After Saturday's win against the Yellow Jackets, Virginia football fans were thinking a trip to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Fla. might become a reality. However, as reported here in the Cavalier Daily yesterday, any such announcement will not come until after the Virginia Tech game. Nevertheless, an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl is more unlikely than most Cavalier fans would like to believe for several reasons.
First, a trip to sunny Florida on Dec. 22 would require the Cavaliers to leapfrog at least one of two teams that defeated them this season --- North Carolina State or Clemson. The Tangerine Bowl is slotted to match the ACC's No. 4 team against the Big 12's No. 5 team. With Florida State guaranteed a BCS slot and Maryland shaping up to be the No. 2 pick by the Gator Bowl, that leaves the Wolfpack, Tigers and Cavaliers all vying for trips to either the Peach (ACC's number three) or the Tangerine. With Clemson getting better each week and sporting convincing victories over the Seminoles and South Carolina, the Tigers' huge fan base near Atlanta makes an invitation to the Peach Bowl seem likely.
Virginia fans were legitimately upset with last year's bowl invitation process as it watched teams the Cavaliers beat receive invitations to more desirable bowl games; however, the system of fairness 'Hoos clamored for now may come back to haunt them. Since the Wolfpack beat Virginia earlier this season, any claim to performance on the field would give N.C. State the nod for the Tangerine. Moreover, quarterback Philip Rivers gives the Wolfpack more star-power to entice Tangerine officials from a marketing standpoint.
With a trip to Orlando seemingly out of the picture, a return visit to the Continental Tire Bowl would be the next logical invitation, right? Wrong.
The fifth place ACC team is typically slotted for the Tire Bowl, which means Virginia's victory over the Jackets should have at least secured a return bid to Charlotte. But Virginia Tech's loss to Boston College Saturday put the Cavaliers in a catch-22 about returning to the Tire Bowl.
If the Cavaliers beat the Hokies, it would strengthen their claim that they should be selected over Georgia Tech. However, another loss for Virginia Tech would almost certainly relegate them to the fourth best Big East slot (behind Miami, Pitt and West Virginia), namely the Continental Tire Bowl. Because the Tire Bowl would not want a rematch of the two Virginia schools, it would be faced with the decision to either take one or the other, Tech or Virginia. Because Virginia was invited last year and, more importantly, because the Hokie fans travel extremely well, the Continental Tire Bowl would most likely invite the Hokies instead of the Cavaliers.
Even though a Virginia Tech victory could possibly catapult them into a higher bowl with Big East tie-ins, a then 6-6 Virginia team would not be an enthusiastic draw. With the Tangerine and Tire out of the picture, that leaves only one more bowl with ACC connections --- the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
Despite its frigid temperatures and the likelihood that the WAC's Boise State would have a home game, the Humanitarian Bowl does have the famous blue field.
Smurf turf, here we come!
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