ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach ranked the college football bowl games from 1 to 34, and SI.com’s Stewart Mandel did the same. They have differing opinions on the Armed Forces Bowl.
4 comments on “Where Does this Year’s Armed Forces Bowl Rank Among the 34 Bowls?”
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I have been with the The Gazette since 2006 and began covering Air Force athletics in the fall of 2012. While with The Gazette I've jumped from layout & design to covering the Sky Sox to spending several years overseeing our high school sports coverage. I've written for newspapers at the University of Kansas, St. Joseph, Mo., and Maui. (By the way, one of those things is not like the other) At home, my wife, Jennifer, and I have three young daughters, ranging in age from 3 1/2 to 8 months. As you might imagine, sleep is scarce, so please forgive a typo or two. Follow me on twitter @BrentBriggeman
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Agree with SI. How can one put Armed Forces above Poinsettia? Disappointing and boring all around. TCU got the shaft. There were about 6 glorious minutes on Saturday night when I thought they couldn’t be denied, but Nebraska failed me. I’m contemplating a full-on BCS boycott. Who’s with me?
Falconsis –
I was pretty surprised ESPN had the bowl up at No. 12. That’s pretty high praise for a re-match. Tho the No. 1 pass offense vs. the No. 1 pass defense should be fun to watch.
And, yes, TCU did get the shaft. Can we just get a playoff, please?
Is this a no-win situation ‘nationally’ for AF? If we win it’s the ‘yeah, 2nd year in a row game, their turn to win, etc’ and if we lose ‘yeah, AF loses 2nd year in a row, etc’. Curious on your thoughts?
Well, I’m not sure if The Armed Forces Bowl resonates much – or at all – nationally (same could be said for most bowls outside the BCS and perhaps the Cotton and Gator Bowls — save for the fans of the two teams, most folks really don’t care too much). So I’m not sure casual observers will really read enough into the game to take anything away from the Falcons.
But I’d say it’s not a no-win situation for the Falcons. I think a victory by Air Force would be considered a good win. Houston won the bowl last year and AF’s win during the regular season came under trying circumstances for the Cougars. Plus, Houston spent much of the season in the top 25 and with its offense (and QB) became fairly well-known nationally (especially after knocking off Oklahoma State).
Most importantly, Air Force badly needs a marquee victory, which it hasn’t had all season. Right now, all seven teams AF has beaten are .500 or worse. If Wyoming loses in the New Mexico Bowl to Fresno State and Navy beats Army (both likely), the all’ seven of the Falcons’ victories will have come over teams that finished with losing records.