Is the Liberty Bowl equal to the other bowls?

[Tbonewannabe]

I ask because several people have thought we are going to the Liberty and we will probably finish 3rd in the West behind Bama and LSU.

The Liberty didn't get a SEC team last year but all the others did except Indepedence and Birmingham.

This makes me think that the tiers are.

Playoff
Big 6
Citrus
Outback, Gator, Belk, Music City, Texas
Liberty
Independence
Birmingham

Not sure if this is true but google gives us this:

Bowl games that have a contract with a conference must select a team with at least seven wins if one is available. Any bowl berths that become eligible when a conference fails to meet its contracted tie-ins must first be filled by any eligible seven-win teams before any remaining FBS 6?6 teams can be accommodated.

So a 7 win team could go over an 8 win team but 6 win teams are out of luck.

[Cooterpoot]

If we win 8 games, we won't be at the Liberty.

[fader2103]

Music City, Outback, TaxSlayer, Advocare Texas, Belk, and Autozone Liberty are all considered equal now.

The SEC office is responsible for placing teams in the 6 bowl games mentioned with input from those bowl committees.
so we are pretty much at the hands of the SEC. Better make friends with Larry Templeton again.

[Tbonewannabe]

If we win 8 games, we won't be at the Liberty.

I didn't think so either but people have been posting their prediction and I thought it was weird. I think we will either be in Texas, Music City, or Outback (praying for the Outback since I miss eating there***).

[Gutter Cobreh]

2 SEC team made the playoff, Auburn played in the Peach Bowl, and there were only 6 other teams in the SEC that qualified for bowls (as Ole Miss was on sanctions).

Hence why the Liberty, Independence, and B-ham bowls had other teams outside of SEC.

[Tbonewannabe]

2 SEC team made the playoff, Auburn played in the Peach Bowl, and there were only 6 other teams in the SEC that qualified for bowls (as Ole Miss was on sanctions).

Hence why the Liberty, Independence, and B-ham bowls had other teams outside of SEC.

I realized we didn't have enough teams but why did the Liberty get left out and not someone like the Belk? The Liberty has ties to the SEC a lot longer than the Belk or Texas.

[fader2103]

Look for us to be in the Music City, Outback, or Texas.

[Jack Lambert]

Music City, Outback, TaxSlayer, Advocare Texas, Belk, and Autozone Liberty are all considered equal now.

The SEC office is responsible for placing teams in the 6 bowl games mentioned with input from those bowl committees.
so we are pretty much at the hands of the SEC. Better make friends with Larry Templeton again.

If we have to go to one of those give me Liberty, Texas or Outback.

[Tbonewannabe]

Look for us to be in the Music City, Outback, or Texas.

Kind of the feeling I have. Outback is the only one of those 3 that I could make.

[Johnson85]

I realized we didn't have enough teams but why did the Liberty get left out and not someone like the Belk? The Liberty has ties to the SEC a lot longer than the Belk or Texas.

Officially, Liberty is equal with the other bowls in the tier. Supposedly they all make essentially the same payment to the SEC. It could be that the bowl eligible teams decide which bowl game they don't want to go to, or it could be that the bowls rotate who will get left out. But I am guessing there is an order for who gets left out in the event not enough SEC teams are available after CFP and Citrus invites, and apparently Liberty is at the bottom.

[Tbaen]

All of those bowls are equal. But some are more equal than others.

[Leroy Jenkins]

Sign me up for Belk vs a beatable ACC team like VATech, BC, etc.

[Todd4State]

Sign me up for Belk vs a beatable ACC team like VATech, BC, etc.

I think we will probably get a decent bowl match up wherever we go.

The Liberty is "the same" as the other non-BCS SEC bowls as far as the tier. However no doubt the Florida bowls- all of them are considered more prestigious and are on NYD. I could see the Citrus becoming a BCS bowl one day and I would consider that the top non-BCS SEC bowl.

If we go to the Liberty we won't be playing the C-USA Champion though. It will be a Big 12 team- if they can fill their slots.

[Todd4State]

Officially, Liberty is equal with the other bowls in the tier. Supposedly they all make essentially the same payment to the SEC. It could be that the bowl eligible teams decide which bowl game they don't want to go to, or it could be that the bowls rotate who will get left out. But I am guessing there is an order for who gets left out in the event not enough SEC teams are available after CFP and Citrus invites, and apparently Liberty is at the bottom.

