We probably have to wait one more week for official word on UCF's bowl destination.
It's always on the Sunday following conference championship games - this year it's Dec. 7 - when bowls are announced. First it's the College Football Playoff and the New Year's Six announcements, then everybody else afterward. It might not be until late afternoon.
As far as the AAC, all eyes are on next week's CCG between Memphis and Cincinnati. If Memphis wins, they are a lock for the New Year's Six (Cotton Bowl). If Cincinnati wins and Boise State wins the Mountain West CCG vs. Hawaii, it becomes a question mark on who gets the nod: UC or Boise.
In last week's CFP rankings, Memphis, Cincinnati and Boise were 17, 18 and 19, in that order. One would think Cincinnati would drop below Boise because they lost to Memphis over the weekend.
But if Cincinnati beats Memphis in the AAC CG, why should they be penalized for losing to them a week earlier when they didn't have their starting QB? Their only other loss would have been to No. 1 Ohio State. Their resume would be far superior.
I think the AAC CCG winner should get the NY6 spot regardless, but I'm not confident the committee will spend much time on this and would basically award the spot to Boise because they'd have one less loss.
There are seven bowl-eligible AAC teams:
-Memphis
-Cincinnati
-UCF
-SMU
-Navy
-Temple
-Tulane
And these are the AAC bowls:
-NY6 (probably)
-Military (Annapolis)
-Gasparilla (Tampa)
-Boca Raton
-Birmingham
-Frisco
-Hawaii
-Cure
-Liberty (maybe)
But everything is negotiable when it comes to the ESPN-owned bowls and most of those are. If you look at some of the latest projections, you'll see everything from UCF in the Independence, SMU to the Cheez-It (in Tempe) or First Responder (played at SMU Stadium, but not technically an AAC bowl).
The common belief now is that UHawaii will take the AAC's Hawaii Bowl spot. But if Hawaii upsets Boise State in the MWC CG? The Cure isn't expected to get an AAC team either.
The Liberty Bowl, which has a secondary AAC tie-in, could also open up, depending on the number of SEC teams in the NY6. I'm actually unclear on which SEC bowl would open in that scenario, some projection sites say it would be Liberty while others claim it could be the Music City or Belk. The SEC's official site doesn't clearly spell that out either.
As far as UCF, rumors have been circulating for more than a week that Danny White has been pushing for the Military Bowl in Annapolis. Given the available options, this could be the best case scenario if the goal is to play a P5 opponent, perhaps Boston College, Louisville or North Carolina. I think UCF hopes they could get a Miami or FSU, but my thinking is those schools would do everything possible to avoid that matchup.
The way I understand it, the AAC has generally allowed the top teams to have their pick. Assuming Memphis wins the CCG, Cincinnati would be next in line. They played in the Military last year and it's doubtful they'd want to go back. And if the Liberty Bowl was available, I doubt Cincinnati would want to play in that same stadium three consecutive games (regular at Memphis, CCG at Memphis, bowl in same stadium). But that might provide the only other P5 opponent besides the Military.
It's sad there aren't any great options for Cincinnati, maybe some ESPN wheeling and dealing could provide something better.
But back to the Military, I'm guessing SMU probably doesn't want to return to Annapolis after losing at Navy late in the season. They'd make more sense for one of those Texas bowls.
Navy played in the Military Bowl two years ago in 2017. Temple was there in 2016. Those two schools make the most geographic sense, Navy obviously being the home team and Temple located around two hours away.
If not the Military or Liberty (if available), if you want to play a P5, there aren't going to be any options.
The Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa would feature a C-USA/G5 opponent. Birmingham probably the same way. Boca and Frisco definitely would.
So we'll see what happens. It does seem there is a sense of confidence that UCF will be allowed to pick the Military, but a lot can happen this week with last-minute trades.
I saw the rumor posted from Facebook about ESPN trying to set up a UCF vs. Boise Las Vegas Bowl matchup. I have not heard that from anybody. That bowl game likes to keep that PAC-12 spot for ticket sales. Anything is possible, I guess.
The Military Bowl is Friday, Dec. 27 at 12 noon. FWIW, I've gone ahead and booked travel plans (airfare, hotel, etc.). It's Southwest, so I cancel and change if need be. I wanted to get a jump-start because prices can only increase with holiday travel and it's frustrating that we have to essentially wait an extra week because of the calendar this year (last year bowl announcements were made on Dec. 2).
Weather could be a huge question for the Military. In 2018, the bowl game temps were in the 40s. Tolerable, I guess. The year before, the high was 25. Yikes. In 2016, somehow it was sunny and in the 60s.
The game is obviously at Navy's stadium in Annapolis, but the bowl activities and team hotel is in Washington D.C. Cincinnati practiced at University of Maryland last year. I think they got there four/five days ahead of time, but last year's game was Dec. 31.
Again, not official by any means. But just relaying some information if you wanted to research some travel options. Like I said, I went ahead and booked airfare but only because it's Southwest and I can cancel if need be. I was debating DCA or BWI, but ended up choosing BWI. It's only 30 minutes from Annapolis. I really enjoyed the 2017 trip to the Navy game. My only concern is the potential for extreme winter weather.
