[Sly Fox]

As the bowl invitations begin to trickle out, here are the most recent projections:

Kyle Bonagra - ESPN: @ South Alabama in 68 Ventures Bowl on Dec 26th

Mark Schlabach - ESPN: vs. Ohio in Hawaii Bowl on Dec 24th

Jerry Palm - CBS Sports: vs. Western Michigan in Bahamas Bowl on Jan 4th

Bill Bender - The Sporting News: vs. Marshall in Frisco Bowl on Dec 18th

Brad Crawford - 247sports: vs. South Alabama in Salute to Veterans (Camelia) Bowl on Dec 14th

[Cider Jim]

Bill Bender - The Sporting News: vs. Marshall in Frisco Bowl on Dec 18th

[ballcoach15]

Hopefully we'll get a bowl in Florida or Alabama. Playing Marshall in Montgomery or Orlando would be good.

[Purple Haize]

Bill Bender - The Sporting News: vs. Marshall in Frisco Bowl on Dec 18th

Any other year I’d go down for that! West Virginia’s Junior College should do well

[ballcoach15]

South Alabama will play Western Michigan in the Montgomery, AL bowl December 14. I was hoping LU would get that bowl game. Why are they putting a MAC team in a bowl game in Alabama ? Western Michigan has a 6-6 record. LU would have been a more attractive option.

San Jose State and South Florida will play in Hawaii Bowl.

[Sly Fox]

Because the old Camelia Bowl is the bottom of the barrel. Glad Hawaii is off the table.

[flameshaw]

Will say it again. I hope we do not accept a bowl invite. I am sure we will, but I for one, don't like it. First, we won't be playing with our team, because of the transfers, etc. We were very, very thin before all of the post-season movement. Finally, do we do not need another national embarrassment on TV, like the Oregon debacle. We may not be matched with a team that can beat us badly, but who cares if we beat the sisters of the blind???????
Yes, I can buy the extra practice, to a certain extent. However as a former player, that is way over-blown. The coaches know what we have now, the new recruits can't practice or be on campus. They will have plenty of time to see what the new guys can do before the new season starts.

[JK37]

I would think that as a former player, you would be 100% in favor of the program accepting a reward for the players. Bowl trips are fun. And regardless of unmet expectations, the opportunity of a bowl trip was earned.

[jmclaughlin]

Will say it again. I hope we do not accept a bowl invite. I am sure we will, but I for one, don't like it. First, we won't be playing with our team, because of the transfers, etc. We were very, very thin before all of the post-season movement. Finally, do we do not need another national embarrassment on TV, like the Oregon debacle. We may not be matched with a team that can beat us badly, but who cares if we beat the sisters of the blind???????
Yes, I can buy the extra practice, to a certain extent. However as a former player, that is way over-blown. The coaches know what we have now, the new recruits can't practice or be on campus. They will have plenty of time to see what the new guys can do before the new season starts.

I would agree with this if LU was the only team dealing with the portal. Every potential matchup will be against a team also getting poached.
I hope we treat it as a preseason game. Play to win but also get as much game film on some depth guys. Would love to see some of the Freshman and sophs buried in the depth chart get a shot. Caden Williams getting 10+ carries. Bradford, Burger, Blue, Seneca Moore, Crisp, etc getting some looks. That would be as exciting as lining up against the Maine Fighting Bears at full strength

[prototype]

Will say it again. I hope we do not accept a bowl invite. I am sure we will, but I for one, don't like it. First, we won't be playing with our team, because of the transfers, etc. We were very, very thin before all of the post-season movement. Finally, do we do not need another national embarrassment on TV, like the Oregon debacle. We may not be matched with a team that can beat us badly, but who cares if we beat the sisters of the blind???????
Yes, I can buy the extra practice, to a certain extent. However as a former player, that is way over-blown. The coaches know what we have now, the new recruits can't practice or be on campus. They will have plenty of time to see what the new guys can do before the new season starts.

You want to kill a program...Start declining bowl bids. Why would we end our streak of bowls, just because a few players are leaving... What an opportunity for Berger to prove himself...

[flameshaw]

I believe we saw what our #2 qb could do the last two games. It wasn’t real impressive.

I am conceding that we are going to accept a bowl bid. I just wish we could play with the same players that played all season. Unfortunately we can’t.
Even worse, it is things like this (portal, players afraid of getting hurt, etc) has ruined the college game even quicker than imagined.

As a huge bowl fan, been to at least 20 Rose Bowl games. The first of January was the best time of the year. Now they might just as well show the Heidi reruns.

