Does Iowa Get A Bowl At 6-6?

1977Hawkeye

1977Hawkeye

Well-Known Member
It occurred to me to wonder about this. I can't help but remember the 2007 season where Iowa was bowl eligible yet ended up staying home. Granted, it didn't help that team laid an egg at home against W. Michigan on the last game of the season, and I'm sure that was with bowl representatives attending the game. But that team was 6-6, and had one of the worst offenses in the country, so not a "flashy" invite to a bowl game.

I can't help but wonder if this year's team will be any more appealing to bowl reps, since it has so much trouble scoring points, etc. unless it can go 7-5 or better.

I'm sure it will depending on how things shake out with other teams nationally and within the conference, relative to how many bowl slots are open, but I'm not sure that 6-6 necessarily guarantees us a bowl invite this year. Better to go at least 7-5 if you want to be sure IMO.
 
1977Hawkeye said:
It occurred to me to wonder about this. I can't help but remember the 2007 season where Iowa was bowl eligible yet ended up staying home. Granted, it didn't help that team laid an egg at home against W. Michigan on the last game of the season, and I'm sure that was with bowl representatives attending the game. But that team was 6-6, and had one of the worst offenses in the country, so not a "flashy" invite to a bowl game.

I can't help but wonder if this year's team will be any more appealing to bowl reps, since it has so much trouble scoring points, etc.

I'm sure it will depending on how things shake out with other teams nationally and within the conference, relative to how many bowl slots are open, but I'm not sure that 6-6 necessarily guarantees us a bowl invite this year. Better to go at least 7-5 if you want to be sure IMO.
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Your B1G bowl teams are...

OSU
UW
MSU
UM
NU
UMN
IA

At the very least we'll eat pizza in Detroit. This team is getting to a bowl if it wins Saturday. Even is Northwestern squeaks out two more wins, you'd have to think that the fan base alone for the Hawks gets them in.
 
Yes, but is getting a bowl game what it used to be? No. There are like 30 bowl games these days, so we are a top 60 team, not what it used to be.
 
HawkeyeMHA said:
Yes, but is getting a bowl game what it used to be? No. There are like 30 bowl games these days, so we are a top 60 team, not what it used to be.
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Oh I definitely agree.. It will be a mediocre bowl game, which pretty much = "who cares". I was just wondering.
 
30,000+ iowa fans travelling to a bowl game definitely gets us in even if we only have 6 wins.

We have not lost to a bad team this year. Our losses have come to 4 top 20 teams,

If we lose to Purdue and still win one I could see us not getting an invite.

But money talks.

In 2007 the B1G bowl alignment was different and probably not as many direct bowl tie ins
 
HawkeyeMcNutt said:
Very true. Additionally though, do we care? We need those extra 15 practices soooooooooo badly.
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Iowa could practice every day for the next year and ,at least offensively, it would not matter. If the philosophy is bad and the talent level is not there, 15 additional practices or a full year of extra practice will help little.
 
So what bowl do we get at 8-4 IF we are tied with Mich. and Neb. and Minn. for wins? At 8-4, we would have beaten all 3 of the others.
 
brhawks18 said:
Iowa could practice every day for the next year and ,at least offensively, it would not matter. If the philosophy is bad and the talent level is not there, 15 additional practices or a full year of extra practice will help little.
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Yes, 15 additional football practices to try and accelerate the development of younger players and try and refine things for the current guys mean absolutely nothing.
 
In 2007 the B1G filled its allotment of bowls, there were a few less bowls then. The only team that was NOT bowl eligible in 07 was 1-11 Minnesota. Iowa and NW were 6-6, everyone else had 7 or more victories.

10 of 11 B1G teams were bowl eligible in 07
 
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Iowa at 6-6 will not be in the Pizza Bowl....Music City or another bowl will snap them up. They know Iowa fans missed a bowl last year and the pent up demand will result in at least 20-25k fans traveling to their bowl. Compare that to some of the other options.....schools that might bring 5-10k tops....Iowa's fanbase will be attractive...team? Not as much.
 
uihawk82 said:
30,000+ iowa fans travelling to a bowl game definitely gets us in even if we only have 6 wins.

We have not lost to a bad team this year. Our losses have come to 4 top 20 teams,

If we lose to Purdue and still win one I could see us not getting an invite.

But money talks.

In 2007 the B1G bowl alignment was different and probably not as many direct bowl tie ins
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A 6-6 record or a 7-5 record will not get anywhere close to 30,000 Iowa fans traveling to a bowl game this year. Sad but true at this point.

They've had no sellouts this year in Kinnick. That is very telling where the mindset of the fan base is.
 
Frankly, I almost hope not. For one thing, I suspect the payout for whatever cheesy bowl Iowa would get invited to would be so small that it would actually cost the university money to ship the team, the band and all the freeloading functionaries to the game site. Then there is the question of the legendary fan support for the Hawks, which I feel would be tasked to the max by asking them to travel to a game site like Detroit to cheer on this lifeless program.
 
B1G has 8 bowl tie-ins. If Wisconsin (or MSU) gets selected for a BCS bowl, then there are 9 bowls.
PSU is ineligible, and Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue and Indiana are probably not bowling.
So, there would be 7 teams for 8-9 bowl games, so we are going to a bowl at 6-6.

If two teams are selected in the BCS, then we'll probably be in the Gator Bowl (ahead of Minnesota).
If one B1G team is selected in the BCS, then we'll probably be in the Texas Bowl.

Jacksonville and Houston care about selling seats.

The Music City Bowl in Nashville had Minnesota 3 times, and they sold 1,000 of their allotment, on average each year.
The director of the Music City Bowl was on the radio and he said the top 3 reasons for selecting a team are:
(1) Ticket sales then a
(2) competitive matchup for the title sponsor and ESPN, and then the
(3) teams record

Jacksonville had 2 6-6 teams a few years ago, but those 2 teams brought fans with them.
This is true of 90% of the bowl games.
 
MBHHawk said:
So what bowl do we get at 8-4 IF we are tied with Mich. and Neb. and Minn. for wins? At 8-4, we would have beaten all 3 of the others.
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Depends how many Big 10 teams get invited to BCS bowls. If it's one, the the Buffalo Wild Wings bowl. If it's two, then the Outback bowl.
 
HawkeyeMcNutt said:
Yes, 15 additional football practices to try and accelerate the development of younger players and try and refine things for the current guys mean absolutely nothing.
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Let's see, the Hawks have been practicing for about 12 to 13 weeks now and I'm not seeing much improvement from the offense for an entire game.
 
Scooby said:
B1G has 8 bowl tie-ins. If Wisconsin (or MSU) gets selected for a BCS bowl, then there are 9 bowls.
PSU is ineligible, and Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue and Indiana are probably not bowling.
So, there would be 7 teams for 8-9 bowl games, so we are going to a bowl at 6-6.

If two teams are selected in the BCS, then we'll probably be in the Gator Bowl (ahead of Minnesota).
If one B1G team is selected in the BCS, then we'll probably be in the Texas Bowl.

Jacksonville and Houston care about selling seats.

The Music City Bowl in Nashville had Minnesota 3 times, and they sold 1,000 of their allotment, on average each year.
The director of the Music City Bowl was on the radio and he said the top 3 reasons for selecting a team are:
1. Ticket sales
2. Competitive matchup for the title sponsor and ESPN
3. Team record

This is true of 90% of the bowl games.
Click to expand...

Good info. Thanks.

I'd love a Gator Bowl invite.. 3 hour drive for me to Jacksonville.
 
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