Southern Miss gets the Liberty Bowl even if they lose, if they win, they cost themselves, and everyone else in the conference, a half a million dollars. They'd be the most hated program in CUSA.
i doubt they would become the most hated program for doing what they've been practicing to do pretty much all year long.
Given no allegiances, I'm sure the brass and knowledgable fans of every CUSA school would prefer to have an extra $500K in their athletic coffers, as opposed to Southern Miss improving their record by 1 win and going to the same bowl (Which isn't the Liberty, as it turns out, unfortunately) they were going to anyway. With the exception of guys like bigtexxx, of course. If ever there were a circumstance to hate a program for doing what is expected of them, this is it.
How would they not want to beat UH? Beating a team that's on top of it's game, high ranking etc. I understand the $$$ involved if UH gets a BCS bowl and what it means for the conference. But imagine if you were in SM, game of a life time.
Of course the team wants to win. But there's an undeniable rooting interest for UH with many people simply because of the money factor. Hell, there was an interview with Marshall HC Doc Holliday where he basically said (paraphrasing, of course) that it would be a bitter pill to swallow if Marshall were to play in the CUSA title game, as they could really use the money from the BCS payout.
What? They are not swimming in money from the box office smash hit movie "We Are Marshall" starring Matthew McConaughey????
Wouldn't they get the same payout from any non-AQ team busting the BCS, though? I thought the payout had to be shared equally amongst all non-AQ conferences. (One of the more bizarre BCS rules in a rulebook full of WTF.)
Can anybody with insider post what this article has to say about the game? http://insider.espn.go.com/college-...ference-referees-break-championship-games-cfb
I don't think that's true. (Be great if you're right, though!) As I understand it, the BCS payout must be split with everybody at the children's table. I found this post on the NCAA board on the topic, and it matches what I've heard (or thought I heard): You can read that thread here: http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=531099 Now, who the hell knows what the **** will actually happen, as the BCS is the most arcane institution in sports. But I'm pretty certain that UH ain't getting anything close to the full share of money that their opponent (and its conference) will receive if Houston busts the BCS.
Well, if that's true (which sucks), then Southern Miss will have even more people rooting against them.
Anyone else putting money on Houston? Anyone have any opinion? They only have to win by 11 points. Seems like a good bet.
Conference-USA: Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Houston Cougars Conference-USA official: "Don't overlook Southern Miss. They aren't flashy, but they just figure out ways to win. They'd won [eight] games in a row before they lost that game to UAB. That game looked like a classic case of a team jumping out to a big lead and then letting up, thinking it was over, and then got snuck up on. "That being said, this could be over quick. You compare what Houston has done to the same conference opponents that Southern Miss has played and this isn't even close. "Obviously, you have to talk about Case Keenum, and I do think he's the real deal. We have a lot of guys who officiated in our league who are now in the NFL, and our head of officials, Gerry Austin, was an NFL ref forever. They all say Keenum looks and walks like an NFL quarterback. "Houston's defense reminds you of Oregon. They know they are going to give up points and yards, but they also know they just need to hold the opponent down long enough for their offense to put up a bunch of scores. That will work against Southern Miss, but it will give them problems in a BCS bowl. Then again, you see what they did against, say, East Carolina, versus what some big-time programs did, like South Carolina, and they might not be so bad."
Slight chance of rain Saturday, hopefully it will hold off til after the game. As to Case Keenum walking and talking like an NFL QB according to the refs that work the games, I have been saying this very thing. He reminds me of Brees. Amazing how many people think this is laughable. I think Case will have the last laugh. He is just incredibly accurate. He is not made of glass either; his only major injury occurred as he was trying to make a tackle. He was hit hard many times during the Tulsa game and kept coming. Smart, good character guy as well. If Tebow can make it, Case can make it.
