shocked about O’Brian being fired-are you kidding me? He seemed to have that team going in the right direction-perhaps it is some Russel Wilson fallout behind that. Any way, there will be plenty fans to support our beloved Hokies. One bad year does not ruin the team. We will be back next year-go Hokies!
I read somewhere (Andy Bitter?) that if Ga Tech does not become bowl-eligible, then the ACC would not have enough teams to send anyone to the Music City Bowl. If that’s the case, this is a big oversight by ESPN
The ACC has already had to step back from two other bowl agreements they have this year. They’ve got eight spots, but only six teams eligible, if you count GT as eligible. That’s when some of these lesser known mid-major teams can jump into a bowl spot. I’d rather see that than see a 6-6 or 6-7 team go, just so they can continue their bowl season streak.
There seem to be a huge amount of coaches that got fired over the weekend. The AD’s aren’t waiting to make the changes at those schools, they’re being as proactive as possible. There will be a glut of job openings, though, all with their own issues.
Orlando and Especially Nashville are great destination cities and a nice venue for a bowl. I will continue to visit and enjoy both but will pass on going there for a bowl game involving the Hokies. Too many disappointing losses (many of them blowouts, including Charlotte last year in the ACC championship) and just painful to watch on offense.
Spoiled? Probably. Bowl bound (or season tickets next year , without major changes)? No way.
Except for the Stanford game, Notre Dame reminds me of the year the Vick led Hokies or the perennial losing Ohio State teams got to the championship game. Except for Stanford, every team ND played lost at least three games (including the ND game), and there were three point wins over W6-L5 BYU and the OT win over W4-L7 Pitt. But the Irish did show up against a good Stanford team, pulling out another three point OT win over a W10-L2 team.Even so, I’d expect either Georgia or Alabama to destroy ND. Looking at their single common opponent, Alabama beat Michigan by a 41-14 score, ND beat them by 13-6.
It will be the first time I will be pulling for Georgia to win the SEC. Whatever happens in the SEC game, the game against Notre dame is going to be very interesting, and it should be a slugfest.
I think the ACC have one of the worst matchups on Saturday. I’d have rather watched FSU versus UNC or Miami than the bumble bees.
While coaching changes are happening, I am wondering if there will be any changes in Blacksburg. I’m betting no there won’t be because Beamer is going to point to the bowl streak and winning nine straight over UVA as the reasons to not make any change. I’m hoping to be wrong…
What is a realistic timeline on when we might hear of potential coaching changes? If I dont hear something by Wednesday I will be concerned. Let Sherman coach the offense for the bowl game. There going to a bowl game and I think Beamer is counting that as a win so the game itself wont matter.
2 Corrections – Ravens lead over the Steelers is 3 games, not 2.5 as Steelers lost to the Browns prior to the Ravens comeback over the Chargers. Also, UVA is at Wisconsin – not at home.
When Auburn fell back to reality post-Newton, I had a really stout feeling that they would land with a hard thud. They did. Chizik definitely proved that his 5-19 record at Iowa State was not a fluke, but closer to reality. At Auburn, he had 2 8-5 teams sandwiching the 14-0 with Newton (mostly with players recruited before he arrived), and after 3 years of developing the program with his players…the Eagles went 3-9. His non-Cam Newton track record for Auburn was 19-19. While a 33-19 record and a national title in 4 years is good on the surface, the trajectory of the program was decidedly toward dumpster fire.
With the Wolfpack firing TOB, it ends a couple seasons-long cry for his head by NC State alums and fans. I’m not sure the timing is great, but if you’re going to change it up, might as well do it sooner rather than later. He was viewed as a perennial underachiever for the program…and as a general failure because of the numerous opportunities for the program to take a step up…in which they promptly faceplanted instead.
The other coaching hot seat that is all-too-obvious…San Diego with Norv Turner. Has there ever been a coach who manages to do less with more than him? He’s got a losing lifetime coaching record, was abysmal in Washington and even worse in Oakland. With the Chargers, he was handed the keys to a championsip-caliber team and despite winning a putrid division the first 3 years, couldn’t make it past the Divisional game twice and got easily handled by the Patriots in the AFC Championship game in year 1. They haven’t made the playoffs the past 2 seasons, and this year looks to be the third, with Denver in firm commande of the AFC West. Any window that the core of the Chargers had for winning a title got promptly slammed shut when they fired Schottenheimer and brought in Turner. That was the kiss of death. The only reason Norv still has a job is that franchise is in San Diego, where the locals have more to focus on than the Chargers. If they were in Pittsburgh, Boston, New York…Norv would have been gone a while ago, or more probably, never even hired.