No way the Liberty Bowl is below the Birmingham Bowl or Independence Bowl. Sometimes there are some decisions that are made regionally- I'm sure there have been times where MSU and the Liberty Bowl lobbied together because the Liberty Bowl knows we will draw well there. And I'm sure the same may happen with Texas A&M and the Texas Bowl, Vanderbilt and the Music City, etc.


And that unofficial regional tie in is why the SEC considers all non-BCS bowls "the same". That way if someone like Florida really wants to go to the Citrus or Outback they can justify sending a "better" MSU team to say...the Liberty Bowl. You can't "screw" someone if everything is the same.

And since no one is going to complain about ever going to the Sugar, Orange, Rose, Cotton, or Peach Bowl that's a moot point.

[Todd4State]

Look for us to be in the Music City, Outback, or Texas.

I think we go to one of the Florida bowls and get rewarded because of our tough schedule. If we take care of business- beating Auburn and A&M are going to be HUGE in the long run.

[Tbonewannabe]

I think we go to one of the Florida bowls and get rewarded because of our tough schedule. If we take care of business- beating Auburn and A&M are going to be HUGE in the long run.

Outback or Citrus? Those are the only two that I would get excited about. Outback vs Penn St would be a great match up for TV.

[Todd4State]

Outback or Citrus? Those are the only two that I would get excited about. Outback vs Penn St would be a great match up for TV.

Based on our numbers (ask me again tomorrow once the BCS standings come out) I personally believe that if we end up 8-4 we will go to the Citrus Bowl. We certainly could play Penn State there too. Barring any backdoor dealing which could very well happen. But if things play out as expected the Citrus would be where we would "deserve" to go.

[Gutter Cobreh]

I realized we didn't have enough teams but why did the Liberty get left out and not someone like the Belk? The Liberty has ties to the SEC a lot longer than the Belk or Texas.

Here is the answer:

POOL OF SIX BOWLS: After the Citrus Bowl selects a team, there will be a pool of six bowls and the Conference, in consultation with the institutions and the bowls, will make the assignments for these six bowl games from all eligible SEC teams.

Link if you want to dive further:
http://www.secsports.com/article/18165241/bowl-selection-process

[Pit Bull]

Basically, Liberty, Belk, and Music are about the same. We will likely never go to the Outback Bowl as they really don't want a team from Mississippi. They will just about take any other SEC team before us.....except for Ole Miss. For some reason, when they consult with the SEC office about us, we always get pushed away from them and down a notch or two. The office never goes to bat for us.....they favor the bowl's wishes. Our largest out of state alumni base is in Memphis. So, everything being equal, I would expect the Liberty and the SEC office would agree to put us there. The Liberty loves us and it guarantees them a hard sellout with a solid Maroon crowd. BTW, the cowbell noise in the Liberty is the best of all the bowls I have been to. The closed in style natural bowl stadium sort of reverberates the sound in spectacular fashion. If we were to go there, I wish we could play Texas, TCU, WVa, or TTech.

[Todd4State]

Basically, Liberty, Belk, and Music are about the same. We will likely never go to the Outback Bowl as they really don't want a team from Mississippi. They will just about take any other SEC team before us.....except for Ole Miss. For some reason, when they consult with the SEC office about us, we always get pushed away from them and down a notch or two. The office never goes to bat for us.....they favor the bowl's wishes. Our largest out of state alumni base is in Memphis. So, everything being equal, I would expect the Liberty and the SEC office would agree to put us there. The Liberty loves us and it guarantees them a hard sellout with a solid Maroon crowd. BTW, the cowbell noise in the Liberty is the best of all the bowls I have been to. The closed in style natural bowl stadium sort of reverberates the sound in spectacular fashion. If we were to go there, I wish we could play Texas, TCU, WVa, or TTech.

You are aware that the Outback Bowl has never taken Ole Miss either?

[Dawgtini]

I love the Liberty. Easy trip, fun, and good crowd. Also we usually get a winnable game. I like to have fun and not spend a ton....Sue me.

[Todd4State]

I love the Liberty. Easy trip, fun, and good crowd. Also we usually get a winnable game. I like to have fun and not spend a ton....Sue me.

It's not a bad bowl at all. And it's better now with the Big 12 tie in although I have no idea if the Big 12 will fill their bowl allotment this year with all of their 5-3 to 3-5 type teams.

For MSU it does have a lot of pros- easy for most of our fans even if they don't live in Memphis. Plenty of things to do in the city that are fun. And for a lot of our fans that don't want to pay for a hotel it's pretty driveable for a lot of our fans.

[Pit Bull]

You are aware that the Outback Bowl has never taken Ole Miss either?

