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Northwestern-Vandy: New Year’s Day Is Dead

Oct 8, 2009, 9:00 PM UTC

â†µThe Gator and Outback bowls have always been the mediocre sidelightsâ†µof New Year's Day, where 8-4 Wisconsin takes on 8-4 Tennessee or someâ†µ7-5 Notre Dame team takes on an ACC also-ran. They've always slightlyâ†µdetracted from the glitz and glamour of what used to be the queen of allâ†µdays to play college football. The Outback is still the Outback, aâ†µmildly interesting game that's the only thing on in the noon window.â†µIt's a fine appetizer for the rest of the day. â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Gator, on the other hand, has gone full-bore for irrelevance.â†µIrrelevance and money, sure, but irrelevance nonetheless:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥The [sponsor redacted] Gator Bowl is on the verge of announcing aâ†µâ‡¥deal that will bring a Southeastern Conference team vs. a Big Ten teamâ†µâ‡¥to the New Year’s Day bowl game at the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium,â†µâ‡¥from 2010-2013.â†µâ†µâ†µHey, that sounds good!â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥The Gator Bowl will be in line behind the BCS, the Capital One Bowlâ†µâ‡¥in Orlando, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the Outback Bowl in Tampa and theâ†µâ‡¥Chik-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta for an SEC team. The Big Ten choice will comeâ†µâ‡¥after the BCS, Capital One and Outback Bowls.â†µâ†µâ†µYeeeeargh. For those scoring at home, that’s either the No. 4 or No. 5 Bigâ†µTen team and the No. 6 or No. 7 SEC team, depending on whether or not thoseâ†µconferences get a second team into the BCS. They usually do. Last year’sâ†µhypothetical matchup, according to Doctor Saturday:â†µVanderbilt-Northwestern. 2007: Penn State vs Mississippi State. 2006:â†µPurdue vs Kentucky. 2005: Iowa (in 7-5 mode) vs South Carolina. This isâ†µnot New Year’s Day, it’s December 28th in Shreveport. No offense to theâ†µfine people of Shreveport. â†µ

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â†µThe occasional half-decent Big Ten team is going to end up in this inâ†µyears when there isn't a second BCS bid in the conference, but when isâ†µthat going to be? There are now four at large slots for six conferencesâ†µand Notre Dame, and two of those conferences are the Big East and ACC.â†µSome desperate BCS bowl is always going to snatch up the second-placeâ†µBig Ten team unless it's just a disaster of a year where only one teamâ†µbreaches 9-3. And South Carolina is about the best-case scenario for theâ†µ#6 SEC team.â†µ

â†µâ†µThough Big Ten fans are sure to get sick of yet another bowl againstâ†µyet another SEC team in yet another city in Florida, this might be ofâ†µsome small help to the conference’s national reputation, since mostâ†µyears they’ll have a major advantage in the matchup here, which will beâ†µa first for the conference. Usually the big TV draws of Big Ten schoolsâ†µyield matchups where the conference plays up instead of down. If the Bigâ†µTen can take down the Vandys and Kentuckys of the world with regularity,â†µwhy, shortsighted TV talking heads might say unwarranted nice thingsâ†µabout them. And that would be something. â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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