Did Pitt get the old ACC home cooking on Bowl Selections?

[Dointhatrag]

Looking at the Bowl lineup here are my thoughts on where the ACC landed.
Ultimately I think the ACC placed most correctly.

Maybe Pitt to the Military but the ECU/NC State game will likely get better attendance with proximity and matchup interest between the schools
Pinstripe - Pitt probably would have gone here had they beat BC to close the season. BC played Fenway last year so I get why they got moved to NYC
Mayo - Va Tech ended with a better record and will get larger fan attendance than Pitt in Charlotte.

Only question is UNC to Fenway. This feels like a little ACC home cooking for Mack Brown's last game instead of being in Detroit to play Toledo. While neither Uconn or Toledo move the needle at least Pitt has some history with Uconn. UNC has never played in either the Fenway or quick lane. Pitt has never played in Fenway

LA Bowl - Cal makes sense for travel and fans

	Conference	Overall	Bowl	Location	Opponent
	W-L	W-L
SMU Mustangs	8-0	11-2	CFP
Clemson Tigers	7-1	10-3	CFP
Miami Hurricanes	6-2	10-2	Pop Tarts	Orlando	Iowa St
Syracuse Orange	5-3	9-3	Holiday	San Diego	Wash St.
Louisville Cardinals	5-3	8-4	Sun	El Paso	Washington
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	5-3	7-5	Birmingham	Birmingham	Vanderbilt
Duke Blue Devils	5-3	9-3	Gator	Jacksonville	Ole Miss
Virginia Tech Hokies	4-4	8-4	Mayo	Charlotte	Minnesota
Boston College Eagles	4-4	7-5	Pinstripe	NYC	Nebraska
Pittsburgh Panthers	3-5	7-5	Game Above?	Detroit	Toledo
NC State Wolfpack	3-5	6-6	Miltary	Annapolis	East Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels	3-5	6-6	Fenway	Boston	Uconn
California Golden Bears	2-6	6-6	LA Bowl		UNLV

 

[PittMan2003]

I don't think any of the bowls really matter other than the playoff. I have felt that way for years especially with the opt-outs. I am happy we play a garbage team which gives us a better chance to go into the offseason with a win on a high note.

I appreciate your work on this though!

 

[Pittparade]

Bowls mean less now than ever. Which venue wanted to take a team with a five game losing streak?

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

We have the 8th longest losing streak in the country. We'll go where they tell us.

 

[Upg bobcat]

What other ACC team would they send to Detroit? We are the only one within driving distance, and the Detroit bowl probably loves us if they don't get a Big 10 team. When we played EMU, that was probably the most visiting fans an ACC school has ever brought. Do you think BC, Duke, UNC, or GT brought more?

 

[happjack]

Cal is in the LA Bowl since the old PAC 12 teams are still tied to the PAC 12 bowls this season and next.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

No. I said last week that Pitt may not get an ACC bowl. Reasons why:

- 7-5 is only one game better than the minimum so that doesn't help.

- Losing streak: this is disastrous for a bowl

- Fan travel: Fans couldn't be less enthusiastic about a bowl based on our losing streak. Being that the better bowls are in the south, its unrealistic to think Pitt would have sold many tickets. Now if Pitt is 9-3 or 10-2 playing in Florida, that's different.

Pitt was quite possibly the least attractive bowl-eligible P4 team this season.

 

[MorningCoffee13]

When I saw the television viewing numbers for ACC teams last week I was surprised to see how poorly we fared. I completely understand why bowls take a pass on us.

My pet theory is that Pitt never coddles their students and therefore nobody feels compelled to pay back.