Yes, I mentioned it in the first sentence of my post....said "they did not want any team from Mississippi". And I also said they would not take Ole Miss before us.....basically excluding both teams from Mississippi. The Outback just has some form of bias against our state and they think we don't travel well either. We destroyed that myth when we filled 60% of the Gator Bowl vs Michigan. So, it must be some other reason they don't care for us. I would love to go to the Outback just to prove them wrong! I bet we would take 30-40K.

[Pit Bull]

It's not a bad bowl at all. And it's better now with the Big 12 tie in although I have no idea if the Big 12 will fill their bowl allotment this year with all of their 5-3 to 3-5 type teams.

For MSU it does have a lot of pros- easy for most of our fans even if they don't live in Memphis. Plenty of things to do in the city that are fun. And for a lot of our fans that don't want to pay for a hotel it's pretty driveable for a lot of our fans.

The next time we do go to the Liberty Bowl, be sure to make a trip to the old Pyramid Arena north side of downtown near Harbortown. If you haven't already been there, it is now the Bass Pro indoor store. It is amazing what they've done to the inside. Great experience that I would recommend to everyone. Huge attraction and nothing like it anywhere in the nation. You would probably spend at least 4 hours just milling around looking at everything. Shops, eateries, hotel, bowling ally, glass elevator to observation deck, and they will let you try out boats on the Wolf River if you're thinking about buying one. Really cool place!

[fader2103]

The outback bowl wants an East team, if not they will only take Alabama, Auburn or LSU

[Johnson85]

No way the Liberty Bowl is below the Birmingham Bowl or Independence Bowl. Sometimes there are some decisions that are made regionally- I'm sure there have been times where MSU and the Liberty Bowl lobbied together because the Liberty Bowl knows we will draw well there. And I'm sure the same may happen with Texas A&M and the Texas Bowl, Vanderbilt and the Music City, etc.


And that unofficial regional tie in is why the SEC considers all non-BCS bowls "the same". That way if someone like Florida really wants to go to the Citrus or Outback they can justify sending a "better" MSU team to say...the Liberty Bowl. You can't "screw" someone if everything is the same.

And since no one is going to complain about ever going to the Sugar, Orange, Rose, Cotton, or Peach Bowl that's a moot point.

The Liberty bowl is explicitly above the Independence and Birmingham. Officially, there are only five tiers for the SEC. (1) CFP; (2) Citrus; (3) Outback/Texas/Gator/Music City/Belk/Liberty; (4) Birmingham (5) Independence

ETA: corrected to reflect that Birmingham gets to pick before Independence.

[MedDawg]

Officially, Liberty is equal with the other bowls in the tier. Supposedly they all make essentially the same payment to the SEC. It could be that the bowl eligible teams decide which bowl game they don't want to go to, or it could be that the bowls rotate who will get left out. But I am guessing there is an order for who gets left out in the event not enough SEC teams are available after CFP and Citrus invites, and apparently Liberty is at the bottom.

It doesn't FEEL like the Liberty Bowl is on the same level yet. Maybe after a few years. I'm still getting used to the Peach Bowl being a NY6/CFP bowl.

The Liberty Bowl getting upgraded from a lower bowl to a mid-tier bowl is a good thing for us, as State may start going to the mid-tier Liberty Bowl more often and bring a good crowd. Personally it's a close drive and I've been enjoying Memphis a lot more the past year or so.

If State is not going to a Florida bowl, I'd much rather State go to a mid-tier Liberty Bowl than the Belk or Texas bowls. Still prefer Music City because Nashville is awesome.

[Johnson85]

Based on our numbers (ask me again tomorrow once the BCS standings come out) I personally believe that if we end up 8-4 we will go to the Citrus Bowl. We certainly could play Penn State there too. Barring any backdoor dealing which could very well happen. But if things play out as expected the Citrus would be where we would "deserve" to go.

I think the Citrus can pick who they want, but it seems unlikely we make it there. If we end up 8-4, there will probably be either a 9-win florida team or a 9 win UK team available. No way the Citrus takes us over Florida. Even if the Citrus viewed us as more desirable than UK such that they would skip UK for us, I think the SEC would pressure them to not take us over a 9-win UK team that beat us solidly (which I think the SEC should do; I would hope they would do it for us if the Citrus was trying to skip us to take a lower win Auburn team).

Our best hope is probably for Florida to do well enough to get into one of the Big 6 bowls and for UK to slip to 8 wins, at which point our strength of schedule probably does give us the nod (although we'd still have to worry about an 8 win A&M team potentially).