Gophers picked for Outback Bowl vs Auburn

They are still trotting out Bo Nix.....so we'd have that going for us. But.....as I've said in this and other threads.....why play Auburn again? A team that we're unlikely to see more than once a decade. I think it's better to have that win over them in our pocket. Don't give them the chance at revenge so quickly.

I'd prefer to see the Gophers play an Ole Miss or Texas A&M team.

But this is all moot. Win the games on the schedule and get to the Rose Bowl.
We're undefeated vs Alabama teams ... easy win.
 



The really pathetic thing would be if Michigan St gets to end up 10-2, this year.

Crossovers were NW in week 1, which we know now is weak as hell, they beat Nebraska in OT at home, very meh, and they'll go to Purdue.

They'll lose to Michigan and Ohio State.

Really need at least two of Purdue, Maryland, and Penn State to come through, and bitchslap these pretenders back down where they belong.
 



Music City, please. Nashville is boss. Plus, I need a reason to visit Third Man Records.
 

Music City, please. Nashville is boss. Plus, I need a reason to visit Third Man Records.
Only downsides to Nashville are 1) not as warm as other bowl locations, 2) hotels are really expensive there. Otherwise it's great.
 

West champion should get rose bowl if they don't beat Ohio State. Certainly not Michigan!

The winner of the Big Ten championship game gets the Rose Bowl unless the champion is selected for the playoff. The loser isn't guaranteed anything. Northwestern has won the West, lost the championship game, and hasn't gone to the Rose Bowl a couple of times in the last 10 years.
 




Iowa ain't going to the Fiesta Bowl. Wisconsin and Minnesota are playing for the Big Ten west title in Minneapolis.
shannon-sharpe-undisputed.gif
 

The winner of the Big Ten championship game gets the Rose Bowl unless the champion is selected for the playoff. The loser isn't guaranteed anything. Northwestern has won the West, lost the championship game, and hasn't gone to the Rose Bowl a couple of times in the last 10 years.
Yep, if the champion is picked for CFB Rose bowl will take the next highest ranked B1G team. Only way I see us being ranked above Michigan is if we win out in the regular season, and lose a close fought game to OSU, while Michigan gets blown out by OSU, and even then it's not guaranteed we'd be ranked high enough.
 


Yep, if the champion is picked for CFB Rose bowl will take the next highest ranked B1G team. Only way I see us being ranked above Michigan is if we win out in the regular season, and lose a close fought game to OSU, while Michigan gets blown out by OSU, and even then it's not guaranteed we'd be ranked high enough.
Correct. Three loss Minnesota (BG) will not be picked over 11-1 Michigan. A two loss Minnesota -- with both losses being competitive games with OSU -- probably would.
 



The winner of the Big Ten championship game gets the Rose Bowl unless the champion is selected for the playoff. The loser isn't guaranteed anything. Northwestern has won the West, lost the championship game, and hasn't gone to the Rose Bowl a couple of times in the last 10 years.
I was just looking this up a couple of days ago, because I remembered it the same way. Northwestern went to Indy as the Big Ten West champ in 2018 and 2020. In 2018, Ohio State won the Big Ten and went to the Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champion with a 12-1 record, presumably left out of the playoff due to getting wrecked by Purdue earlier that season. In 2020, the Rose Bowl was a playoff game, and Ohio State was place into the Sugar Bowl for their playoff game. Northwestern did not even make the New Year's Six in either of those years though.

The year Penn State went to the Rose Bowl, Ohio State didn't make it to Indy, but got selected for the playoff anyway, and Penn State was the Big Ten champ.

For the past several years, when the Rose Bowl hasn't been a playoff game, they have only taken teams that appeared in the Big Ten championship game, but I agree with you in that I don't think they have an obligation to do so. What I'm unsure of is, when the Big Ten champion goes to the playoff, is the Rose Bowl obligated to take the next highest ranked Big Ten team in the CFP rankings? Or can they decide for themselves to take 10-2 #13 Michigan over 12-1 #9 Purdue if they think Michigan will draw more fans?
 



The really pathetic thing would be if Michigan St gets to end up 10-2, this year.

Crossovers were NW in week 1, which we know now is weak as hell, they beat Nebraska in OT at home, very meh, and they'll go to Purdue.

They'll lose to Michigan and Ohio State.

Really need at least two of Purdue, Maryland, and Penn State to come through, and bitchslap these pretenders back down where they belong.
Pretty much agree, but if MSU is the "pretender" here that most think, they could also lose to PSU.
 

What I'm unsure of is, when the Big Ten champion goes to the playoff, is the Rose Bowl obligated to take the next highest ranked Big Ten team in the CFP rankings? Or can they decide for themselves to take 10-2 #13 Michigan over 12-1 #9 Purdue if they think Michigan will draw more fans?

Good question. I'm not sure either. I remember reading that the conference began taking a greater role in the bowl selections in the sense that they would limit the selections for particular bowls. Some of that is needed because what you mention could easily happen without it.
 

