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Question: Could Alabama decline Orange Bowl invitation in order to play in Sugar?

4thGenBamaGrad

4thGenBamaGrad

1st Team
Nov 4, 2007
520
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Boca Raton, FL
Orange Bowl has first pick, but is Alabama required to accept this invitation or could they then accept the Sugar Bowl's invitation to play Auburn (assuming OSU-FSU in NC)?

My friends and I agree, a rematch against Auburn in a non-championship game is better than somehow playing FSU or OSU or Mizzou in the BCS Championship Game (with playing Auburn in Pasadena obviously our first choice for post-season matchup).
 
The SEC is NOT going to want this matchup at all. Don't know if it is true but I've heard the SEC is "encouraging" the Sugar Bowl to avoid it. If you were the SB and your choices were the IB II or AU vs. UCF or Cincy does it even take any brainwave activity at all to choose the best option?
 
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bamacon said:
The SEC is NOT going to want this matchup at all. Don't know if it is true but I've heard the SEC is "encouraging" the Sugar Bowl to avoid it. If you were the SB and your choices were the IB II or AU vs. UCF or Cincy does it even take any brainwave activity at all to chose the best option?
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Why would the SEC want to avoid it? It would be a media boom.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, so my fat fingers cause misspellings and autocorrect makes my ships into...
 
It is better for the conference - outside of the national championship - to face other conference's teams and win than beat up on each other some more.
 
4thGenBamaGrad said:
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My friends and I agree, a rematch against Auburn in a non-championship game is better than somehow playing FSU or OSU or Mizzou in the BCS Championship Game (with playing Auburn in Pasadena obviously our first choice for post-season matchup).
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Couldn't disagree more. I would NEVER prefer a revenge match against any team, over a chance for a national championship. But yes, playing Auburn in the Championship game would fill the bill for both of us.
 
Alabama declining an Orange Bowl to play Auburn in the Sugar Bowl will happen about the same time we turn the new training center in to a petting zoo.
 
Oklahoma and Nebraska played each other in the Orange Bowl back in the 1970s, so something like this isn't unheard of. I think the team that won the first game lost the second one.
 
Typically, SEC teams go where they're told and bowls pick who the conference wants. But it's more prevalent at the Peach-Music-City-etc. level than the BCS games.

The Sugar wants the matchup for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that no one spends money on a bowl trip like Alabama fans do. I've been to New Orleans a ton of times and the only answers I ever get to the "who'd you like in your bowl?" question, when I ask merchants, is Alabama and LSU -- and LSU really gets the mention out of favoritism, not economic impact.

It's going to be really hard for the committee to tell the SEC "no" this time around.
 
A
Crimson1967 said:
Oklahoma and Nebraska played each other in the Orange Bowl back in the 1970s, so something like this isn't unheard of. I think the team that won the first game lost the second one.
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You are correct. Nebraska knocked then-no. 1 ranked OU out of the NC when they beat them in Lincoln in November 1978, then OU clobbered the huskers in an Orange Bowl rematch. As I recall, Tom Osborne was absolutely furious with the Orange Bowl Committee about their choice of OU as an opponent and having to the play the Sooners a second time. His claim: What did they have left to prove with playing OU again? They had already beaten them, was his reasoning. I'm pretty sure that Gus and the barn fans would feel the same way about a Sugar Bowl rematch, and would do everything behind the scenes to keep it from ever happening.

I would love to see it, but outside of a wildly outside chance meeting in Pasadena, I do not see us meeting them again until next November.
 
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JessN said:
Typically, SEC teams go where they're told and bowls pick who the conference wants. But it's more prevalent at the Peach-Music-City-etc. level than the BCS games.

The Sugar wants the matchup for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that no one spends money on a bowl trip like Alabama fans do. I've been to New Orleans a ton of times and the only answers I ever get to the "who'd you like in your bowl?" question, when I ask merchants, is Alabama and LSU -- and LSU really gets the mention out of favoritism, not economic impact.

It's going to be really hard for the committee to tell the SEC "no" this time around.
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What is "the committee" and is there any rule about not being allowed to decline an invitation if you are guaranteed a BCS slot (like Alabama is this year)? If so, I would assume there would have to be back room deals to keep the Orange Bowl committee from offering an invite to Alabama.
 
1 vs 2 and 3 vs 4 is kinda like a playoff, right? Except for no game between the winners. I don't see it happening, but would like to see it happen. Barn would not...not sure about CNS and Bama, I think they will just go where they are invited. But Bama - UCF is a trap game, as is Bama - NI, IMO. So...who the heck knows.
The bottom line will be money; if the PTB think Bama-barn matchup is a can't miss moneymaker above all others, it may well happen.
 
deliveryman35 said:
A

You are correct. Nebraska knocked then-no. 1 ranked OU out of the NC when they beat them in Lincoln in November 1978, then OU clobbered the huskers in an Orange Bowl rematch. As I recall, Tom Osborne was absolutely furious with the Orange Bowl Committee about their choice of OU as an opponent and having to the play the Sooners a second time. His claim: What did they have left to prove with playing OU again? They had already beaten them, was his reasoning. I'm pretty sure that Gus and the barn fans would feel the same way about a Sugar Bowl rematch, and would do everything behind the scenes to keep it from ever happening.

I would love to see it, but outside of a wildly outside chance meeting in Pasadena, I do not see us meeting them again until next November.
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Lots of if's but - Auburn wins SEC but is locked out of NCG due to FLST and OSU. They automatically go to the Sugar and for whatever reason Bama doesn't go to Orange. Sugar would certainly love to have this game and no way they would snub a Bama - Aub rematch. Maybe unlikely but certainly not impossible. The ratings would be second only to the national attention of the NCG.
 
4thGenBamaGrad said:
I would assume there would have to be back room deals to keep the Orange Bowl committee from offering an invite to Alabama.
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Would have to be a back room deal as the only way BAMA-AU would match up is if OSU and FSU win on Saturday. In that case, the Orange would get 1st pick to replace FSU, then the Rose Bowl would get to replace OSU. After that, the Orange gets the 1st @ large and would have to pick Central Florida or No. Illinois leaving BAMA to be selected by the Sugar with the 2nd @ large pick
 
I wonder if the 2011 BCSCG would prevent this. Everyone says it wasn't the same as the first.... probably since we embarrassed LSU and there was no intensity on their part.
 
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