What is the importance of a bowl game?

#1
Fine Vol

Fine Vol

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#1
Going to the Outback bowl is fine and I will be there but where does it rank as an important game? Is it just an important game for fans like you and me to see are beloved Vols one last time? Besides feeling good what is the upside of winning for the school besides money?
 
#3
#3
I imagine that beating a good team in a nationally televised game can't hurt recruiting. Plus the matchups between conferences help fuel the fire over who's the best. Last, I guess it's just kindof a way to say "job well done" to the players and fans. Go down, take a vacation, watch one last game.
 
#7
#7
finevol said:
Going to the Outback bowl is fine and I will be there but where does it rank as an important game? Is it just an important game for fans like you and me to see are beloved Vols one last time? Besides feeling good what is the upside of winning for the school besides money?
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"important" is probably the wrong word to describe non bcs bowls these days.

the BCS bowls have devalued all other bowl games. So from a national, respect, match up perspective, it garners very little if any for the program.

it is however, still noteworthy for the team to play in a bowl as a reward for a good season. it does render some recognition that you had success during the season. it does help in recruiting because you are generally playing in an area of the country you don't necessarily get to play in all the time, you are going to be on national tv and you are supposedly matched up against a team of similar quality from a different conference, wich could also help sway regional opionions of a particular school or conference.

and as already mentioned, it allows for extra practice for younger kids and allows some prep going in to spring and summer.

but is it important, as it relates to your season? no, not really, not anymore. the last time TN played in a bowl game like this that was "important" was in 96 when we played OSU in the citrus bowl. that was an important game. we won and finished 2nd in the nation that year...and set us up for 97 and in some respects 98 as well.

nowadays, it's a consolation prize at best. and you can thank the BCS for that.
 
#8
#8
Still beats the hell out of the alternative....like sitting at home.
 
#12
#12
VolinArizona said:
And nobody has said the only reason: money
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well, and in a non bcs game, most schools actually lose money on the trip after all the conf. splits etc....the sed though should do nicely with 9 teams playing in bowls and two in the BCS....revenue this year should be pretty darn impressive across the board in the SEC.
 
#19
#19
umm how bout a ton of money for the football department, national exposure, recruiting tool, post season rankings, bragging rights, another game to watch before the end of college football in 06..good way to compare our play level to another team with similar rankings..
 
#20
#20
texas_vol said:
umm how bout a ton of money for the football department, national exposure, recruiting tool, post season rankings, bragging rights, another game to watch before the end of college football in 06..good way to compare our play level to another team with similar rankings..
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and that's different from other replies how?

and if PSU is "similar" to UT this year, then we have problems.
 
#21
#21
geez, jake. i guess i should publically apologize for not reading he entire thread. does everyone in here just live to point out the obvious? or are we just at that time of year where we have nothing else to talk about?

similiar rankings doesnt mean similar schemes or players. i guess we have problems because PSU has out rushed Tenn. by a ton. Something UT prided themselves on was the ability to run the ball on any team.

ps. PSU has pwned UT the last few meetings. does that mean we have a chance to get whooped again by a lesser team? and their 8-4 record has their only losses to NDame, OSU, Michigan, Wisc and Tenn. :)

i guess lossing to Ark, LSU, Florida isnt comparable at all.
 
#22
#22
texas_vol said:
geez, jake. i guess i should publically apologize for not reading he entire thread. does everyone in here just live to point out the obvious? or are we just at that time of year where we have nothing else to talk about?

similiar rankings doesnt mean similar schemes or players. i guess we have problems because PSU has out rushed Tenn. by a ton. Something UT prided themselves on was the ability to run the ball on any team.

ps. PSU has pwned UT the last few meetings. does that mean we have a chance to get whooped again by a lesser team? and their 8-4 record has their only losses to NDame, OSU, Michigan, Wisc and Tenn. :)

i guess lossing to Ark, LSU, Florida isnt comparable at all.
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sorry for chopping your head off...probably uncalled for. bad morning over here.

as for PSU owning UT...the last meeting was 12 years ago...which would put some of our players ages at the time around 9 and 10 years old...so i don't care about that.

and i still don't know why people are so hung up on comparing who lost to whom (if this is wrong, i'm counting on AZ to correct me)...who did PSU beat?
compare that who we beat. i think we come out on top in that comparison.

i think my rationale is based on watching how PSU has played. our qb situation is much better than theirs, all in all our skill position players are better. Minus Derek Williams, who does PSU have that just scares you?

so if we are really comparable to PSU this year or on the same ground as PSU this year, we are in trouble, cause we aren't near as good as i think we are.
 
#23
#23
jakez4ut said:
and if PSU is "similar" to UT this year, then we have problems.
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Well, I'd say a team that can't run the ball or stop the run has problems...

I'm not sure why so many people think this game is such a mismatch. We're 9-3; they're 8-4. They're unranked, but we're only #17. We lost to the three teams on our schedule who are definitely better than us; Penn State lost to the four teams on their schedule who are better than them (OSU, Michigan, ND, Wisconsin -- three BCS teams and an 11-1 team). Penn State didn't beat anybody that's currently ranked, but we only beat one currently ranked team. We did beat five bowl-bound teams to their two, but all those bowls are Dec 29 or earlier, so it's not like these are especially good teams either TN or PS has beaten. I'd say that both teams have had pretty mediocre years.
 
#24
#24
Vercingetorix said:
Well, I'd say a team that can't run the ball or stop the run has problems...

I'm not sure why so many people think this game is such a mismatch. We're 9-3; they're 8-4. They're unranked, but we're only #17. We lost to the three teams on our schedule who are definitely better than us; Penn State lost to the four teams on their schedule who are better than them (OSU, Michigan, ND, Wisconsin -- three BCS teams and an 11-1 team). Penn State didn't beat anybody that's currently ranked, but we only beat one currently ranked team. We did beat five bowl-bound teams to their two, but all those bowls are Dec 29 or earlier, so it's not like these are especially good teams either TN or PS has beaten. I'd say that both teams have had pretty mediocre years.
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thank you. the thing that i think separates us and them in direct comparisons is the difference in the meat of the big ten vs. the meat of the SEC. going 9-3 in this year's SEC isn't as bad as going 8-4 in this year's Big 10.

everything else, i agree with.
 
#25
#25
Jake, you are correct. People always say "But Team X lost to Team Y as one of their losses." Who cares? It means a team failed better than others.

Penn State's best win is Purdue. In fact, here are PSU's wins comparatively to UT's wins:

Purdue < Cal
Minnesota < Georgia
Northwestern < S. Carolina
Michigan St < Kentucky
Akron < Alabama
Illinois < Vanderbilt
Temple < Marshall
Youngstown State < Air Force
 
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