I got my emerald bowl tickets
Emerald Bowl reaction
December 2nd, 2007
The story in Monday?s GT breaks down how the selection process went. Basically, the Sun Bowl people know fans don?t want to go to El Paso two years in a row.
Athletic director Bob De Carolis was said to be very upset about the situation, but coach Mike Riley talked him down. De Carolis was calmly miffed when he talked with the media Sunday night. Many of the players and Riley took it well, but some weren?t happy because Oregon goes to the third-place bowl and Beavers are going to the fourth-place bowl.
?It?s only in their mind and people?s minds,? Riley said of people being upset the Ducks going to a high-ranking bowl game. ?We are definitely third place and we definitely beat Oregon. We are looking forward to playing Maryland. It?s a good opponent. It doesn?t matter. It?s a great matchup. The Sun Bowl wouldn?t be any better than Maryland.?
The players were thrilled about this. They wanted to avoid El Paso like the plague. Here are some reactions:
?It would have been nice to go back to the Sun Bowl,? C Kyle DeVan said. ?It is the No. 3 bowl and we finished third. However, we?re going to a new bowl and getting a new experience is better for our team. And we?ve already dabbled in that city.?
?There wasn?t anything to do there,? RB Yvenson Bernard said. ?It was boring. It was. I would have taken the (Las) Vegas Bowl over the Sun Bowl, but the Emerald Bowl is a better bowl that Vegas.?
Here are some points to clear up about bowl season.
+ The Emerald Bowl is the fourth-place bowl this year. Las Vegas is fifth. They switch every year.
+ The Beavers are not hit financially going to the Emerald Bowl instead of the Sun Bowl. All bowl money is put in a pool and divided evenly among the Pac-10. The big financial loss was Arizona State not making a BCS game.
+ Other than attracting the Rodgers brothers, who are from near Houston, there?s little recruiting draw going to the Sun Bowl. The Bay Area is a hotbed for OSU recruiting.
? Cliff