Sorry, I meant Tigers…not Eagles. They have that weird War Eagle chant thing, but I had a mis-fire in my brain thinking of the Auburn Eagles from Riner. Though, to be honest, the Auburn Tigers of the SEC played about like a high school this year…
Maybe Mr. O’Brien will head back to Boston College where winning 7 games is good enough!
Thanks Tom. Fixed now. Our standings had Ravens at 8-2 but they’re actually 9-2.
RP — Georgia Tech can apply for bowl eligibility (and almost certainly will get it) at 6-7 like UCLA did a few years back. If you go under .500 because of a loss in the league title game you’re typically excused.
Aaron,
Any word on the temperature of the seat that Paul Johnson is sitting on?
Aaron, it would be idiotic for the NCAA to approve GT’s eligibility if they passed the legislation ending waivers for 6-7. If the NCAA granted the waivers, then they are the most stupid organizations on the face of the earth next to the United Nations.
What would have been the point behind passin the legislation banning 6-7 teams from participating in the bowl games? Are the NCAA that spineless?
Face it, the ACC sucks as a conference. It is turning into the next generation big least.
Another thing: why the eff is Georgia tech filing the waiver now? Are they waving the white flag before playing the ACCCG? LOL. Maybe that would be the smartest thing Pauline Johnson has done…
Tech should go to the Idaho Potato Bowl because there a bunch of SPUDS
Even if GT were to win the ACCCG, I cannot imagine the orange bowl being thrilled to host them, but because they are contractually obliged to take them based on being the ACC champ, Pauline Johnson’s bowl record is as bad as Beamer. I would imagine that the orange bowl executives are rooting hard for FSU to win in Charlotte. FSU is an attractive prize and GT is not.
Where is the Russell Athletic Bowl? You mentioned Nashville as the destination for the other bowl, but not the location of the Russell Bowl.
Russell Athletic Bowl is in Orlando. Formerly the Champs Sports Bowl.
Trevor, they apply for the waiver now for the convenience of the Bowl selection committees. Bowl pairings will be announced within hours of the end of the games this weekend. If they wait until all the results are known it could be too late after.
The only Bowl Game I would consider is the Sun Bowl because of proximity. I would always go to a convenient location to see VT play.
Oh, and BTW, I still don;t know how good our hoops team is but after watching them on ESPN3 I have to say that this group is fun to watch. It just looks to me like they are having fun, too. I like the up tempo style Johnson has installed. We may be good, or bad, but we won’t be boring.
In reading all of the above I can easily say with out a doubt that mediocrity has set in in Blacksburg, Va. It was bound to happen and rightly so that it happens now. Maybe Beamer will get an look see from Auburn or someplace else. Who knows maybe Tech’s worries will be over if that happens.
Another conference championship that don’t make sense is the pac12. Stanford and UCLA meets again in back to back weekend. I guess maybe nobody really wanted to be the king of west coast. The conference championship game that makes sense is the SEC. Alabama and Georgia going at it like two heavyweight boxers. Awesome tv rating right there.
The ACC? LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL. LOL.
The PAC 12? LOL. LOL.
The b1g? Oh who cares!
Do not be surprised if VT ends up in Atlanta at the Chik-Fila Bowl. A lot will depend on the SEC rep. If it winds up being South Carolina, then they will bypass Clemson and go with Virginia Tech. As bad as it sounds, behind the second place teams in Florida and South Carolina, VT is the next best attraction from the ACC. Guess Saturday should have put to rest about the rumors of teams going to the ACC.
Excuse me, I mean rumors about ACC teams going to the SEC
AMc, the NCAA has a priority ranking system for the waivers. GaTech is in the 3rd grouping, behind about a half dozen miscellaneous mid-major teams. They might get put on the waiting list, but not make it into the nightclub, so to speak. It’s not the given it has been in prior seasons.
Aaron, anyone who gives Grienke 6 yrs 150 million, overpaid for him by about 70 million. I remember a few years back when he would not accept a trade or sign with the Yankees because of anxiety issues. No way I would give a right handed pitcher 25 mil a year who has a weak stomach and shies from the moment. That is a salary in the range for a dominant ace, which he is not. Hes not even among the top 10 for right handed starters.
