If UC loses this week in its football match-up with Pittsburgh, the magic ride could be over. No, the season won’t be over, but if the Bearcats were to lose, they would not be the Big East champs. Bowl projectors predict that unless the Bearcats come away with a Big East championship Cincinnati will not make a BCS bowl game. They would probably fall all the way down to a game like the Meineke Car Care Bowl, or maybe, if they got lucky, the Gator Bowl.
This would have to influence coach Brian Kelly’s decision on moving on to a better job because to be quite frank big programs don’t go to the Meineke Car Care Bowl. If the Bearcats were to make that bowl game, the pay out is only about $1 million for the program. If they were to make the Gator Bowl, the payout would be about $2 million, and if the Bearcats make it to a BCS bowl game, the payout is about $19 million.
This money is obviously very important in helping the football program out. It is sad that the Big East Conference doesn’t align itself with better bowl games.
For instance, the Big 10 and the PAC 10 conference winners get an automatic Rose Bowl appearance. The Rose Bowl is the classiest bowl game, and it gets boring seeing USC or teams of that nature every year.
The Bottom line is the Big East conference needs to do way more to help the Bearcats, because over the past two years we have done so much to help them!