A postseason possibility: Russell Athletic Bowl
There are four possible bowl destinations for the Hokies this postseason — the Russell Athletic, Sun, Belk and Music City bowls. I wrote about the possibilities in today’s paper here.
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A lot might depend on what exactly the NCAA decides to do with Georgia Tech, which has filed a waiver to be eligible even if it loses the ACC title game to Florida State and falls to 6-7. Problem is, the NCAA explicitly states where 6-7 championship game losers fit on the bowl pecking order. And it’s not favorable for the Yellow Jackets, since there are already enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots this year. (This new rule was written in after UCLA filed for a waiver and got it last year). So it could be a BCS-or-bust situation for them.
But, how the NCAA rules is anybody’s guess. And reading up on stuff from the Georgia Tech side, school officials seems confident the waiver will be granted. So everyone will have to wait to see how that plays out. In the meantime — and yes, this is a blatant way to get some free blog posts in a down week — I’ll take a look at each of the Hokies’ possible bowl destinations this week, starting with …
Russell Athletic Bowl
** Where: Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Fla.
** When: Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
** In ACC bowl pecking order: No. 3
** Hokies history at bowl: Never been
** Possible opponent: The Big East’s No. 2 selection. There is still a scenario where the Big East can have a four-way tie for champion between Rutgers (5-1), Syracuse (5-2), ,Louisville (4-2) and Cincinnati (4-2). But Rutgers and Louisville play each other this week, with the winner earning the league’s automatic berth to a BCS game, so that’s pretty clear. The loser falls into a group of teams who could go to Orlando, along with Syracuse and Cincinnati. The Bearcats would not be attractive if the Hokies are involved, since the two played in the regular season and bowls prefer to avoid rematches. Syracuse is 7-5 overall, so it might not be the most attractive team. The most likely scenario is that the loser of Rutgers-Louisville, who would still be 9-3 overall, would get picked for this game.
** ACC competition: It comes down to N.C. State, Georgia Tech and possibly Duke. The Yellow Jackets, as I mentioned in the story at the top of this post, would need a waiver to be approved to play in a bowl game at 6-7. Even then, they wouldn’t be attractive for the game, being under .500 and having lost two straight games. Also, if Georgia Tech is eligible, Duke couldn’t be selected for this game, since the Blue Devils, at 3-5 in the league, aren’t within the “one-win” rule for selection. N.C. State or Virginia Tech could be selected ahead of a 5-3 Georgia Tech, since they both went 4-4 in league play. If the Yellow Jackets upset FSU in the ACC title game, there’s no choice for the bowl. It will be required to take FSU or Clemson, whichever team the Chick-fil-A Bowl passes on.
** Pros for Virginia Tech: The Hokies have never been to the Russell Athletic Bowl (formerly the Champs Sports, formerly the Tangerine, formerly the MicronPC, formerly the Carquest, formerly the Blockbuster, formerly the Sunshine Classic). They’ve always been slightly above the bowl in the selection process since joining the ACC. This could be a year for the bowl to get the Hokies. Going to a new place might invigorate a fan base that doesn’t figure to be very motivated to travel this postseason. The biggest competition, N.C. State, just fired coach Tom O’Brien, so who knows if that will play into the bowl’s decision? Plus, the Wolfpack have played in this bowl five times in its 22-year history, including as recently as two years ago, when it beat West Virginia 23-7. Would the N.C. State fan base really be motivated to travel there again so soon?
** Cons for Virginia Tech: N.C. State finished 7-5 this season. Virginia Tech was only 6-6. That might not sound like a big difference, but sometimes bowls prefer to take a team with a winning record, just for appearance’s sake.
** Flight price (leaving Dec. 27, coming back Dec. 29, per Orbitz): From Roanoke — $572, from Norfolk — $482, from Newport News — $521, from Lynchburg — $485, from Richmond — $446, from D.C. — $530, from Greensboro — $404.
** Roadtrippin’ it? 696 miles from Blacksburg to Orlando. 11 hours, 41 minutes, according to Google maps.
** Tourist attraction of note: Disney World, of course.
** Beat writer happiness level: High. It’s a warm-weather location, which is always a plus. Playing the game so close to Christmas isn’t ideal, nor is a 5:30 p.m. start time, which makes for a tougher deadline that you would think. A possible Rutgers or Louisville matchup would be intriguing, though.
** Follow on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RussellAthBowl
November 27, 2012 - 10:36 AM
How much does the Russell pay out Andy? Not that it matters of course…I guess it all goes into the kiddie and it’s divvied up.
Did Disney World with the family several years ago. Left B’burg the day after Christmas and drove to Orlando. Had a four-day pass to Disney and went knowing it would be crowded (some people didn’t understand that and complained about all the crowds and long lines). We just went with the flow and had fun — New Year’s Eve at Epcot was pretty spectacular. It could be that a crowded Disney World will be more of an attraction (and maybe more fun) than another VT beat-down in a bowl game.
