[NU Sports] when will we know?

[Brad Kaiser]

Stephen Truog wrote:

>But I thought the Music City was #6
>in SEC pecking order, so -- unless the SEC gets two
>BCS teams -- we'd still face one of their Big Six this
>year.

According to the Nashville paper, this is not true.  The Independence
Bowl and the Music City Bowl have some interlocking contract terms with
the SEC as far as team selection go.  As things work out, the Independence
Bowl gets to pick before the Music City Bowl this year*, and, with
Tennessee's loss yesterday, there won't be enough SEC teams to go around.

(*The Independence Bowl gets first pick because last year, only one
SEC team was left by the time the MUB and IB got around to picking.
The contract allows the school's AD to pick -- Alabama picked Nashville
-- but specifies that the bowl that doesn't get picked gets first
pick if there's only one SEC team left any time in the next four years.
How's that for a complicated contract? :-0)

The Music City Bowl will de-affiliate from the Big Ten after this year
and contract with the ACC, so they're going to try to get an ACC opponent.
(Clemson?  The Maryland-Virginia winner?  NC State?) Failing that, they
might go with Memphis if the Tigers end up being bowl-eligible.

Brad Kaiser
(bkaiser at heartoftn.net)