06.Dec.2009 Bowl Selection: An Alternate View
After tie-breakers, Arizona was 2nd in the Pac-10 and should go to the Holiday Bowl. We were third, but the Sun Bowl elected to enact their “no repeat” clause (this is their option, they could have selected us). Last year’s 3-0 effort vs Pitt hardly helped that cause.
That left the Emerald Bowl or Las Vegas bowl for the Beavers.
Even though the Las Vegas Bowl is a lower bowl (5th place vs 4th), maybe the selection committee gave the Beavers a break and a vote of confidence. Think about it:
1. The Vegas Bowl pays out $1,000,000. The Emerald Bowl pays $900,000.
2. The Vegas Bowl is the only Pac-10 bowl outside the Rose Bowl that pairs teams ranked in the top 20.
3. Given that bowl revenue is shared, did the committee and Pac-10 agree that Oregon State has a better shot (than USC) to bring home the higher payday vs BYU?
4. A win gives the Beavers a top 15 finish, and with many returning starters, opportunity to begin next year ranked.
5. Better day and time than Emerald equals more national viewers.
Whether any of this was the intent (they probably wanted to get the pariah out of the way) of the Pac-10 or selection committee, it worked out serendipitously for the Beavers. Hopefully they see it this way as well and show up for this game. It’s a great opportunity to climb the rankings both this year and next. A 9-4 record gives Riley more ammo in the upcoming recruiting season as well. Huge game, really.
angrybeaver 
dtwmiller 
OSBeavs 
Beavker