1) Verlander
2) King Felix
3) Jered Weaver (no way the Angels pay Grienke more than their ace)
4) Strasburg
5) Cain
6) Halladay
7) Lincecum
8) Wainwright
9) James Shields
10) either Darvish, Josh Johnson, or Scherzer
Actually, CR, Georgia Tech can apply for a waiver if they lose to FSU because of the seventh loss coming in a conference championship game. Further, were there not already 70 bowl-eligible teams, Wake Forest could have applied for a waiver due to their top-5 APR score despite being 5-7. As for these other schools that are “lesser known”, a number of them are 6-6 and the bowls are contractually obligated to take their conference tie-in first.
Here are all of the teams that get bowl eligible this weekend with a win and all of the teams that are 6-6 and bowl eligible.
Eligible with a win:
Pittsburgh (vs. Rutgers)
Connecticut (vs. Louisville)
Georgia Tech (vs. FSU, Orange Bowl berth)
6-5 and 6-6 teams already eligible
Virginia Tech
Iowa State
WVU (6-5)
Baylor (6-5)
Michigan State
Purdue
Southern Methodist
Rice
Central Michigan
Air Force
Mississippi
Of this list, at least one and at most four will not go to a bowl game, and only if Pitt, UConn, and Georgia Tech all become bowl eligible.
Here are the conference tie ins and number of eligible teams as of today:
ACC ———— 8 bids, 5 eligible (6 with Georgia Tech waiver)
Big East ——- 6 bids, 4 eligible (6 with Pitt and UConn)
Big Ten ——– 8 bids, 7 eligible
Big 12 ——— 8 bids, 9 eligible
Conference USA – 6 bids, 5 eligible
Independents — 3 eligible. Navy likely to Military Bowl, BYU likely to Armed Forces Bowl, Notre Dame likely to BCS title game
MAC ———— 3 bids, 7 eligible.
Mountain West — 5 bids, 5 eligible
Pac 12 ——— 7 bids, 8 eligible
SEC ———— 10 bids, 9 eligible
Sun Belt ——- 2 bids, 5 eligible
WAC ———— 1 bid, 5 eligible
TL;DR – if a team is going to miss a bowl game, it’ll be a 6-6 Central Michigan or a Sun Belt or WAC team, not a 6-6 team from any of the AQ Conferences or the Mountain West. Heck, 5 conferences can’t even fill all their bowl bids and four of those are the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big East.
Incidentally, I started that post at 9am but work has kept me busy and I just finished it. >.>
As big as a disappointment as the football ACC has been this year it wouldn’t surprise me if GT knocks off FSU to be the ACC’s rep in the Orange Bowl….would be par for the course. And the fact that the Hokies had them (FSU) beat and let them get away says to me it could happen. And the Seminoles lost to NC State…yep, I see the ACC rep being the stumblin’ wreck from Georgia Tech
Aaron, on the UCLA-GT losing record eligibility, wasn’t the reason UCLA was granted it (last year) because they were needed to be in the pool to fill out the over abundance of mediocre bowls?
I know for this year, there is something out there on the NCAA website that lays out the ‘contingency’ plan, where anybody with a 5-7 record could have made it, if they had a high APR, but I think that, along with the 6-7 ‘waiver’ (which was basically prioritized in the pecking order) goes away if there are 70 bowl eligible teams.
Here is a Wikipedia entry on the 6-7 record thing, and the whole process, in general.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012%E2%80%9313_NCAA_football_bowl_games
Looks like it all or nothing for GT, because if this thing is right, there are 70 eligible teams now for the 70 eligible slots.
I see where tickets to the ACC Championship game are going for around $100. You take the tickets and you get $100!
ACC football has been awful. If I was Frank Beamer I would want no part of Vandy because no doubt if they were in the ACC they would be a one or two loss team. People are so frustrated with Mike London I think he should be on the hot seat. He is an awful game day coach. Good recruiter and good with the players but he has made some very bad decisions.
Hmm…Seems like there’s no consensus right now on GT. Even the AJC is hedging, although appears GT’s AD told Paul Johnson they’re definitely going bowling. See if this post helps clarify at all.
