David Sims is not a demanding person.
The Georgia Tech B-back has but one request for the Yellow Jackets’ bowl destination: “Any chance you get to go to a bowl anywhere is a blessing, but if I had a preference — any place besides Shreveport,” Sims said.
The Louisiana city is where Tech’s 2010 season came to a merciful end in December with a 14-7 loss to Air Force in the Independence Bowl. Sims can rest easy. Should they finish with at least one more win, the Jackets (7-3, 4-3 ACC) appear in line to receive a Sun Bowl invitation.
“They’re in our sights,” Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said. “They would be a great team to have in El Paso, I can tell you that.”
The Sun Bowl, held Dec. 31, has the third pick of ACC teams after the BCS bowls. The Chick-fil-A Bowl is first, followed by the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. As of Wednesday, the Chick-fil-A Bowl’s short list on the ACC side was Virginia Tech, Virginia, Clemson and Florida State, along with Auburn, Florida and Vanderbilt on the SEC side. According to its Twitter account, the Champs Sports Bowl’s leading ACC candidates are Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, Florida State and Virginia.
Most projections give the loser of the ACC title game to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Florida State to the in-state Champs Sports Bowl and Tech to the Sun Bowl.
Tech has played in the Sun Bowl once, a 17-9 win over Texas Tech in 1970. Olivas wouldn’t say the Jackets are at the top of his wish list, but said that “I can tell you that we will not be disappointed if that is who our team is.” It might be worth noting that Olivas watched Tech’s win over Clemson and plans to be at Bobby Dodd Stadium for the Nov. 26 Georgia game.
The Sun Bowl also has the No. 3 pick in the Pac-12 after the BCS bowls. Washington, Utah, Arizona State and California are possibilities, according to Olivas.
Plenty of time remains for the situation to change, for better or worse. Chick-fil-A Bowl president Gary Stokan said that Tech is still a candidate, but that the Jackets would more than likely have to beat both Duke and Georgia to be an option.
And while his bowl’s Twitter account named almost half of the ACC, but not Tech, as a candidate and additionally gave a reason why — the Jackets’ head-to-head losses to Virginia and Virginia Tech — Champs Sports Bowl CEO Steve Hogan said that “clearly, I would think that you’d throw Georgia Tech in that argument as well.”
In those situations, Tech would need to have the best available team be no better than 6-2 in ACC play. The ACC bowls must choose from among the team with the best league record available and teams within one win of that team. If it beats Duke, Tech will finish ACC play at 5-3.
The other variable is the outside possibility that both Clemson and Virginia Tech are selected for BCS games, which would improve Tech’s chances at either the Chick-fil-A or Champs Sports bowls. The No. 7 Tigers and No. 8 Hokies would need to finish in the top 14 of the BCS rankings to be eligible.
Of course, if Tech stumbles against Duke and Georgia, it’s possible the Belk Bowl, Dec. 27 in Charlotte, could be a destination. Belk Bowl spokesman Frank Kay said Tech is in the mix for that game, as well.
If Sims needs more convincing for the Sun Bowl, Olivas offers the following:
“In El Paso, there’s a Mexican food restaurant on every corner,” he said. “There’s not a bad one here.”
About the Author
