Courtesy of Florida Times-Union
Rarely has the Gator Bowl matchup been this up in the air this late in the bowl selection process.
In the first of a four-year deal matching an SEC team vs. a Big Ten team, the Gator Bowl has been unable to invite at least one of the teams before the BCS selection day, something that was done more frequently during a 15-year deal with the ACC and the Big East.
That's because the SEC and the Big Ten offices don't want non-BCS bowls to move on inviting teams until their BCS teams are announced tonight. In the past, the Gator Bowl selection committee was able to invite teams in the ACC and Big East who were not going to win their conference championships or get at-large bids to the BCS.
Since the BCS began in 1998, the Gator Bowl has never gone to BCS selection day without inviting at least one of its teams.
Now, the Gator must wait until the Capital One, Cotton, Outback and Chick-Fil-A move on an SEC team, and for the Capital One and Outback to pick a Big Ten team.
On the eve of bowl selection day, the Gator Bowl could get the matchup it covets in Florida vs. Penn State (both are 7-5). But the Outback Bowl could nab both teams, leaving the Gator to mull Michigan or Iowa (also both 7-5) to play Mississippi State (8-4), Tennessee (6-6) or Georgia (6-6).
Outback Bowl president Jim McVay told the Times-Union this week that he would keep his options open until after the BCS conducted its selections tonight. The Chick-fil-A Bowl has a history of waiting until the last minute, although officials there said it would fill one half of the draw with the Virginia Tech-Florida State loser.
The Outback Bowl could take Florida-Penn State for TV ratings reasons, gambling that two programs with national followings and reputations would attract many casual or unaligned college football fans.
If so, the Gator Bowl could accomplish the same by matching Michigan vs. Tennessee or Georgia and leaving Mississippi State to one of the bowl games in Tennessee, either Nashville or Memphis.
The reason the Gator Bowl might opt for a Michigan-Tennessee or Michigan-Georgia game is because the bowl still needs a title sponsor and decent TV ratings would help impress potential clients. Michigan, the winningest college football program ever, against the Vols or Bulldogs, would fill that requirement.
Having to wait until tonight to extend invitations might not be a huge deal for Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett, because ticket sales have been brisk in anticipation of having an SEC team in the game for the first time since 1992 and a Big Ten team playing for the first time since 1990.
"We're going to do very well regardless of the teams we invite," Catlett said. "If you subtract the two teams' guaranteed ticket allotment, we're only going to have a few thousand tickets available once the teams are announced.