 

[Pittnerski]

We had a better record and beat 2 H2H and still didn’t get an ACC affiliated bowl. That’s absurd. And it’s like this year after year. Our ceiling is Sun / Pinstripe

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

We had a better record and beat 2 H2H and still didn’t get an ACC affiliated bowl. That’s absurd. And it’s like this year after year. Our ceiling is Sun / Pinstripe

Means absolutely 0. Bowls want who will sell more tickets and turn on TV sets. Nobody wants to see a team who hasn't won since before Halloween. Probably the only bowl eligible team on a 5 game losing streak

 

[HailtoPitt]

Bowls don't want Pitt. Over the past 30 years, Pitt has played in ONE Florida bowl game, and 3 in Birmingham and 3 in Detroit. We have a rep for not traveling, and it's mostly true. Decades of incompetence from the administration, combined with sending students off campus to the Steelers stadium on yellow school busses doesn't help to build the connection and affinity schools need to help build a strong traveling fan base. That's reality. Not the ACC's fault.

 

[upj87]

Looking at the Bowl lineup here are my thoughts on where the ACC landed.
Ultimately I think the ACC placed most correctly.

Maybe Pitt to the Military but the ECU/NC State game will likely get better attendance with proximity and matchup interest between the schools
Pinstripe - Pitt probably would have gone here had they beat BC to close the season. BC played Fenway last year so I get why they got moved to NYC
Mayo - Va Tech ended with a better record and will get larger fan attendance than Pitt in Charlotte.

Only question is UNC to Fenway. This feels like a little ACC home cooking for Mack Brown's last game instead of being in Detroit to play Toledo. While neither Uconn or Toledo move the needle at least Pitt has some history with Uconn. UNC has never played in either the Fenway or quick lane. Pitt has never played in Fenway

LA Bowl - Cal makes sense for travel and fans

	Conference	Overall	Bowl	Location	Opponent
	W-L	W-L
SMU Mustangs	8-0	11-2	CFP
Clemson Tigers	7-1	10-3	CFP
Miami Hurricanes	6-2	10-2	Pop Tarts	Orlando	Iowa St
Syracuse Orange	5-3	9-3	Holiday	San Diego	Wash St.
Louisville Cardinals	5-3	8-4	Sun	El Paso	Washington
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	5-3	7-5	Birmingham	Birmingham	Vanderbilt
Duke Blue Devils	5-3	9-3	Gator	Jacksonville	Ole Miss
Virginia Tech Hokies	4-4	8-4	Mayo	Charlotte	Minnesota
Boston College Eagles	4-4	7-5	Pinstripe	NYC	Nebraska
Pittsburgh Panthers	3-5	7-5	Game Above?	Detroit	Toledo
NC State Wolfpack	3-5	6-6	Miltary	Annapolis	East Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels	3-5	6-6	Fenway	Boston	Uconn
California Golden Bears	2-6	6-6	LA Bowl		UNLV

I don't think it is possible to give a team on a 5 game losing street the shaft....

 

[Gunga_Galunga]

Most of the ACC bowls suck. If they were going to Birmingham, Boston or NY to play on a baseball field, or even Annapolis to play ECU - people would be bitching. Wow, we missed on on the Mayonaise bowl and playing a sh!tty Nebraska team. That would've gotten me interested....

 

[TheWerewolfFromTwilight]

Most of the ACC bowls suck. If they were going to Birmingham, Boston or NY to play on a baseball field, or even Annapolis to play ECU - people would be bitching. Wow, we missed on on the Mayonaise bowl and playing a sh!tty Nebraska team. That would've gotten me interested....

Call me jaded, but it's....

CFP

or

Everything else

You're either in the show or you're not. It's insane that these things even continue to count toward overall record.

 

[Burgh15]

While Pitt finished 7-5, they lost five straight and the eye test says this looked more like a 4-5 win team opposed to a 7-win team.

 

[bwh05]

Also the conference reimburses bowl travel. Proximity played a role why we’re in Detroit.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Also the conference reimburses bowl travel. Proximity played a role why we’re in Detroit.

That isnt why we are in this bowl. We're in it because none of the ACC bowls wanted Pitt and for good reason. We were the least attractive team, mostly due to the 5 game losing streak. So because we didnt get an ACC bowl, we may have had a choice between a few. Not sure what other bowls had openings, but they wouldn't be good ones. So Detroit was probably the best option or maybe the only option.