All In All, A Good Bowl Game For The Gamecocks
posted by Scott Hood, Friday, December 04, 2009
Last year at this time, USC backed its way into the Outback Bowl in the wake of the dismal road performances at Florida and Clemson. So, even though they probably didn’t entirely deserve their good fortune with a 7-5 record, the Gamecocks played in a New Year’s Day Bowl in sun-splashed Florida.
What the college football gods giveth, they taketh away as well.
Did USC deserve a better bowl this year? Probably. But, with six 7-5 and no 6-6 teams in the SEC, somebody had to go to Birmingham.
Since it’s on the bottom rung of the SEC bowl ladder, most people presume the Papajohns.com Bowl is the “worst” bowl game. Frankly, I’d rather be playing in the afternoon (2 p.m. ET kickoff) in Birmingham on Jan. 2 than being in Shreveport or in Nashville two days after Christmas playing at night in freezing temperatures.
Is the so-called Pizza Bowel a "great" bowl? Probably not. USC is certainly not going to get rich with the $300,000 payout. But is it a good bowl? Absolutely. The best aspect of playing in a bowl game is the extra practice a team gets in December, anyway.
Bottom line, is there really a difference between the Papajohns.com, Independence, Liberty and Music City Bowls? I doubt it.
So, once the Chick-fil-A Bowl ruled out USC, it became a matter of going to a bowl with the most favorable matchup.
I can assure you Steve Spurrier isn’t complaining about his team playing in Birmingham. With a young team coming off possibly the biggest win of his five-year tenure, the HBC desperately wants to polish off this season with an eighth win for confidence purposes.
For a school that has won eight or more games in a single season just eight times in the last 105 years, the opportunity to reach that sometimes elusive plateau should not be taken lightly. Spurrier knows that capping off the most successful decade in school history with an eighth win in a bowl game is important for a program striving to crack the upper echelon of the SEC.
It would also give the Gamecocks a serious chunk of momentum going into winter workouts and spring practice, not to mention sell a few more 2010 season tickets. Eric Hyman likes that.
I’m sure the good folks at the Papajohns.com Bowl are thrilled to have a seven-win SEC team competing in their fairly new bowl game for the first time, and they get a team with ferociously loyal fans.
Granted, Birmingham isn’t a tourist mecca unless you want to take a group tour of a steel mill or spend a lot of time at the mall at the same hotel where SEC Media Days are held each July.
But it’s a place any loyal Gamecock fan should be willing to spend a couple of days over New Years. Birmingham is an easy five-hour drive from Columbia.
Legion Field is one of the best-known facilities in all of college football. It was the site of the first two SEC Championship games (1992-1993), as well as about 40 Iron Bowl battles between Alabama and Auburn until the late 1980’s when the series switched to the on-campus facilities. It then fell into disrepair before renovations started that included the upper deck being demolished.
Which Big East team will USC play? Until Thursday, conventional wisdom said either UConn or South Florida. But then word spread that Pittsburgh could end up facing USC if they lost to Cincinnati in the de facto Big East Championship game on Saturday.
The Panthers would unquestionably offer a stiff challenge with spectacular freshman running back Dion Lewis (1,446 yards) and a powerful offensive line. But it’s certainly something USC has seen before having faced eight difficult opponents in the physically-imposing this season.
Based on what I’ve seen from Pittsburgh this season, USC would enjoy a significant speed advantage.
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I know some Gamecock fans were hoping for a spot in the Chick-fil-A Bowl or Music City Bowl following the huge win over bitter rival Clemson, but the Papajohns.com Bowl will do just fine. This year.
Last year at this time, USC backed its way into the Outback Bowl in the wake of the dismal road performances at Florida and Clemson. So, even though they probably didn’t entirely deserve their good fortune with a 7-5 record, the Gamecocks played in a New Year’s Day Bowl in sun-splashed Florida.
What the college football gods giveth, they taketh away as well.
Did USC deserve a better bowl this year? Probably. But, with six 7-5 and no 6-6 teams in the SEC, somebody had to go to Birmingham.
Since it’s on the bottom rung of the SEC bowl ladder, most people presume the Papajohns.com Bowl is the “worst” bowl game. Frankly, I’d rather be playing in the afternoon (2 p.m. ET kickoff) in Birmingham on Jan. 2 than being in Shreveport or in Nashville two days after Christmas playing at night in freezing temperatures.
Is the so-called Pizza Bowel a "great" bowl? Probably not. USC is certainly not going to get rich with the $300,000 payout. But is it a good bowl? Absolutely. The best aspect of playing in a bowl game is the extra practice a team gets in December, anyway.
Bottom line, is there really a difference between the Papajohns.com, Independence, Liberty and Music City Bowls? I doubt it.
So, once the Chick-fil-A Bowl ruled out USC, it became a matter of going to a bowl with the most favorable matchup.
I can assure you Steve Spurrier isn’t complaining about his team playing in Birmingham. With a young team coming off possibly the biggest win of his five-year tenure, the HBC desperately wants to polish off this season with an eighth win for confidence purposes.
For a school that has won eight or more games in a single season just eight times in the last 105 years, the opportunity to reach that sometimes elusive plateau should not be taken lightly. Spurrier knows that capping off the most successful decade in school history with an eighth win in a bowl game is important for a program striving to crack the upper echelon of the SEC.
It would also give the Gamecocks a serious chunk of momentum going into winter workouts and spring practice, not to mention sell a few more 2010 season tickets. Eric Hyman likes that.
I’m sure the good folks at the Papajohns.com Bowl are thrilled to have a seven-win SEC team competing in their fairly new bowl game for the first time, and they get a team with ferociously loyal fans.
Granted, Birmingham isn’t a tourist mecca unless you want to take a group tour of a steel mill or spend a lot of time at the mall at the same hotel where SEC Media Days are held each July.
But it’s a place any loyal Gamecock fan should be willing to spend a couple of days over New Years. Birmingham is an easy five-hour drive from Columbia.
Legion Field is one of the best-known facilities in all of college football. It was the site of the first two SEC Championship games (1992-1993), as well as about 40 Iron Bowl battles between Alabama and Auburn until the late 1980’s when the series switched to the on-campus facilities. It then fell into disrepair before renovations started that included the upper deck being demolished.
Which Big East team will USC play? Until Thursday, conventional wisdom said either UConn or South Florida. But then word spread that Pittsburgh could end up facing USC if they lost to Cincinnati in the de facto Big East Championship game on Saturday.
The Panthers would unquestionably offer a stiff challenge with spectacular freshman running back Dion Lewis (1,446 yards) and a powerful offensive line. But it’s certainly something USC has seen before having faced eight difficult opponents in the physically-imposing this season.
Based on what I’ve seen from Pittsburgh this season, USC would enjoy a significant speed advantage.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.