[Sly Fox]

Latest on Bowl situation:

Dec 14th - Salute to Veterans Bowl
South Alabama vs. Western Michigan


Dec 17th - Frisco Bowl
Memphis vs. West Virginia


Dec 18th - Boca Raton Bowl
Group of 6 vs. Group of 6
This could be a terrific trip to South Florida with the kids out of school. Perhaps combined with a cruise?


Dec 19th - New Orleans Bowl
CUSA vs. Sun Belt
This may be the most attractive bowl we have a chance to score. NOLA is an amazing experience and it is within reasonable driving distance for most of our fan base. Count me strongly in on this one if it comes to fruition.


Dec 20th - Cure Bowl
Group of 6 vs. Group of 6
No explanation is necessary. No other school in the country knows this bowl in Orlando as well as LU.


Dec 23rd - Myrtle Beach Bowl
CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
This likely is an attractive bowl for much of our fanbase. It is driveable and you can make it home for Christmas Eve.


Dec 24th - Hawaii Bowl
USF vs. San Jose State


Dec 26th - 68 Ventures Bowl
CUSA/MAC/Sun Belt
This is the old LendingTree Bowl in Mobile with a new sponsor. We have been there and done this one.


Dec 27th - Armed Forces Bowl
AAC/Big XII/CUSA
It is in Fort Worth which provides inexpensive flights into DFW. Fort Worth has a cool Western vibe with the Stockyards and such.


Dec 28th - New Mexico Bowl
Mountain West vs. Group of Five
This now looks like a strong possibility. But I think they would prefer Sammy.


Jan 4th - Bahamas Bowl
CUSA vs. MAC
The folks at Sam are hearing that the Bearkats couldn't play in this one because they didn't have enough kids with passports. Not sure what our situation might be.

[jcmanson]

Bowl pairing should be announced today

[jcmanson]

Liberty has accepted a bid to the Bahamas Bowl, will face Buffalo on January 4
https://www.aseaofred.com/liberty-accep ... e-buffalo/

[Sly Fox]

Ugh. Guess I will look at travel packages. But I'm not optimistic.

[Sly Fox]

Flying from Houston is off the table due to airfare but the flights from Virginia & North Carolina can be had sub-$400 RT. That's doable. Look at AirBnBs and vrbos when checking out lodging options. Don't just look at Atlantis and the big resorts.

[ballcoach15]

We should have held out for better bowl, i.e. better location and more attractive opponent. Only positive thing about this bowl is the weather down there.

[rtb72]

Welp....guess I'll be saving some money this year. That and the Hawaii Bowl were the two our family was not going to make. Should be a nice trip for the team, though.

[Sly Fox]

ESPN does the match-making for this game. The stadium is tiny so having a big crowd is not a concern. It will be interesting to see what events that the Bahamians have that week for fans. Last year the game was in Charlotte whilke the stadium was renovated. So who knows what they have planned this year?

Once again, the flights are surprisingly reasonable right now. Most of the holiday crowds will be leaving town right as you would be flying in. It is definitely worth looking into even if it is a longshot.

[jmclaughlin]

Outside of Hawaii, this was the least attractive option. Oh well. Saves the friendly disagreement about time management with my +1.

[TH Spangler]

Fun location for the players. Some of the opt outs might change their mine

[LUOrange]

Fun location for the players. Some of the opt outs might change their mine

We haven't heard who isn't playing from the portal entries yet. Based on last year, Chadwell will let them all still play. Hopefully, most will still play as it could be their only chance at a Bowl game and Bowl game win. It made no sense to me that the 3 opted out of the Fiesta Bowl last year, just due to the even more "once in a lifetime" opportunity that the Fiesta presented.

[LUOrange]

We should have held out for better bowl, i.e. better location and more attractive opponent. Only positive thing about this bowl is the weather down there.

I agree. Apparently, we and CUSA liked the Scamdemic year of playing in front of empty stadiums. Obviously, I wasn't in the room or privy to the negotiations, but it definitely feels like we cater more than we should with CUSA. But at least the team gets a trip to the Bahamas.

[jcmanson]

Flying from Houston is off the table due to airfare but the flights from Virginia & North Carolina can be had sub-$400 RT. That's doable. Look at AirBnBs and vrbos when checking out lodging options. Don't just look at Atlantis and the big resorts.

Please link me to those sub-$400 flights!

[JK37]

We should have held out for better bowl, i.e. better location and more attractive opponent. Only positive thing about this bowl is the weather down there.

You can’t “hold out”. You go where ESPN tells you to go.