Bowl talk?
November 04, 2008
A poster commented on a post on the second page asking me what I think Troy’s bowl situation would be if my scenario played out and Troy lost to ULL but finished 7-5.
Part of me now thinks Arkansas State will give Troy a much tougher challenge than ULL because Troy can score on ULL if it’s got all its weapons - i.e. Jernigan - and is still healthy across the rest of the board. Can the Trojans stop ULL? That’s the big question, but Troy running backs have absolutely lit up ULL the past two seasons.
With the rest of this, I’m assuming a win over Western Kentucky and a loss to LSU. You remember that the conference champ goes to New Orleans (and that’s the way Troy players are still talking - win out, go to New Orleans). The SBC has secondary tie-ins with the St. Pete Bowl and Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham) and Independence (Shreveport), but St. Pete and Birmingham have higher priority with SBC teams than Indy Bowl if a spot from the main conferences are not filled.
If Troy wins out in conference, beating ULL and ASU, Trojans go to New Orleans.
If Troy loses to ULL and beats ASU, best bet is Birmingham because the SEC won’t fill that spot.
If Troy beats ULL but loses to ASU, best bet is still probably Birmingham.
Other options would be St. Pete Bowl and Independence, because likely the SEC won’t fill that berth (Independence) either. I think Troy would sell many more tickets in Birmingham and ASU or ULL more tickets in Shreveport. The St. Pete Bowl relies on the Big East and CUSA not to fill, and that will probably fill up.
That’s all just me talking above, no concrete facts. Basically, if Troy’s in New Orleans, it’s a more fun trip for you guys and the players but against a team not as good. Birmingham is, well, Birmingham and Legion Field, but Troy would play a better team from the Big East, most likely.
It’s fun speculation, but Troy’s got to take care of business first. Trojans might want to start becoming FAU fans for the next few weeks because FAU also plays ULL and ASU and has the talent to beat them both.
