Turning it Around: Reseeding AAC bowls

Mike Aresco, AAC commissioner,

Mike Aresco, AAC commissioner, probably is going to seed the bowls differently next year.

Somewhere in the Rhode Island office of the league this morning after a long vacation,  AAC commissioner Mike Aresco is kicking himself.

The AAC started out 1-3 in the bowls but finished 4-3. That’s better than two Power 5 conferences but could have been even more impressive. UCF fans were salty that Temple and not it was playing a Power 5 team in a bowl game and, in retrospect, it looked like those fans were right. The thought process probably was then that Temple would draw better to the Military, but the thought process was skewed because, to this league, prestige means more than money at this point.

If Aresco had to reseed the bowls, we’re going to guess he might have gone with these matchups instead:

Military Bowl _ UCF vs. North Carolina. The speed of the Knights would have been a much better matchup against the Tar Heels than Temple would have been. While UNC put up 55 on the Owls, UCF put up 62 and, if it traveled pretty well to Philadelphia (it did), it would have done the same to Annapolis. UCF, 39-35.

Gasparilla Bowl _ Temple vs. Marshall. Cincinnati went to Marshall and beat the Thundering Herd, 45-13. Temple traveled to Cincy and would lose a 15-13 game it would have won if it had an even marginally passable special teams. Temple, 35-14.

Birmingham Bowl _ SMU vs. Boston College. SMU finished 10-2 in the regular season and was “awarded” with that trip with a game against FAU in the Boca Raton Bowl. That game was played on FAU’s home field and an unmotivated SMU team lost big-time. Had SMU played a BC team that Cincy beat, 38-6, got to think that the result would have been similar. SMU, 28-7.

Aresco could have done nothing about the Cotton Bowl because Memphis earned its spot and Navy’s beating of Kansas State in the Liberty Bowl was definitely a feather in the league’s cap.

Also, the Armed Forces Bowl that saw Tulane beat former rival Southern Mississippi was a good matchup. That said, the best the AAC could have done was gone 6-1 and we’ve got to think that’s probably why Aresco is kicking himself now because, with a little better forethought, that’s exactly what would have happened.

Thanks to a 55-13 loss, Temple will probably be sent to bowl hell next year if the Owls even make a bowl and it will be a well-earned sentence.

Friday: The Other Side of The Portal

 

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18 thoughts on “Turning it Around: Reseeding AAC bowls

  1. there are too many questions and unanswered criteria with bowl AAC games:
    Play a team you can/should beat? Or,
    play a game which your fan base can support with strong attendance? Or,
    P5 or G5 opponent? Or,
    choose sunshine/warm weather?

    etc. etc…,

    I’m w/you. Aresco and the AAC should take a stance. Make winning the number 1 and only criterion and seed accordingly. The AAC is in an uphill fight for the foreseeable future. Win bowl games and gain credibility.

  2. NC was better player to player, was prepared and came to play – Temple couldn’t match up, wasn’t prepared and didn’t come to play. However, was NC really 40 points better than Temple? Carey as the real HC wasn’t any better than Foley as a fill-in HC, let’s face it. Something was amiss. I could handle a loss with a 2, even 3, TD loss, but 40? The way Temple played they might not have beaten a Marshall or an FIU. Well I hope they had fun because it sure seemed like that’s all they came to do.

  3. Most every day now am reading how Rutgers FB is adding New Jersey connected coaches to his Greg Schianno staff.
    I am waiting but do not see much activity for the TU FB staff for coaching.
    What a downer so far

    • Who is the director of high school relations for Temple?

      “Florida State: Carlos Locklyn and Jeff Kupper have joined Mike Norvell’s support staff. Kupper will serve as director of player development and operations and Locklyn will be the director of high school relations. Both guys join the staff from Memphis, where Kupper was the director of operations and Locklyn was director of high school relations.”

      Carey is stuck on “that’s the way we did it at Northern”…,

      Is he in danger of being stuck on stupid?

  4. This just IN, Matt Rhule going to Carolina Panthers, how about that .
    I can not image his success there unless he gets great very experienced NFL Ass’t coaches all around.
    2nd thought, what about the Temple kid xfer’d to Baylor, wide out Yeboah?

    • Opportunity strikes.

      Hello Coach Carey, are you planning a Coaches Clinic this year? Have you thought about the impact Matt Rhule would have as a guest speaker? Did you know MR used to have Coaches Clinics when he had your job? You might learn a thing or two.

      But, don’t take my advice. I only started going to Temple games before you started going to grade school.

    • Basically the scenario I outlined 2 posts ago

      • Best of luck to Yeboah and Roche…, is it too late for Roche?

        What is the question w/him? Defensive scheme, level of competition, or coaching staff?

      • He thinks playing for a national championship would raise his profile. Me? I think he should have returned to the coaching staff that turned him from an o.k. player into a great one

  5. Bad news for owl football fans. Kevin Grady, a hell of a running back from the seventies, died yesterday. He held the longest run from scrimmage record until 2015 when Jager Gardner broke it. Apart from football, he was a great guy and friend. he will be missed.

  6. Maybe TU should play a MAC team with a winning record and win. One step at a time. Carey could probably be the first to accomplish this.

  7. Roche is going to Miami? Makes for a Fall 2020 Hollywood story line…,

    • He should have the decency of not going to a team Temple plays

      • Like I said, the portal is not for starters. If he thinks he’s going to start at Miami, he’s crazy. Also, he just got schooled by an ACC tackle. Now he’ll play against one eight times plus one at Michigan State. Don’t wish that he fails but clearly he got bad advice.

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