A sampling of Pitt football posts that would get a bigger hit count then mentioning the BBVA Bowl:
- Recruiting
- 2012 QB speculation
- Tino-bashing
- Speculating on new assistant coaching hires
- Panthers in the pros
- Mocking Hoopies
- Mocking Nits
- Expansiopocolypse updates
- Paul Hackett retrospective
You get the idea. And it’s not that I won’t watch, and react. It’s not that I won’t be writing about it — both before and after. It’s not that I don’t care. It’s not even that the game is Alabama (this is a made-for-TV-bowl, after all). It is that it is 3 1/2 weeks away and against SMU. Still I have tabs to clear and I’m sick of seeing these.
Others are down on the bowl for the location amongst other reasons. Ranking the bowls for watchability and interest continually have it near the bottom (or at the bottom).
But I would rather watch the entire Big East regular season on loop for 2 days straight than watch Pittsburgh and SMU in the BBVA Compass Bowl. Pitt blatantly tried to get out of the bowl and June Jones is fresh off an embarrassing flirtation with Arizona State.
Now, now. June Jones swears it is god’s plan that he remain at SMU. God’s and an outraged ASU fanbase that one rich booster nearly called the shot on hiring Jones along with a $2 million plus buyout.
Or this:
30. BBVA Compass Bowl: Pitt vs. SMU. Have you ever wanted to see 10 interceptions between two teams in one game? YOUR DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE.
YOUR STUPID NON-COLLEGE-FOOTBALL-WATCHING RELATIVE SAYS: “BBVA? I have no idea what that means on Craigslist, but it sounds like some naked fat people stuff. No fat chicks. That’s my rule.”
I know what you are thinking, 10 sacks by SMU seems more likely. SMU is not exactly a team, though, that holds onto the ball. So maybe we can get both.
And dead last in this ranking.
35. BBVA Compass (Jan. 7): SMU (7-5) vs. Pittsburgh (6-6).Birmingham’s Legion Field has been in decay for decades. This game will only accelerate it.
It’s not decay. It’s history. And for the second straight year, Pitt will get some education on the Civil Rights Movement.
And this.
Who has momentum? Not a lot of momentum to go around in this one. Pitt hasn’t won back-to-back games since the first two weeks of the season, and SMU has lost four of its past six.
Who has motivation? Pitt is back in the same location it was in last season, which is a good thing only if that location is a BCS bowl or Hawaii. The Mustangs are trying to decide whether they’re happy June Jones came back after his deal with Arizona State fell through, or whether they hate him for trying to leave.
Who wins a mascot fight? SMU’s Shetland pony isn’t overly fearsome, but it beats the standard furry costumed panther.
Dash fact: Both quarterbacks are struggling. SMU’s J.J. McDermott has six touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his past six games. Pitt’s Tino Sunseri has five TDs and six picks in his past seven games.
Fun extra fact. SMU’s offense hasn’t been the same since their star RB got injured.
Still trying to figure out how Dennis Dodd put the BBVA Bowl up at #20 in his rankings other than a typo.
Even the annual list of bowl schwag that the kids get. Well, that got ranked and the BBVA was down at #28. Mainly, it seems because it is so pedestrian.
BBVA Compass Bowl participants will receive a set of iBeats by Dr. Dre ear buds, a Reactor watch, Oakley Eyepatch 2 sunglasses, an Oakley backpack duffel and a commemorative football. That’s all pretty standard fare for bowl gifts.
The fact that they are the earbuds (retailing for around $100) rather than the big headphones, seems to be a negative. The watch is moderately expensive. But yeah. It’s a seemingly standardized set.
And either to create future confusion or to suggest that this bowl will be looking for a new title sponsor in the near future, BBVA just got the naming rights to a soccer stadium in Houston.
