Berry Tramel predicts UNT vs. Indiana in HOD Bowl

[Harry]

* Heart of Dallas Bowl, noon: Indiana vs. North Texas. Dan McCarney’s Mean Green get a shot at a major-conference foe.

[Travis]

How often does a team play a bowl game against a team that they played in the regular season?

[emmitt01]

So we might have to spank Indiana twice in one year?

[CMJ]

How often does a team play a bowl game against a team that they played in the regular season?

Pretty damn rare. Bowls hate it for one.

[greenminer]

Pretty damn rare. Bowls hate it for one.

Yeah. This is a red flag that this guy did a high level look at possible conference champions, coupled with bowl tie-ins and contracts, with little regard for what the teams did in OOC.

[BeanCounterGrad'03]

Pretty damn rare. Bowls hate it for one.

I believe Houston and Air Force did it back about 5 years or so.

[greenminer]

Harry, you forgot the link?

Here ya go.

[Eagle1855]

I assume the guy didn't look at either schedule and just thought "eh, UNT should finish like this... and Indiana like that..." and presto, a prediction.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Honest question--would people be less likely to attend/watch a bowl matchup that is a rematch from the regular season?

[forevereagle]

Pretty damn rare. Bowls hate it for one.

And conferences tend to try not to let it happen. That said, Nebraska had that happen in their last season in the Big 12 a few years back. That is the last time I can remember when it happened.

[Jason Howeth]

Honest question--would people be less likely to attend/watch a bowl matchup that is a rematch from the regular season?

I wouldn't think so. It's still a bowl game, and for Mean Green fans it's still a P5 school.

[chrisfisher]

Pretty damn rare. Bowls hate it for one.

It might make a good story line if little ole' North Texas beats a P5 team, Indiana, in the regular season only for the P5 team to get a second shot to regain their manhood against a non-P5 team in the bowl.

[MeanMag]

I believe Houston and Air Force did it back about 5 years or so.

I think that was the armed forces bowl. Doesn't the armed forces bowl normally have a contract with a service academy before the year even starts? I think this year army plays in Fort Worth given bowl eligibility.

[meangreenthirteen]

I predict that Berry Tramel is not very thorough.

On a side note, who the hell spells Barry like that?

[UNT90]

Careful about not wanting a rematch. UNT didn't want a rematch once upon a time, and it cost them any bowl birth...

[Mean Green 93-98]

Careful about not wanting a rematch. UNT didn't want a rematch once upon a time, and it cost them any bowl berth... [FIFY]

When was that?

[UNT90]

Mid 70s. Turned down an Independance bowl invite in Shevport hoping to get another bowl invite because we had played and beaten the Independance Bowl invite the last game of the season.

The secondary bowl invite never came...

EDIT: 1977 team. Beat La. Tech 41-14 last game of season, then turned down a bowl invite to play them in the Independance Bowl.

Edited August 26, 2014 by UNT90

[VideoEagle]

In 1977, we beat La Tech 41-14 at State Fair Stadium in Shreveport where the Independence Bowl is played. La Tech went 9-1-2 that year with their only loss being to us. We finished 9-2 as Mississippi State had yet to forfeit the game we lost to them. There was some discussion about maybe getting an invite but our crowds were terrible and not known to travel. That combined with the fact we'd put a real beat down on La Tech made us much less attractive than Louisville (7-3-1, 7-4-1 after the bowl game). Back then, both NT and Louisville were Mo Valley refugees.

We didn't "turn down an invite," it was never offered.

Edited August 26, 2014 by VideoEagle

[UNT90]

In 1977, we beat La Tech 41-14 at State Fair Stadium in Shreveport where the Independence Bowl is played. La Tech went 9-1-2 that year with their only loss being to us. We finished 9-2 as Mississippi State had yet to forfeit the game we lost to them. There was some discussion about maybe getting an invite but our crowds were terrible and not known to travel. That combined with the fact we'd put a real beat down on La Tech made us much less attractive than Louisville (7-3-1, 7-4-1 after the bowl game). Back then, both NT and Louisville were Mo Valley refugees.

We didn't "turn down an invite," it was never offered.

The players voted to turn down the invite. Directly from a player in the room when the vote was taken. Fry told them he had connections with another bowl and thought that bowl would issue an invite. That invite never came.

Like I said, directly from a player in the room who participated in the vote.

[VideoEagle]

The players voted to turn down the invite. Directly from a player in the room when the vote was taken. Fry told them he had connections with another bowl and thought that bowl would issue an invite. That invite never came.

Like I said, directly from a player in the room who participated in the vote.

I had not heard that before, even from the players with whom I had classes in 77. I was at a press conference as part of KNTU when Hayden said our small crowds and the bad matchup were the reason we weren't invited. But that would not be the only time Hayden said something in a press conference that wasn't exactly accurate!

Edited August 26, 2014 by VideoEagle

[UNT90]

I had not heard that before, even from the players with whom I had classes in 77. I was at a press conference as part of KNTU when Hayden said our small crowds and the bad matchup were the reason we weren't invited. But that would not be the only time Hayden said something in a press conference that wasn't exactly accurate!

I was told Fry thought he could get an invite from the Sun Bowl and the players voted in near unanimous fashion (2 dessenters) to turn down the Independance Bowl because they had just thoroughly whooped up on Tech and were convinced by Fry. Edited August 26, 2014 by UNT90

[VideoEagle]

I was told Fry thought he could get an invite from the Sun Bowl and the players voted in near unanimous fashion (2 dessenters) to turn down the Independance Bowl because they had just thoroughly whooped up on Tech and were convinced by Fry.

I just looked and Wiki reports the 77 Sun Bowl was unranked Stanford (tied for second in the Pac-8) against unranked LSU (third in the SEC). Both were 8-3 going into the bowl. Since we were 9-2 and ranked in the Coaches poll, I can see how Hayden thought they had a chance. I don't remember exactly when Mississippi State announced the forfeits.

[UNT90]

I just looked and Wiki reports the 77 Sun Bowl was unranked Stanford (tied for second in the Pac-8) against unranked LSU (third in the SEC). Both were 8-3 going into the bowl. Since we were 9-2 and ranked in the Coaches poll, I can see how Hayden thought they had a chance. I don't remember exactly when Mississippi State announced the forfeits.

The one thing my memory is shaky in is the bowl game Fry thought he was getting, but about 80% sure it was the Sun.

Also, I would bet what Fry said about not being chosen because of poor fans traveling was probably what he was told by the Sun bowl and he just applied it as a cover for the Independence Bowl. Really nothing more he could do with the way things unfolded.

[Ben Gooding]

I predict that Berry Tramel is not very thorough.

On a side note, who the hell spells Barry like that?

I predict you are correct.

[untjim1995]

What were our crowds like back then at Fouts? Were they like the crowds at Fouts when we were winning the SBC, somewhere around 13-15k for a season average?

Edited August 27, 2014 by untjim1995