$2.275 million per team. Sun is $2 million. Belk is $1.7 million. Music City is $1.8375 million.
But you’re right, that just goes into the ACC pool to get divided among the league’s 12 teams.
This is the bowl game where Tech fans stop coming for sure. I saw for myself in New Orleans that a bunch stopped coming to bowl games, without the camera view from television… I was in the Superdome. The only message that can be sent is fans dressed up as empty seats.
Play their bowl game in shreveport, la.. we will find out who wants to watch this hokies team rather than use the venue to do other things like we did in the big easy.
If the Hokies end up in Orlando that could be very positive for the Hokie Nation travelers, as noted earlier about Disney World, Orlando Magic, Sea World and Holy Land USA. If VT got the Sugar Bowl last year above 10 – 15 better deserving teams, they can certainly get this one over Georgia Tech if GT falls to FSU. Like or hate the Hokies, they stir up lots of anxiety, tension and polarization amony football fans. People love to see them lose and love to see them in bowl games because they know VT is going to lose.
At “6-6″ and playing in the pathetically weak “ACC” – STAY HOME!!!!
Barry from Ivy, to your point, my point…Virginia Tech needs a venue with more than the game going on to draw what it draws. Donors and contributors need to emand more from this program.
Takes me 8 hours Floyd, Va to Daytona Fl if I’m by myself. Go Hokies, have fun, let it all hang out, use everybody, throw the ball, try something different, don’t be vanilla, let this one just be a “game”. Wait till next year, Beamer will be back, Hokies will be back.
I’m most certainly not going to the bowl game. I had to talk myself into going to the last two home games after the pathetic start we had. If not for the opponents being FSU and our in-state rival, I would have skipped those.
Also, I’m (as well as a number of folks I know) am giving serious consideration to letting my season tickets go. I just can’t justify giving what I give every season (donation+ticket price) for a program that doesn’t seem willing to take the steps to be top tier. If there are no coaching changes after this season, I’ll be giving up my season tickets and won’t regret it, even after we get back to our goal of “10 wins and a bowl loss.”
Another factor in my willingness to let go of my season tickets is this: have you seen our home schedule over the next two seasons? There’s not a game on there that I’d be willing to pay face value for if not buying in my season ticket package.
2013: Western Carolina, Marhsall, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Boston College
2014: William & Mary, East Carolina, Western Michigan, Duke, Ga Tech, Virginia
This coming season would be my tenth as a season ticket holder (started the year I graduated from VT). I assumed I’d be a season ticket holder for my entire adult life, but this season and the unwillingness to improve (see: hire a real OC and a real special teams coach) have caused me to give serious consideration to just scalping a few tickets to select games off techsideline.com.
Charles—the Hokies will be back for sure but do the math based on this year. They finish 3rd in the Coastal at best, and that is if Logan Thomas moves to TE.
Good for the team to be able to play in a bowl somewhere. Good for the players as well. As for me, I will not be there, even Orlando. There has been so much mediocrity this year on offense. The Quarterbacking has been so inconsistent, and may I say, bad. It is not worth the cost and disappointment for fans to go to a chump bowl. Again, good for the players, but on this one I will watch it on the TV.
I don’t go to Hokie football games despite living in Blacksburg and I’ve never been to a bowl game but even I probably would go to this game. Everyone is out of school and out of work that week.
Plus I have a free place to stay in Orlando.
Why would anyone want to go to a mediocre bowl game when they can witness their team getting trounced on HD TV? Save the money and take a trip to the Bahamas.
A 6&6 team in a bowl game shows that the bowl games are all about money. Tech does not deserve any bowl game. The bowl committees try to pick the ones they think will bring in the money. There are a lot better teams than Tech that will be overlooked. I guess they will try to find Tech an easy opponent. They should have a bowl game for teams like Tech and call it the Cupcake Bowl. Plain and simple bowl games should be for teams with winning records that have got those wins by playing good teams not cupcakes like Tech lines up every year.
I hope we play Radford or Va, Western Community so we can win. The offensive coaches we have might beat them. Maybe we can play Blacksburg High. No wait they have better offensive coaches then us. Come on Santa bring me some new offensive coaches.
Kirk, Beamer could use some in-game coaching tips from the William Byrd High School Head coach. too bad he has to play them next season with that tough out of conference schedule..lol
How about the Toilet Bowl for the Hokies.
That’s how they played.
Do not deserve a bowl game – in spite of their wins over Austin Peay and Bowling Green.
Orlando is a great place to visit. Check Allegiant Air out of Roanoke for cheap flight to Sanford/Orlando Airport. You’re there in 1 hour 25 mins. I’ve made the flight several times.
