LSU still alive in three bowl discussions

It’s hard to find a silver lining in the Tigers’ heartbreaking post-Thanksgiving loss to Arkansas.

“It makes you sick,” coach Les Miles said of his team’s breakdown in the 31-30 loss Friday in War Memorial Stadium.

The game had been billed as a chance to salvage a disappointing four-loss season and build momentum before a bowl matchup.

Instead, the Tigers’ losses mounted to five after they squandered a 16-point third quarter lead and allowed Arkansas to methodically march down the field to score a game-winning touchdown in the last minute.

But if there’s any postgame optimism to be found, it might be in the fact that LSU’s bowl options did not take a big hit after the loss.

The Tigers still have high odds of landing a bid to the Chick-fil-A or Outback bowls, according to many projections released this weekend.

Assuming that Southeastern Conference Championship contenders Alabama and Florida will receive BCS bids, the remaining bowl-eligible SEC teams are Georgia, Ole Miss, South Carolina, LSU, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

The Capital One bowl gets top pick after the BCS selections and will likely opt for Georgia (9-3), the SEC team with the best record.

The Outback and AT&T Cotton bowls get the next selections, with the Cotton Bowl getting first pick on a western division team and the Outback Bowl having first choice for the eastern division.

Ole Miss, with an 8-4 record and a win against LSU, is likely Dallas-bound for the Cotton Bowl. The Outback Bowl would then face a choice between two 7-5 teams, either South Carolina or LSU. The other eligible teams, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, have 6-6 records. The Chick-fil-A Bowl (formerly the Peach Bowl) picks immediately following the Cotton and Outback bowls.

The Outback Bowl, played at 11. a.m. EST in Tampa, Fla. on New Year’s Day, usually pits an SEC Eastern Division team against a Big Ten team.

The last time the Outback Bowl selected a West team was in 1997, when Alabama defeated Michigan.

But Mike Schulze, Outback Bowl director of communications and sponsorships, said the bowl isn’t opposed to looking at a team from the West.

“The two [South Carolina and LSU] are very likely candidates,” he said. “We cannot lose with either team.”

Schulze said it’s too early for the Outback Bowl to make a selection, given all the national scenarios that could affect other bowl picks.

He predicts the selection will not be made until Sunday.

“We have realized and recognized that it does not make sense to move forward with selections when we don’t know for sure what our options are,” he said. “We can assume certain things will happen, but sometimes that is not the case.”

The financial difference between the Outback Bowl and Chick-fil-A bowl is minimal, as the Outback Bowl pays $3.1 million minimum per team compared to the Chick-fil-A Bowl’s approximate $3 million.

Gary Stokan, president of the Chick-fil-A Bowl, said LSU is high on the list of SEC teams to face an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent at 7:30 p.m. EST on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta.

Stokan said the committee planned to meet Monday night to discuss options, but like other bowls, must wait for other scenarios to unfold. Stokan said the committee is looking at South Carolina, LSU, Vanderbilt and Kentucky but considers either LSU or South Carolina to be the best option.

LSU defeated Florida State, 31-27, in the inaugural Peach Bowl in 1968. LSU’s most recent appearance was in 2005, when Miles led the Tigers to a 40-3 win against Miami.
Stokan said he has been in contact with LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva about LSU’s potential invitation.

“From what I understand Les and Joe have both said, ‘What do we have to do to get to Atlanta? We want to get up there and play in the Chick-fil-A bowl,’” Stokan said. “We’re in an unopposed TV time-slot that is ranked higher than Outback.”

The upside of picking South Carolina, Stokan said, would be the school’s close proximity to Atlanta and the ACC rivalry, considering South Carolina was once in the league.
Stokan said he is confident LSU fans would travel well despite disappointment from a five-loss season.

“I have a great deal of faith in the LSU fans that they would be excited,” he said.

Depending on the outcomes this weekend, LSU might face an outside chance of falling down to the AutoZone Liberty bowl, which sent representatives to the LSU vs.
Arkansas game. The Liberty Bowl pits the Conference USA champion against an SEC opponent.

“Nothing has been determined,” said Verge Ausberry, LSU senior associate athletic director. “Nothing is known officially. Everything is kept under strict confidentiality. We probably won’t know until Saturday night or Sunday morning.”




----Contact Amy Brittain at abrittain@lsureveille.com

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Seth

Thu Dec 4 2008 12:26

Les Miles tends to do well in bowl games. I think the time off gives Les and the team time to really prepare. Think about it, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State- all were blown out.

Miles is the next Carr

Tue Dec 2 2008 23:13

No way we go to the Outback Bowl: Spurrier (going all by himself) would be a bigger draw than LSU would be. Besides we probably would kill one of the Big Ten teams, and that would not look good for the Midwest media. Atlanta here we come!!! Chick Fil-a

Hopefully, we will have a Def Cord. by then.
I still believe that Les Miles = Lloyd Carr

Get rid of Les and go get Will Muschamp----we would be good for at least a decade.

Your name

Tue Dec 2 2008 22:39

L.S.U. doesn't need to geaux to bowl game the way they have been playing lately, they need to come down to earth & start acting like a normal football team. They need to grow up & stop trying to show off because they are not playing like a top 20 football team anymore. Grow up & quit being a bunch of "hot dogs" out there!!!!!

Dillusioned Fan

Tue Dec 2 2008 15:48

After the Arkansas game, Les Miles went into hiding and for good reasons. I guess he did not want to have to answer questions about the team's chaotic state. I have no idea why he did not have a press conference to explain the situation, with the programs challenges, then address the plan he will follow to correct the obviously serious problems.

I agree about the team being undeserving of a bowl game. I don't think our fans will support the brand of football we were given in the last several home games and at Arkansas.

Miles is responsible for the disintegration and I wonder if he is capable of fixing it. I would also like to know what he was doing as all of this chaos developed. I don't think he will address the matter and some say he might be in denial.

Armagetz

Tue Dec 2 2008 14:52

Gotta love Reveille research in their writing, There is basically NO chance of LSU going to the Liberty bowl. The only way it can happen is if some odd events happen in the SEC championship that leads to one of the two participants not going to a BCS bowl....something that is exceedingly unlikely considering the lack of good at-large teams outside of the Big 12. Something might have happened if USC didn't win the Pac-10, but they didn't, so it won't.

Bottom line is, as long as UF and Bama both go in the BCS, it is against NCAA rules for LSU to fall past the Peach. They are required to take us if we are available. We have a far greater chance of going to the Cotton Bowl (from the Captial One Bowl deciding to take Ole Miss instead of UGA...unlikely, but possible) than us going to the Liberty bowl.

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