North Carolina State University Athletics
Bowl Madness!
11/26/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 26, 2001
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-The most balanced and competitive ACC football race in years has also created the most convoluted bowl situation the league has experienced in quite some time. After posting a second straight 7-4 record, NC State has become an attractive option for a couple of bowls, primarily because it played its best football down the stretch.
Among other things, bowl committees really love teams that are red hot at the end of the season. And other than Maryland, which won the ACC Championship, no team in the league was playing better football than NC State over the last five weeks of the season.
"I think that's very important," said former ACC Assistant Commissioner Tom Mickle, who now heads up the organization that runs the Tangerine Bowl. "The team with the hot hand usually has their fans excited at the end of the season. Those with high expectations at the beginning of the year that finished slowly are not as attractive to the bowls. In the ACC this year you have who beat whom as the question. It's really convoluted. You could really make an argument for any of the six teams beyond Maryland that are eligible. With that scenario you want the hot team at the end of the year, and certainly NC State is exhibiting that right now. If we were to end up with NC State and Pittsburgh, we would end up with two teams that won nine of their last 10 games."
With a season-ending victory over Alabama Birmingham this weekend, Pittsburgh would wrap up the Big East Conference's spot in the Tangerine Bowl. The question is, will we know before then which team from the ACC will oppose the Panthers? NC State would seem to be the favorite to fill that spot unless it is scooped up by the Peach Bowl following this Saturday's game between North Carolina and SMU. Since they are playing a 12-game schedule this season, the Tar Heels (6-5) need one more win to become bowl eligible.
Committee members for the Peach and Tangerine Bowls are scheduled to meet separately at different times today. Executives for the Tangerine Bowl are antsy to nail down a match-up, especially since the game will be played on December 20.
"One of the main factors with us is that December 20th date," Mickle said. "Obviously, this year with the tragedy of September 11 and the games getting pushed back a week or two, was something we didn't expect. We thought we would have our teams selected prior to this week. If we can get an extra week on the ticket sales, I think that would be very important. We meet every Monday morning and the Peach Bowl meets every Monday afternoon. We do have a selection committee that would need to vote, but certainly NC State would be near the top of our list, if not at the top."
Ironically, a contest between NC State and Pittsburgh would be a rematch of the 1978 Tangerine Bowl, a game the Wolfpack won 30-17. Against a defense anchored by All-America linebacker Hugh Green, Pack tailback Ted Brown closed out his record-breaking career by rushing for 126 yards on 28 carries.
"Pittsburgh is the most likely candidate to qualify out of the Big East," Mickle said. "They stand 5-5 right now, but they have won four games in a row. They have Alabama-Birmingham at Pittsburgh this Saturday. If they win that game, it looks like they'll be the Big East selection."
By winning the ACC title, Maryland has already clinched the ACC's spot in the BCS. The Gator Bowl, which has the second choice of ACC teams, seems poised to take Florida State, but only if the Seminoles beat Georgia Tech at home this weekend. The league's third pick goes to the Peach Bowl, followed by the Tangerine. The Seattle Bowl will have access to the fifth choice from the ACC.
"We have a pretty good relationship [with the other bowls]," Mickle said. "We talked to the Gator and the Peach at the very end of last week. At that time, the Gator was of the notion that they wanted to take the Florida State-Georgia Tech winner. I think the Peach's options were a little fuzzier. I think they still had NC State on their list along with Florida State and North Carolina. I don't think they want to eliminate any of those choices right now. We would hope that they might release a team or two, but if that doesn't happen we'll have to wait for December 1st. We know the rules of the game and we're in it for the long run anyhow. If we have to wait until the first, we'll just have to wait."