Hey all you hokie haters, find something else to bitch about. We understand that it’s been a bad year. The kids deserve some support and thanks for all they go through to play, including serious injury. I always thought that tech had great fans. I am not seeing it on these blogs. Give them a break, I bet most of the haters never played any varsity sport. Do you treat your kids the same way, if they have a tough season? Get over yourselves . The short coach
mark r,
sorry to inform you but your comments you posted at 12:28 pm today are 100% wrong. Bryan Stinespring was never the team photographer. That’s b.s. Stinespring began at VT as a Graduate Assistant coach in the early 90′s and has always been a coach. Go back and read your 92 media guide again. Also, VT’s offense is not ranked 90th in the nation in total offense over the last 10 years. If so, let’s hear where you got that data.
Come on mark r, if you are that determined to beat down Stinespring, at least use accurate info. If you are a credible person, you will re-post and admit you were wrong. But I’m not expecting that.
you guys are creepy.
Hokies not going to the Toilet Bowl, like them or hate them, they bring the fans in. This is all about $$$$$$; that is how they ended up in the Sugar Bugar Bowl last year. VT and Michigan were actually two pretty bad teams to be in a BCS Bowl but money does talk.
Barry, please find a hobby other than inhabiting the blog of a team you dislike. It’s really weird.
What makes the other 6-6 teams “deserve” a Bowl Game? 35 Bowls, 71 eligible teams. Maybe 72. I believe there are 124 teams that could qualify. Some not great teams are going to go.
If we are selected we deserve to go.
If I am weird, I am in great company on this blog site. My insight is of the utmost importance, I have been correct 90% of the time in my predictions and analysis.
Sounds exciting.. 6-6 scrubs.
I’m just wondering which of the bitchy pseudonyms above is actually crooked road.
Eight posts in the span of 17 minutes? check.
Whiny, negative comments? check.
Irrelevant, random facts that are so off-base that it makes the comment ridiculous?
OK, CR, remove the mask.
And RW, I’ll take those season tix off your hands.
Lookie here at this stat: The six teams that the hokies beat this year have a combined NINE (9) wins against BCS conference teams (that’s an average of 1.5 wins a piece). What’s worse, four of these wins came against each other– Georgia Tech beat Duke, Virginia, and BC; and Duke beat Virginia.
If Tech played in the SEC, we would have went 0-8 (unless Kentucky was on the schedule).
Andy, have you or any other reporters asked Beamer if he planned on making changes to the offensive staff?
Most of you are pitiful fans – Go get another team to Bitch about – You grip about recruiting 4 and 5 Star players – Do you really think that want to come and play for a School with fans that are NEVER, yes NEVER satisfied with anything or anyone!
Get A Life or better yet another team -
I bet 75% of you that talk about not going to any bowl we play in this year have never been to one -
Why would a five star player come to a place where the head coach brags about mediocrity?
It is obvious to every objective observer that the offense is poorly coached. Has been for years.
I have been a Tech fan for decades. But enough is enough.
Virginia Tech will be in a bowl game, that is just the way that it is.
Accept it, and either go to the game or watch it on television, but accept it.
Another season like this one, with the same coaches,and there will be lots of room for complaints. And deserved.
The ACC has gotten so bad that tickets for the championship game in Charlotte are selling for as little as $4.00 I think the Tech bowl game will be the same and it will continue to get worse until something is done to get a good OC. Keep Foster and clean the house on the O side of the ball.
You tell um bob and frank ! Go hokies, but please leave those turkey helmets at home. See you in Orlando , my fam can’t wait to drag me to dizzy world. The short coach
I really hope the West Virginia Dog Catchers Bowl gets its due profile on the blog.
I might have to do a special profile just on that.
Legitimate question, Andy — when calculating bowl costs before handing over the rest of the cash to the conference, do the bonuses paid to everyone connected to VT’s visit play into that? Or do the large sums of money handed to the coaches come from the athletic budget? or from the Hokie Club? It just rankles a lot of people that a lot of people are handed extra cash just for doing their jobs, while everyone else on campus has been under a pay freeze for the past four years. A 3% “bonus” doesn’t really help, especially lots of the lower-paid support staff — 3% of not much is nothing, while 3% of $350,000 (Stinespring’s salary) is about half of what some people make in a year.
Sometimes schools put that into their bowl expenses from an accounting perspective.
But that’s just semantics. All the athletic department money counts the same. The budget is the budget, and Hokie club money, TV money, ACC money, ticket money all goes into that pool.
Here is a large part of the reason Va Tech is not a top team.
Nick Saban salary $5,476,738.00
Alabama’s Recruiting budget $980,882.00
Virginia Tech’s Recruiting budget — $243,513.00
Frank Beamer salary $2.3 million.
Love the Hokies, but untill we spend what the big boys spend, we will just be average.