It’s official, the Miami Hurricanes are headed to Orlando to take on the Wisconsin Badgers in this year’s Champ Sports Bowl. Both squads finished the season with matching 9-3 records.
The Canes were slated to trek to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl, but were snubbed for the retiring Bobby Bowden. Gator Bowl officials used their pick to go the sentimental route, inviting 6-6 Florida State to take on West Virginia, in an effort to honor Bowden.
The almost-gone Noles coach will end his illustrious career after bowl season and ironically enough, coached the Mountaineers before the Noles, so it’s a good fit… besides the fact that FSU went .500 this year and absolutely doesn’t deserve a New Years Day bowl.
Back in 1999, a resurging Miami put together an 8-4 campaign and earned a Gator Bowl berth, upending Georgia Tech and finishing the season 9-4. Ten years later, it’s not enough. 10-2 would’ve had Miami in the BCS as an at-large, yet 9-3 gets snubbed for nostalgia-sake. No offense, but if Bowden is so classy, why not turn down the invite and agree to a lesser, deserving bowl?
Similar to the 2000 season where he lobbied for a slot in the title game, got worked by Oklahoma and afterwards admitted that Miami belonged. No offense, but the old man can’t leave soon enough.
Check back for some Champs Sports Bowl coverage as the month rolls on.
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Obviously not the bowl game I wanted us in. but I'll take it since it's in state.
The Canes getting snubbed out of the Gator Bowl is pathetic. I don't care about Bowdens history, he is the leader of an, AT BEST, mediocre FSU team and in NO way deserves a Jan bowl game. There hasn't been a better excuse for a playoff system before this garbage. When teams are literally given titles they didn't earn it's time for a new system. Oh well, it'll be a blast to watch Bowdens piss poor FSU team get rocked one last time as his ass is kicked out the door. It's ok though Bobby, u can now rest easy, you'll never have to worry about game planning for a U team that is always Faster. Better. Stronger
Couldn't agree more!!!! This is yet another example that of the circus that is college football and how it's always apparent that someone somewhere in college football always has an agenda.
I hope West Virgina can crush FSU 52-3 which is what they deserve since they dont deserve to play in this game. So, the U, Clemson, UNC, Boston College, all snubbed out of the Gator Bowl just to make Bobby Bowden happy. I'm wondering if the NCAA is still wondering why their ratings still dont compare to the NFL's?! Personally, I would rather not play at all than to play in the Chumps Sport Bowl.
I also wonder if the Gator Bowl realizes how irrelevant it has just made itself also? Glad they will no longer be part of the ACC's bowl schedule after 2010. Go Mountaineers!!!!!!!!!!
I've been a Canes fan since '79, and they probably should be in the gator bowl, but i've no problem with the gator bowl's selection whether u like bowden r not, he deserves that much and besides the Canes blew 2 great opp to make it to a bcs bowl losing against clemson and unc so as fans there is nothing to complain about lets support he boys in the champs bowl and lets Go Canes!!!!
Regal - No offense, but what does your thirty years following The U have to do with the Gator Bowl's selection of Bowden? I've followed the Canes religiously since the 80s. What does one have to do with the other?
Bowden doesn't "deserve" a thing. Please. Bowl berths are earned and 6-6 doesn't deserve a Gator Bowl invite. No way, no how. Not with a deserving 9-3 team who BEAT Florida State and earned their way in.
The Canes blew a few opportunities? What about Florida State -- who blew SIX opportunities? Please.
As fans there's EVERYTHING to complain about. What the Gator Bowl pulled here is a joke. They're cashing in on Bobby's swan song -- they're not paying a tribute or doing what's right. They'll hype this as his finale, pitting his current team against his former. It's nothing more than clever marketing for a lesser New Years Day bowl.
F Bobby. F Florida State. F the Gator Bowl. End of story.
Only thing I agree with is that everyone needs to support Miami in Orlando late December.
Canes were screwed plain and simple. The ACC should have showed some balls and said sorry Bobby, you can go the Champs Sports Bowl. Didn't we beat the "Semiholes" in September. The Gator Bowl can kiss my ass.
That being said, one of these days maybe before I'm dead we'll see a playoff in college football. Get ready for next year the Canes will be in the BCS and with all of that young talent could be playing for the National Title, which is exactly were we should be
Totally agree with allcanes here, this is total bs. Miami beat FSU this year and finished with a better record and was clearly the better and more exciting team to watch all year, even though I'm a cane homer I'm still pretty pissed that they're doing this for Bowden. He should finish in a crappy bowl because he had a crappy season, no excuses about it. The thing is they won't even be entertaining to watch cuz their offense especially the qb is awful and look what happened in the last game they played agaisnt a spread against florida, they were torched. The only thing I am happy about in the situation is that he won't go out with a win ;)
Yeah the Gator Bowl made a mistake, but taking a mediocre at best FSU team over us, but there's not much we can do. No way a 6-6 team deserves to really even be in a bowl game, regardless of who it is. That just shows there are too many bowl games. It's a shame that all these games are about sales instead of the product on the field.
I say we make a staement for next year, smack Wisconsin around and put up about 40 on them. Stop RB John Clay and we win the game. He's all they have. Make a statement to the nation and start next year in the top 10.
-Columbus Cane
It used to be that Miami kept FSU out of good bowl games because they beat them on the field. Now FSU beats Miami out of them because Bobby lobbies.
Orlando is still in Florida isn't it? Why couldn't 6-6 Bowden's deathbed request be fulfilled in Orlando? Someone alert John Swofford, this blatant lack of meritocracy, propriety and dignity is part of the reason football fans don't respect your "basketball conference". Mollusk.
How can anyone watch nonsense like this perpetrate itself in college football and still claim that "the regular season is sacred"? It's bollocks and it's blatant.
That said I hope this snub is motivation rather than distraction for our boys and that they blow into Disney city with a chip on their shoulders and something to prove. Biggitup on Wisconsin; I'd rather Miami have 10 wins than anything with the word "gator" in it anyways.
Keep calm, carry on.
Not just that Allcanes but it's like I said before, it's not just us but what about Clemson, UNC and BC? Even they all have a right to complain about it. All except UNC, beat FSU and at least UNC had a better record.
This is garbage, plain and simple. What I also want to know is how did the Gator Bowl committee get itself out of the ACC's contractual one-loss rule? The only way they were allowed to choose FSU would've been if Clemson would've beaten Ga Tech and Ga Tech would've gotten sucked in my the Chick-fil-a in which case they weren't obligated to follow the one-loss rule and take the runner-up from the conference game since they met that obligation back in '06.
It's crap plain and simple. Allcanes has been dead-on on this subject all night. The old man cant leave fast enough. Go Canes and Go Mountaineers!!!!!