From the AJC’s Ken Sigiura about 20 minutes ago:
I’ve read that Tech is not be bowl eligible at 6-7 and that the waiver that UCLA received last year will not be granted. BCS guru Jerry Palm tweeted it, for instance. I don’t believe that to be the case, largely because, as I’ve written, Tech, ACC and bowl officials all expect the waiver to be granted. The other reason is that the NCAA process instituted that addresses 6-7 teams that lose their championship game was put in place for a situation in which there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams.
As I understand it, because there are enough bowl-eligible teams, there isn’t a need to use the protocol that could potentially keep Tech out. It’s conceivable that the waiver could be denied, but on a teleconference Sunday night, coach Paul Johnson said that acting athletic director Paul Griffin told him that Tech will go to a bowl.
Here’s the “pool” thing CR mentioned.
“Under the process approved Thursday, if a bowl has one or more conferences/teams unable to meet their contractual commitments and there are no available bowl-eligible teams, the open spots can be filled – by the bowl sponsoring agencies – as follows”
How can anyone “misinterpret” or interpret in any other way the phrase “no available bowl-eligible teams?”
If GT is granted a waiver, a a mid-major gets left out that is eligible, the first game that will be played is the Court Bowl, because there will be a lawsuit.
The NCAA’s solution to the bowl situation is simple – de-certify about 10 of them, AND, not allow teams to self-sanction, and cherry pick the years they want to sit out, because they don’t think they’ll get a “good” bowl.
It seems like some of the GT faithful in admin & the media, are not looking at the decision SINCE the waiver granted to UCLA. The logic of – ‘Well, UCLA got one last year’ is out the window. This weekend, enough additional teams won their 6th game to bump GaTech further back in line. If I’m not mistaken, there are six more teams that could bump them further on Saturday.
To use March madness parlance, they’re outside the bubble looking in…
Don’t be totally shocked if GT bursts that ” bubble” by upsetting the Seminoles this weekend. You heard it here first folks.
Sugiura is looking at the bowl eligibility waiver from the wrong side. It’s not about making a team INeligible, it is about making them eligible. They’ve got to have at least a 6-6 record to be eligible, as in .500. Then comes the other factors. GaTech’s loss to F$U will put them back outside, and there are enough teams eligible already, so the waiver is pointless.
All that being said, this is the NCAA, so GaTech better hope they have enough name appeal to get the rule ‘overlooked’.
Hdad, I would love nothing more this bowl season than to see GaTech win the ACCCG, then get to play Kent State in the Orange Bowl, promptly getting crushed. It would be so fitting.
One has to wonder what kind of subjectivity comes into play in the decision. GT runs an ancient and boring offense. They don’t put many fannies in the seats, even at Dodd stadium. Their recent record in bowls is pretty bad.
Jus sayin…..
Purdue and Colorado also recently fired their coaches. Colorado was a train wreck going 1-11 this year, but Purdue crushed their in-state rival to get bowl-eligible for the second straight season, first sime since 2006-2007 that has happened.
Tech needs to decline going to a bowl, fire the offensive staff and hire a new one so recruits know what they are getting. The bowl streak doesn’t matter, the past is past, time to start rebuilding before it is too late.
I mentioned several days ago that Georgia Tech will beat FSU and I still think so. After watching FSU against NC State and VT, there is nothing that convinces me that GT can’t win that game. VT and South Carolina would be a great matchup or VT and USC. Either game would bring the Hokie fans to the stadium, don’t be surprised if VT has a great bowl turnout. Next year’s Coastal finish will be: Miami, UNC, GT, VT, Duke, BC and UVA.
No bowl in their right mind would pass up a SC-Clemson rematch. That’s a big money winner no matter where it is played. I think GT is guaranteed a bowl bid for playing for the ACC championship.
One bad season and Hokies start calling for coach’s heads. Sheesh.
Am I the only Hokie who considers a bowl game to be beneath us this year? Out standards should be much higher. It ain’t gonna be warm in Nashville next month. Better stay home and work on getting better for next year, when the Hokies announced they are moving to the SEC.
Not all the Hokie’s are like that Henry.
loosek — Even if Frank felt that way (he doesn’t — “No such thing as a bad bowl,” etc.), wouldn’t the best way to get better for next year be to accept the bowl bid and the several weeks of extra practices that come with it?