It's always on the Sunday following conference championship games - this year it's Dec. 7 - when bowls are announced. First it's the College Football Playoff and the New Year's Six announcements, then everybody else afterward. It might not be until late afternoon.
As far as the AAC, all eyes are on next week's CCG between Memphis and Cincinnati. If Memphis wins, they are a lock for the New Year's Six (Cotton Bowl). If Cincinnati wins and Boise State wins the Mountain West CCG vs. Hawaii, it becomes a question mark on who gets the nod: UC or Boise.
In last week's CFP rankings, Memphis, Cincinnati and Boise were 17, 18 and 19, in that order. One would think Cincinnati would drop below Boise because they lost to Memphis over the weekend.
But if Cincinnati beats Memphis in the AAC CG, why should they be penalized for losing to them a week earlier when they didn't have their starting QB? Their only other loss would have been to No. 1 Ohio State. Their resume would be far superior.
I think the AAC CCG winner should get the NY6 spot regardless, but I'm not confident the committee will spend much time on this and would basically award the spot to Boise because they'd have one less loss.
There are seven bowl-eligible AAC teams:
-Memphis
-Cincinnati
-UCF
-SMU
-Navy
-Temple
-Tulane
And these are the AAC bowls:
-NY6 (probably)
-Military (Annapolis)
-Gasparilla (Tampa)
-Boca Raton
-Birmingham
-Frisco
-Hawaii
-Cure
-Liberty (maybe)
But everything is negotiable when it comes to the ESPN-owned bowls and most of those are. If you look at some of the latest projections, you'll see everything from UCF in the Independence, SMU to the Cheez-It (in Tempe) or First Responder (played at SMU Stadium, but not technically an AAC bowl).
The common belief now is that UHawaii will take the AAC's Hawaii Bowl spot. But if Hawaii upsets Boise State in the MWC CG? The Cure isn't expected to get an AAC team either.
The Liberty Bowl, which has a secondary AAC tie-in, could also open up, depending on the number of SEC teams in the NY6. I'm actually unclear on which SEC bowl would open in that scenario, some projection sites say it would be Liberty while others claim it could be the Music City or Belk. The SEC's official site doesn't clearly spell that out either.
As far as UCF, rumors have been circulating for more than a week that Danny White has been pushing for the Military Bowl in Annapolis. Given the available options, this could be the best case scenario if the goal is to play a P5 opponent, perhaps Boston College, Louisville or North Carolina. I think UCF hopes they could get a Miami or FSU, but my thinking is those schools would do everything possible to avoid that matchup.
The way I understand it, the AAC has generally allowed the top teams to have their pick. Assuming Memphis wins the CCG, Cincinnati would be next in line. They played in the Military last year and it's doubtful they'd want to go back. And if the Liberty Bowl was available, I doubt Cincinnati would want to play in that same stadium three consecutive games (regular at Memphis, CCG at Memphis, bowl in same stadium). But that might provide the only other P5 opponent besides the Military.
It's sad there aren't any great options for Cincinnati, maybe some ESPN wheeling and dealing could provide something better.
But back to the Military, I'm guessing SMU probably doesn't want to return to Annapolis after losing at Navy late in the season. They'd make more sense for one of those Texas bowls.
Navy played in the Military Bowl two years ago in 2017. Temple was there in 2016. Those two schools make the most geographic sense, Navy obviously being the home team and Temple located around two hours away.
If not the Military or Liberty (if available), if you want to play a P5, there aren't going to be any options.
The Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa would feature a C-USA/G5 opponent. Birmingham probably the same way. Boca and Frisco definitely would.
So we'll see what happens. It does seem there is a sense of confidence that UCF will be allowed to pick the Military, but a lot can happen this week with last-minute trades.
I saw the rumor posted from Facebook about ESPN trying to set up a UCF vs. Boise Las Vegas Bowl matchup. I have not heard that from anybody. That bowl game likes to keep that PAC-12 spot for ticket sales. Anything is possible, I guess.
The Military Bowl is Friday, Dec. 27 at 12 noon. FWIW, I've gone ahead and booked travel plans (airfare, hotel, etc.). It's Southwest, so I cancel and change if need be. I wanted to get a jump-start because prices can only increase with holiday travel and it's frustrating that we have to essentially wait an extra week because of the calendar this year (last year bowl announcements were made on Dec. 2).
Weather could be a huge question for the Military. In 2018, the bowl game temps were in the 40s. Tolerable, I guess. The year before, the high was 25. Yikes. In 2016, somehow it was sunny and in the 60s.
The game is obviously at Navy's stadium in Annapolis, but the bowl activities and team hotel is in Washington D.C. Cincinnati practiced at University of Maryland last year. I think they got there four/five days ahead of time, but last year's game was Dec. 31.
Again, not official by any means. But just relaying some information if you wanted to research some travel options. Like I said, I went ahead and booked airfare but only because it's Southwest and I can cancel if need be. I was debating DCA or BWI, but ended up choosing BWI. It's only 30 minutes from Annapolis. I really enjoyed the 2017 trip to the Navy game. My only concern is the potential for extreme winter weather.
