International Bowl to be played in Toronto in January...what does it mean?

The NCAA has approved a new bowl game between a Big East team and a Mid American Conference one:

http://www.internationalbowl.org/

Other than the usual suspects, I'm pretty ignorant about U.S. college stuff. Are these major conferences? Are these Division 1 schools? Would it be worth going to? Does the NCAA need more bowls?

Thanks.

 

Re: International Bowl to be played in Toronto in January--help needed

Ok, I'm not sure how to read this one, was it tongue-in-cheek?

 

Re: International Bowl to be played in Toronto in January--should we care?

Nope. I'm serious. Honest.

I would just like to know where the two conferences fit into the scheme of things.

 

Re: International Bowl to be played in Toronto in January--should we care?

Big East is pretty good this year, but you're probably going to get the worst bowl-eligible team they have, at this point probably Pittsburgh. The MAC is also decent, but on a major conference so don't expect much.

I'm sure the fans of both teams will be relishing the trip.....

 

But the football will be pretty good?

Since they're playing up here, will they play three down ball?

 

Actually, JR, you mentioned what I was going to say: Play it with a 55, three downs and the guy that runs straight to the line of scrimmage.

It'll be somewhat of a farce for NCAA football, but, shit, it's the GD International Bowl.

 

Re: International Bowl to be played in Toronto in January--should we care?

Since it's JR, I'll assume it's a sincere ask. If it's not, he'll be sure to tell me about it.

In US college football, the Big East is one of the six BCS conferences (though some snicker at the thought of it being a major conference because it lacks the true "traditional" powers the other five BCS conferences offer). The Mid American (aka MAC) is a mid-major, but is known to produce some great talent. Players coming from the MAC include Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington, Randy Moss and Byron Leftwich.

Most January bowls are considered the most prestigious, but that won't be the case here. I'm not sure which MAC school will be representing, it appears that either Pitt (currently 6-4, losers of three straight and an fourth straight possible this week) or Webby's South Florida will make the trek to Toronto.

Cincinnati's a possibility, too, but it's win over Rutgers will probably help them land somewhere warmer.

This game could have some potential. I don't like the Jan. 6 date -- it would probably work best in mid-late December, and isn't the SkyDome available then?

 

Yes, I was dead serious and thanks FH. I'm not a dickhead all the time.

My sons would probably love to go and I live about 10 minutes from Rogers Centre aka Skydome.

One of these days I'll take a week off work and figure out how the college bowl system works.

 

Ohio is a MAC school. The directional Michigan schools are also MAC schools.

 

You'll need more than a week for that, my friend.

 

As far as the MAC, you'll probably be getting the third or fourth best team. The top two teams go to the Motor City and GMAC Bowls. And I thought the MAC had got a contract for a third team (maybe this was it, tho).

As others have said, the MAC has some pretty decent talent. In addition to the above named QBs, Toledo's Bruce Gradkowski is now starting for Tampa Bay.

The biggest difference between MAC and other bigger schools would be the depth chart. Once you get past the starters, the talent level goes way down.

 

Northern Illinois is a MAC school, right? Garrett Wolfe is their top[ player and one of the country's best running backs. Though he's dropped some since, he was once touted for the Heisman Trophy (the football equivalent to the Hobey Baker).