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Which bowl do you want, part 2? (poll)

A couple of weeks ago, I posted preliminary poll to see which bowl game the friendly people here at nunesmagician were most interested in, and as the percentages show, most people were fairly split between the BCS (Fiesta) Bowl, Champ Sports or the Pinstripe Bowl. Now that we're officially bowl eligible and it given what has happened the last couple weeks, lets revisit this for a second. I was in favor of the Champ Sports bowl for a number of reasons, but today, I see no way possible that Syracuse winds up in this bowl. Syracuse is going to have the BCS bowl fall in its lap or go to the Pinstripe Bowl, one or the other. I say this for the following reason: we know that bowl pairings are less about who actually finishes higher in the standings and more about packing every stadium as full as possible. Therefore:

- Pitt has still got to be the favorite to win the confnerence and lock up the BCS slot until they lose another game. If that happens and Syracuse takes care of business, even with a loss to Pitt, SU is sitting very pretty receiving votes in the rankings and wins over USF and WVU.

- You can bet that the Champs Sports folks will fall all over themselves to get a hot USF team, especially if they can beat Miami. This assuming they don't faceplant at the end of the season or win the Big East and take the BCS slot (please no). WVU is also is a very attractive pick because of their fanbase. Pitt also could wind up here, depending on how they finish. Syracuse wouldn't have a terrible showing here, but not nearly as good as the first two.

- Assuming neither WVU or USF go to a BCS bowl, the one not going to the Champ Sports bowl winds up in the Car Care Bowl. Pitt does not go here, they were here last year. UConn also would be in the mix here if either USF or WVU going to the BCS game.

- UConn is the only other good/great fit for the Pinstripe Bowl other than Syracuse. The only way this happening is if (A) Syracuse makes a BCS bowl, OR (B) if they not only beat Syracuse this week but also win out and manage to not go to the BCS bowl. Scenario (B) is not going to happen.

- Louisville is a good fit for the Beef or Birmingham bowls. This is most likely a coin flip between them and UConn as to who goes to which bowl. Or Pitt, if they tank at the end of the season (always possible).

- Rutgers and Cincy are home for the holidays, right where they belong. Especially for Rutgers, they stink and should never be in the bowl discussion. Also, did I mention Rutgers stinks at football? Because they do .Oh, right, I already said that.

That being said, I originally did not want to Syracuse play in the BCS bowl for fear of absolute destruction. But now split between the BCS or the Pinstripe bowl. On the one hand, Syracuse will still likely get destroyed in a BCS bowl and rather than focus on the turnaround they've had this season, they become the poster child for why the Big East should be stripped of its AQ status. But, maybe with a month off to heal and study, Marrone and Shafer can devise a way to eek out a win versus a top team? Probably not, but, I have a lot of faith in those two. If they can turn one of the most miserable BCS football programs from 2005-2008 into a conference champ in two years, who's to say they can't pull off something else unthinkable? Plus, it would also mean Syracuse would be the Big East champion. Great for recruiting, plus more money, plus it puts HCDM right in the mix for national COY. I kind of like that.

On the other hand, the Pinstripe bowl presents a nice matchup likely with a B12 school from Texas, its close to home and it's in the Bronx, where HCDM is from. Also good for recruiting the area, and its the first bowl in the new Yankee Stadium. This is also a bowl Syracuse could reasonably be favored to win, given potential opponents. I'd take that over getting embarrassed on national TV. But, if Syracuse finished #2 in the conference, this bowl would seem to be beneath them. I kind of think we'd deserve more in that case.

So given these possibilities, which would you prefer? I'm actually, very slightly, favoring the BCS bowl, which is something I could not be less in favor of just a couple weeks ago (this was right after we destoryed Cincy, mind you).This is just IMHO, mind you what are your thoughts?