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but turning down bowl bids isn’t like turning down the CBI or CIT in basketball, where there’s likely a financial benefit to be gained by your school not going. Don’t see the downside to accepting lower-tier bowls myself.
I’m with HUNTERS dad….i just bet .1K on G Tech.
As far as V Tech declining a bowl bid, right. When piggies fly….they need that money loss.
Uh, go …hokies.
One thing about the UCLA deal from last year was that they weren’t supposed to be in the conference championship but had to because USC was inelligible. In a normal year, UCLA would have finished 6-6 and went bolwing anyway. Since the conference made them bypass the actual division winner (USC) they assisted in the application of the waiver.
Oh and BTW since the two higher rated teams in the ACC Coastal this year are both inelligible for the Championship game, GT is in basically the same boat as UCLA was last year.
Being a resident of South Carolina, I can tell you that there is no desire for a South Carolina-Clemson rematch. If there had been drama in that game, maybe. But with Carolina beating Clemson on their home field with a back-up quarterback, it has taken off any luster for a rematch
AM, The down side to going bowling with this team is keeping bad coaches on the payroll another month. Not that they won’t still be on the payroll next year unless someone overrules Beamer and Weaver.
Aaron, I doubt that, in this era of conference bowl tie-ins, anybody has EVER turned down a bowl, unless they had a reason (a la Miami).
I could be wrong, but it’d be conference suicide if one did, because the conference sets up the number of guaranteed bids, and, most likely, there is something in the conference by-laws that says you can’t turn them down.
Last team I remember turning something down was Notre Dame, and it was most likely due to the fact they’d lose money on the deal, at the time.
Tech to the SEC omg they would get killed. They don’t have the talent or coaching to beat even there worse team. No please go there so Beamer will be on hot seat were he should be now due to loyalty to underachieving coaches.
tech is were they should of been last year. Playing in a minor bowl and not going to a BCS bowl after getting beat by the same team twice. Who knows, I would like them to play Vanderbilt. Vandy is hungry and excited and will be ready to go. Most fans would go to just get to go to Nashville. We might be surprised again and wake up and find them playing in the Sugar Bowl again.
Boise State, 52 and 3 over 4 years. Remember??
Go hokies!!!
Watched the UVA-VT game and cam away with some conclusions:
Neither team is very good
London is a great person but may not be a great coach
Tech once again lives up to it’s Thug U reputation with several cheap shots
Bowl desttinations for VT and GT shouldn’t even be a topic of discussion. Neither team should be going bowling. There are way too many bowls with too many undeserving teams. That’s why bowl streaks are now a joke. Ten years ago even a 7-4 record was no guarantee on bowling, even in the major conferences. There was a season back in the 80′s when VT went 9-2 (I think) and didn’t get any consideration from a bowl. That team, even though it probably played a weak schedule, was more deserving than this year’s team.
If you base the decision of whether or not a team deserves to go bowling on the won/loss record, I have to agree there are alot of teams that should be staying home, and as a Hokie fan I’d put Tech at the top of that list after this season. But as mere fans, I don’t think any of us can appreciate the amount of time, hard work and effort that these young men (some of them just 18-19 year old kids) have to put into being a member of their football team. It’s not just a few months out of the year either, it’s a full time-year round job that they have to balance with the rest of their college lives to try to be successful on the field and in the classroom. If most of them see a low tier bowl game as a small reward for all those efforts and hard work I don’t begrudge them that at all. After watching my son work his butt off since January in the weight room and conditioning drills in preparation for this fall’s high school football season, and then trying to balance the workload of school work with it after school started in August I can appreciate the amount of time and effort it must take from an individual at the college level. If they find some type of reward in playing in the Tidy-Bowl after a long, tough, somewhat dissapointing season I say let them play.
That’s a really good point, Huntersdad. This ain’t the NFL. I know we treat it that way sometimes (myself included), but I don’t get the argument that these guys should somehow be punished for not meeting the standards set by their predecessors and forced to stay home.
I hardly think a lukewarm crowd on a cold night in Nashville is a “reward” by any definition of the word. These guys get to play in a sold out and off-the-hook Lane Stadium all year. Music City will be a HUGE letdown. Stay home, save money, get better.
Raise your hand if you made the trip down to Shreveport for the ’84 Independence Bowl. Keep your hand raised if that trip is a memory that you will cherish forever. Thought so.