Anxiety Sunday Updated

Falcon Nation, prepare yourself for a very unsettling day.  As Sunday breaks, we are very uncertain of whether a bowl bid is coming our way.  This is incredibly complicated, but suffice it to say that the Pitt win yesterday really put us in a tough spot.  I'm not saying we're out, but it is far from certain.

I have been following Falcon sports for a long time, and my spidey sense has been tingling for a few days.  It just seems like whenever it gets to some decision like this, we end up disappointed.  There was the famous hockey snub in 1983 and there was a snub of the basketball team in the early Dakich years.  There may have been others.

I'm not saying we are out.  But, a bowl game was considered a near certainty at 8-4, and now it is far from certain.

One thing that might help is if NIU were to climb into the BCS.  That would move everyone up a slot in the MAC and I think we'd be in pretty good shape.  Things broke their way...I understand that there are projections showing them just short of the bid.  So, if NIU makes it then we are on more solid ground.  (Note/Update:  The CBS dude is now projecting NIU to make the BCS which puts BG in the Beef O' Brady Bowl).

Beyond that, it is an incredibly complicated business.  If you are on twitter, follow @StatManMatt who seems to have a good handle on what could happen.

Some things are working against us.  It all depends on how you feel about how the bowls pick.

If you want to look at merit (or at least on perceived ability to be a good matchup), BG is hampered by its lack of a marquee win.  OU could easily end up in and BG out (yes, even though we beat them) and that's because their win over Penn State could be promoted.  BG's best win of the year is OU.

If you want to believed the bowls are only interested in selling tickets, that's a different question.  I would worry that the crowd at the Kent game would not demonstrate an engaged fan base.  Also, we kind of had a test run of how our fans would travel a short distance when we played in Columbus and the results weren't overwhelming.

So, Falcon fans, hold onto your seats.  We deserve a bowl bid, and I have no doubt of that.  But, the system is tilted toward 6-6 (and 6-7) teams from major conferences and I think a bowl bid is very much in question for us this morning.

Stay tuned.