Because i don’t think trophies are available in conference title games
disagree. If we make it to the big ten title game, and Michigan makes it from the east, the Jug will be part of the package. The last thing harbaugh would want to do is provide Minnesota with some extra incentive.
 

disagree. If we make it to the big ten title game, and Michigan makes it from the east, the Jug will be part of the package. The last thing harbaugh would want to do is provide Minnesota with some extra incentive.
You can disagree all you want. It doesn't matter what we think. I am almost positive no trophies will exchange hands besides the conference championship trophy.
 

What I'm unsure of is, when the Big Ten champion goes to the playoff, is the Rose Bowl obligated to take the next highest ranked Big Ten team in the CFP rankings? Or can they decide for themselves to take 10-2 #13 Michigan over 12-1 #9 Purdue if they think Michigan will draw more fans?

From the Rose Bowl's official webpage:

"Should a team from the Big Ten or Pac-12 be selected to go to the College Football Playoff, the Tournament of Roses will traditionally select the next-highest CFP-ranked team from that conference. There is, however, a caveat to that clause in the contract.

“If the next-highest ranked team is in a ‘cluster’ of teams, meaning there is another team or teams from the same conference ranked within several spots of each other, the Tournament of Roses will select the team from that cluster that will result in the best possible matchup for the Rose Bowl Game,” said Rose Bowl Management Committee Chair Scott Jenkins.

In a cluster situation, the Tournament of Roses will take into account factors, in no particular order, such as: the last time a team played in the Rose Bowl Game, head-to-head results, regular season schedule, overall record, opponents played, past playoff or bowl appearances and performance, and historical matchups.

It should be noted that it is the strong preference of the Tournament of Roses, Pac-12 and Big Ten Conferences, that the highest-ranked available team in each conference be selected as the replacement team."
 

Swap Minnesota and Mich St, please. They're equal bowls. We were already to the Outback in 2019.

MSU hasn't been to the Outback since 2011.
Interesting take. I was at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Jan 1 2015 and thought it was ok. Mainly because Missouri kicked our butts. We also stayed at the Hilton in Clearwater that year and all the Wisconsin fans were there for the Outback bowl. It’s a way better bowl experience in Tampa from what I saw. I watched the 2019 bowl game from a Gophers bar in Scottsdale and that was probably just as fun!

Long story short, there aren’t that many resorts in Orlando that CFB fans can stay at unless youre taking the family to Disney World. The stadium is not close to any decent bowl game accommodations
 
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First - get bowl eligible. Then, don’t settle for less than New Years Six - preferably the Rose Bowl. That requires winning the West and why not the B1G, too?
 

Hence why an 11-1 Michigan gets the Rose Bowl over a Gophers team that plays very tough but ultimately loses to OSU in Indy. All day, every day.
I mean, they lost to what might end up being the worst team in the G5. Would be pretty hard to say they deserve a Rose Bowl after that.
 

Interesting take. I was at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Jan 1 2015 and thought it was ok. Mainly because Missouri kicked our butts. We also stayed at the Hilton in Clearwater that year and all the Wisconsin fans were there for the Outback bowl. It’s a way better bowl experience in Tampa from what I saw. I watched the 2019 bowl game from a Gophers bar in Scottsdale and that was probably just as fun!

Long story short, there aren’t that many resorts in Orlando that CFB fans can stay at unless youre taking the family to Disney World. The stadium is not close to any decent bowl game accommodations
My family will take any excuse to go to Disney World.
 

Interesting take. I was at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Jan 1 2015 and thought it was ok. Mainly because Missouri kicked our butts. We also stayed at the Hilton in Clearwater that year and all the Wisconsin fans were there for the Outback bowl. It’s a way better bowl experience in Tampa from what I saw. I watched the 2019 bowl game from a Gophers bar in Scottsdale and that was probably just as fun!

Long story short, there aren’t that many resorts in Orlando that CFB fans can stay at unless youre taking the family to Disney World. The stadium is not close to any decent bowl game accommodations
Thanks for this info, but fan accommodations is far down on my list of reasons for saying what I did.

At the very least, if we have to go right back to the Outback Bowl ... I mean damn, pick a different opponent! Would just be lame to immediately repeat the bowl game from 2019.
 

I mean, they lost to what might end up being the worst team in the G5. Would be pretty hard to say they deserve a Rose Bowl after that.
Even without that loss, we'd have two losses to Ohio State, while Michigan would have one.

The Rose would find a way to take Michigan.
 

I've heard this point repeated by others as well but I haven't seen any clarification on the point. No teams that have met in the B1G title game have had a rivalry trophy. Wisconsin shellacked Nebraska in '11, but they didn't yet play for the ridiculous 'Freedom Trophy'.
Being respectfully curious here: What is ridiculous about the Freedom Trophy?
 

disagree. If we make it to the big ten title game, and Michigan makes it from the east, the Jug will be part of the package. The last thing harbaugh would want to do is provide Minnesota with some extra incentive.
Someone already pointed out all the times rivals with trophy games met in conference championship games, and the rivalry trophy was not part of it.
 





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