Ball State Football

Where will Ball State Go?

To the BCS Championship……

Well, maybe not, a TON of stuff has to happen for them to have any kind of dream of going. I mean, EVERYBODY has to lose for Ball State to get into the BCS.

But in light of their win the other night, and a 10-0 record, it is possible they could be 13-0 before a bowl. We KNOW they are going to a bowl, one of about 51 teams currently now eligible for a bowl, but where will they go?

Let’s talk about that.

The MAC, if I am correct, has contractual affiliations to 3 bowls: the GMAC Bowl, the Motor City Bowl and the International Bowl. It’s kinda hard for me to tell you the order of importance without taking a serious look at it, but if the premise is that the lesser bowls are usually played early, then the Motor City Bowl seems to be the least of the three, and may potentially have a MAC vs. a very low ranked Big 10 team.

If we go on the idea that a 10-0 Ball State is THE best team right now in the conference, then we’d have to at LEAST put them in the best MAC bowl game. It is possible that the International Bowl in Canada would put Ball State against a Big East team, OR they could play in the GMAC Bowl vs. a Conference USA Team… personally, I’d like to see Ball State against a Big East team, because CUSA just isn’t making the noise that the MAC, WAC or MWC has this year.

So IF Ball State wins out, they would be going to maybe the International Bowl in Canada against a team like maybe Connecticut or Cincinnati. Interesting. But the problem is that it would be a huge drop for the hopes that this team has. How can you be 10-0 (and a possible 13-0) and not get a better shot at a better bowl?

There was discussion on “Around the Horn” about whether Ball State deserves to be in the BCS Bowls…sadly I just can’t put them there. With Utah, Boise State, TCU and BYU having much tougher schedules, and with Utah and Boise State also undefeated, I just can’t put Ball State past those teams. So unless those teams lose, there is no way Ball State can participate in the BCS Bowls.

But there has GOT to be a better bowl for them, right? Well, you have to remember that they are contractually obligated to those aforementioned bowls, so it’s not really their call. It’s not like they can petition the Cotton Bowl in Dallas Texas and play there, because every bowl has particular teams and conferences they are contracted to. And if you notice, many of those bowls are contracted not just by conference, but by LOCATION.

Why is this important? Because bowl committees want teams that are close enough to sell tickets. Nobody wants to have a bowl on national television where half the seats are empty. Remember folks this is about MONEY, so the bowls that are affiliated with the MAC are also based near that conference’s area.

Ball State is located in Indiana. The Motor City Bowl is located in Detroit, Michigan. The GMAC Bowl is located in Mobile Alabama, about 670 miles and the International Bowl is…well, it’s in Canada. But it’s actually CLOSER by almost 300 miles than Mobile.

This is important because a bowl wants to know of the team, in this case, Ball State, can sell enough tickets to make this a profitable venture. Remember, it’s about money folks, regardless of your record.

So Ball State might be stuck in a small bowl because of contractual obligations and location, and the only way into the BCS bowls is if they first handle their business and go 13-0 AND both Utah AND Boise State lose. It’s gonna be tough because Ball State deserves better, but may be seen either in Canada or in Mobile, Alabama. I don’t see them in the Motor City Bowl, because this bowl is too soon to showcase Ball State. We will see what the future holds.