31 Comments

So you’re saying we have a chance….

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Nope. The Pac-12 has adopted a rule that sub-.500 teams can not participate in bowl games even if eligible and invited.

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So we have to go 6-6, so…..

You’re saying we have a chance…

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Too bad. I know we have to win both remaining games. I think we take down UCLA although ostensibly they are a much tougher opponent than SC. The SC game will be at 8 pm and we will be wearing the throwback unis. Can anyone remember when Cal last won a game in these unis? I don't.

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author

See my other reply in this topic. It's all about money. The 2020 rule was likely to avoid Pac-12 teams from being embarrassed on a national stage (and was dead-on in retrospect) as bowl win requirements were waived during the 2020 season, but the "6 win" requirement from the Pac-12 prior to that was likely to discourage Pac-12 teams from attending fringe/bottom-tier bowls that cost more money to attend that the bowl would pay out to the conference (teams may be willing to eat costs in the name of national TV exposure, but the conference might not).

If there is a bowl that will make a profit for the conference (either because the Pac-12 is short on bowl-eligible teams, or because a random bowl wants to invite Cal), I am sure the conference would make an exception to whatever "rule" they made up.

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They won't do it, bc the P12 Conference has no idea how to look out for it's members, but the Pac 12 should take a page out of the Big 10 playbook...they changed their league bylaws to ensure Ohio State could appear in the B1G Championship game....

Maybe Kliavkoff will get this turned around after Larry Scott went all Wyking Jones in command.....

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Sub .500 teams have no business being in a bowl.

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author

I think people are misunderstanding this one. The Pac-12 (Larry Scott) announced in 2020 that Pac-12 teams needed to have a .500 record to go to a bowl, but they were saying that because win requirements etc. were waived during Covid (bowls want money, and many teams didn't want to go to bowls last year). Previously, the Pac-12 announced (in the wake of expanding bowl lineups in 2018) that they'd require 6 wins for eligibility, but I believe this was to discourage Pac-12 teams from playing in fringe-tier bowls, where the cost of attending the bowls actually outweigh the bowl payouts.

If the Pac-12 is short on eligible bowl teams to fill the tie-ins (bowls we already know pay out more than they cost to attend), or a bowl that pays out decent money wants to invite Cal, I promise you the Pac-12 will find some excuse as to why the 6-win or 0.500 record etc doesn't apply. The 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl featured a 6-7 UCLA team (that ended the season 6-8), for instance.

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But the NCAA rule is that 6-win teams have to be chosen before 5-7 teams. If there aren’t enough P12 to fill the tie-in bows, then other six-win teams are chosen. 5-7 teams will never play in good bowls.

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A couple of 5-7 team probably would've put forth a better effort than Cal & TCU in the Cheez-It disaster, though, unfortunately

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And this year's Cal, even at 5-7, should be able to put entertaining game

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You are what your record says you are, but the Bears are definitely playing better in all 3 facets of football than they were the first month of the year.

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author

That's actually a much better chance via the 5-win/APR route than I would have thought. Still, the Bears should and will be looking at these next two games as must-wins.

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Well the Albany Bowl isn't too bad, looks really fun

https://i.gifer.com/9yyb.gif

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Nov 27, 2021Liked by Christopher Helling

https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-passes-new-rule-requiring-6-wins-play-bowl-game-222601329.html

Report at time said presidents approved it. Stated reason is to maintain high level of quality for bowl games, but I suspect the real reason is that the 5-7 teams end up in the worst bowl games that are money-losers for the schools. This rule gives teams an excuse to turn down the bowl buds without pissing off the fans.

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Texas is 974 also, not that it matters to Cal. Biggest q

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biggest question is if Cal could get a waiver from the league to play in one...

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Also known as COVID, eh, Leland? Is Sparty not required to test?

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32726865/sources-michigan-state-affected-flu-outbreak-football-team

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Penn Stte had the same a week or two ago. The optimist in me thinks we should turn this into a recruiting advantage, telling the parents that we care about your kids and won’t out them at risk

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Agreed...Newellbany & I had this conversation last week, with him being on the optimistic side. I think while that is all well & good & that a program should absolutely show they care for the kids, at the end of the day, the kids care about wins....they think they’re gonna live forever anyways. Ha! Perhaps I’m just too beaten down by 40 years of Cal fandom, tho....

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While it clearly cost us a game, I'm proud to be a part of an institution that calls it what it is (COVID) and protects its student-athletes.

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Agree

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As am I....

What I have a problem with though is the lack of a level playing field, and though it absolutely shouldn't be the case, it clearly puts Cal at a disadvantage...at the end of the day, recruits likely care whether you went to a bowl game way more than the fact that what Berkeley calls COVID, State College, Tallahasee & East Lansing call "the flu."

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Life isn't fair. Cal did the "right" thing and that will resonate with some recruits but mostly w/ their parents ~ at least I'd like to think so.

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Whether they did the "right" thing is certainly up for debate, tho it definitely resonated with many parents of the current players, and negatively at that.

Let's sweep the LA schools and lessen the impact....

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I thought many parents were upset that their kids were not allowed to play due to covid ... even with symptoms

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"A source said some players likely will try to play through their symptoms against the Nittany Lions."

SMH

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yes, shaking my head. and this is an acronym used very frequently.

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Anyone notice the B10 officials in Ohio St./Michigan swallowing their whistles? The inept P12 stripes would be throwing flags all over the yard...

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