During the football season, The Juice Online will address questions about the team in our “Kickoff Countdown” segment.
Today’s question: Syracuse, with seven wins on the season, is bowl eligible. What bowl will they play in?
BCS, Orange, Jan. 1— This is what needs to happen. Louisville would need to beat Rutgers, and UConn would have to defeat Cincinnati. That would leave a three-way tie atop the Big East, with each of the three teams having a 1-1 record against each other. Then, the tiebreaker would be settled by the BCS rankings. The reality is, both Louisville and Rutgers were recently ranked in the top 25, and SU is probably in the low 40s. Still, it’s fun to speculate.
» Related: Could Doug Marrone really leave for the NFL?
Russell Athletic, Dec. 28 — The loser of Rutgers and Louisville will probably play in this game, given that it traditionally is a Big East No. 2 and a ACC No. 3 game. Still, the bowl could ignore that, and choose SU given their torrid finish to the season. Financially, the payout ($2,275,000) payout is the second highest among the bowls. Then again, Orlando is long trip from Central New York and not in Syracuse’s main recruiting area.
Belk, Dec. 27 — Cincinnati seems to be the favored candidate here. It is the Big East No. 3 versus the ACC No. 5. Same arguments for SU playing here as in the Russell Athletic, and I’ll throw another one in there: It may be billed as an ACC preview for next year. Then again, the payout is about $100,000 less than the Pinstripe Bowl.
New Era Pinstripe, Dec. 29 — This seems to be where all SU fans want to play and I’m sure the Pinstripe Bowl would love to have them. But, if Pitt becomes bowl eligible, Syracuse may get bumped. It looks like West Virginia will claim the Big 12’s spot here, and the Bowl would certainly sell a lot of tickets to see the Backyard Brawl one more time. Then again, SU filled the stands in the 2010 Pinstripe Bowl, and it would be nice to see one more battle for the Schwartzwalder Trophy. Plus, this is the cradle of SU’s recruiting area.
» Related: Syracuse wins final game of Big East era
BBVA Compass, Jan. 5 — Should the Backyard Brawl take place, the Orange may get bumped to the Compass Bowl. I doubt there would be too many fans willing to make their way down to Birmingham, Ala.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Dec. 21 — The bowl that NunesMagician made famous. SU only has a chance of ending up here if Connecticut and Pitt are both bowl eligible, since this is the last bowl game that the Big East is contractually obligated to play in. Personally, I think the location (St. Petersburg, Fla.) is more desirable than Alabama, especially on the recruiting front.
Which bowl will Syracuse play in? Voice your opinions below or Tweet us your opinions!
For more Syracuse coverage, Like our Facebook page and follow us @TheJuiceOnline.
