Looking at the way the records are shaking out, it is a virtual certainty that we will be participating in a bowl game. Also, any talk that we won't accept a bid is crazy - so please don't bring that up.

That said, what are your thoughts??

Would you still attend the game? What sort of opponent/location gives us the best chance to succeed (if any)? How do you "rally the troops" for one last game after such a disappointing finish to the season?

And, of course, where do you think we're going?

I'm as disappointed as anyone, but it's time to start moving on. There's still one more game to play.

First of all, I would say that I am happy that our season doesn't end today and hasn't ended in November since posting a 4-8 record in 2008. Not that I wouldn't follow bowl games, but to know my team is is one means something. One thing I feel good about is that, for the most part, teams in the MAC earn their way to a bowl. Finishing 8-4 is disappointing, but we had to win to get to a bowl. With that said, I will celebrate and buy a Bowl Champions t-shirt no matter what bowl it is if we win. You can't say the same about a lot of BCS schools. For instance, Ohio State usually is playing in BCS bowls every year. Last year, if they'd beaten Florida in the Gator Bowl to finish 7-6, I doubt there would have been a huge demand for Gator Bowl Champions t-shirt. The season would've still been viewed as a disappointment. And if you want to talk about this year, we should be thrilled that we have the chance to play in the post season, unlike Ohio State whose season will come to an end tomorrow. All they can do is wonder if they had the shot to play for a National Championship.

Maybe I shouldn't feel this way, but I honestly would like to see us play a team we can beat. I think of the New Mexico Bowl last year when Temple matched up with Wyoming. They outmatched Wyoming easily and won the bowl game. I'd be more concerned going up against, for instance,  a 7-5 West Virginia squad. Regardless, I think Ohio can look at this and say, "We have a chance to end the season the way we started." Over the break before the bowl, Ohio can get some guys healthy and come out and show that they are the same team that took it to Penn State in Happy Valley. Maybe they can prove that it was more about injuries than anything else and they'll be ready to regain the respect of the nation that they had for the first seven weeks. I'll admit, though, this task would be easier if they played a BCS team and beat them as opposed to a Sun Belt team, as I said earlier.   

As for what bowl game Ohio goes to, it's so hard to say. I study probably 6 or 7 projections and it seems that most prognosticators believe MAC teams will fill slots in the same bowls. There's just no agreement to which MAC team will fit where. I've seen Pinstripe Bowl, Heart of Dallas Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Military Bowl Beef O' Brady's Bowl just to name a few. I have no scientific justification for saying this at all, but it just seems the Beef O' Brady's Bowl in St. Pete, FL makes sense.     

Latest rumor is Military Bowl vs Sun Belt.

   I don't believe that we're safe in assuming that we are going to be selected for a bowl game.  I hope that I'm wrong, and you're right, but here's my reasoning:

   Records are one thing, but team performance is another.  There are at least a half dozen MAC teams which are bowl-eligible.  One story of yesterday's game had bowl scouts in the stands scouting Kent.  If you had been scouting the Bobcats for any bowl, in any of our last five games, what would your conclusions have been?

   Mine would have been, first, how on earth did this team win seven games, especially Penn State, in front of 106,000 fans at home?  For the last half of the schedule, we've been playing progressively worse and worse while other MAC teams, like CMU, BSU, and BGSU have been playing better and better.  If you were any of these scouts, would you rather have for your bowl a team on the rise, playing winning football, or a team beset by several serious problems, and struggling to solve any of them?

   I'm a 53-year OU fan, and not a scout, and I sure hope you're right.

No matter whether you think we deserve a bowl game or if you think we will have a chance to win it.  These kids still put in the time and did enough to warrant a bowl game.  Remember that consistently making a bowl game is huge for recruiting especially when recruits hear from players what swag they got from the bowl games they attended.  Plus the extra practice can't hurt for this team.

I dunno, everything else has.

Given that we ended poorly and won't sell many tickets, my guess is it will not be a good bowl that selects us.  In fact, while I am sure we will go we may be the least desireable of teams out there.

Like others, I just hope it is somebody we cn be competitive against.

Actually in isn't a certainty that Ohio would be in a bowl. I think there could be a scenario in which they won't. Maybe someone can correct me if I am wrong. Tonight Rice got their sixth win, and Ole Miss got a big upset to become bowl eligible. So now there are 70 teams with 6 wins.

The issue is there are three more teams who also could get in. ga Tech has six wins but they would need to win the ACC championship vs. Florida State to finish with a winning record, so it's unlikely. However two Big East teams, Pitt and uConn, have five wins each and we need to wait until next week to see if one or both make it.

if 71 make it, Central Michigan goes home.
If 72 are in, I would assume Western Ky is out with only seven wins.
But if 73 are eligible, Ohio would sweat it out because several other Sun Belt teams also have eight wins and will be wanting at large bids. And none of them have lost four of their last five games.

As bad as the kent state game was...I STILL want one more chance for the Cats to take the field. They've deserved a better fate. Injuries have killed them, but some of the underclassmen HAVE to step up. To have such an incredible win vs. Penn State to open the season,and to end the season so poorly...I want the team to have one more chance to close the year on a high note.

Michael

As I posted in the other thread, they don't have to pick in order of wins. Temple, 8-4 in 2009, was passed over by a slew of 6-6 and 7-5 teams.

I don't see any way a bowl picks 6-6 Central Michigan over us. But it's certainly possible that Western Kentucky could go before us at 7-5. Our finish isn't doing us any favors.

I'd like to think that we're ahead of WKU as an attractive bowl team, but I think it's pretty neck-and-neck. If there's 72 teams eligible, we're sweating it out to the end.

Mr. Scott would be a blessing, Herman and Carlotta would be great.