A Boston College Pinstripe Bowl: Please and Thank You
By Joe Micik
As “Tier One” bowls go, is the Pinstripe Bowl the best option for Boston College?
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It might not be the best, but it’s the easiest. Yes, you all want to make the Orange Bowl, or better yet, the playoffs, but in the here and now, it’s the Pinstripe Bowl and some mediocre or straight-up unappealing options.
Having gone 7-5 this season, Boston College is eligible to play in one of these “Tier One” games. This includes the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium on December 27. Having won on Saturday over Syracuse got them to this level, which means they could play in the Bronx, Charlotte for the Belk Bowl, El Paso for the Sun Bowl, Nashville for the Music City Bowl, or Jacksonville for The-Bowl-Formerly-Known-As-Gator.
Or, as has happened in the past, Boston College could end up in getting shafted into the “Tier Two” bowls, including Detroit, and nobody around here would bat an eye.
If the ACC and the bowl sponsors are worried about Boston College traveling, the Pinstripe Bowl is the only real alternative. Quite frankly, if the fans do not go to that one, given that it would be the closest bowl venue in which the school would have ever played, they won’t go to any others now or in the future.
Admittedly, some of those other “Tier One” games look good, but the former-Gator Bowl (now TaxSlayer Bowl, which sounds stupid because it is) would probably not take us unless compelled by mystical forces to do so. SB Nation thinks we will end up there against South Carolina, but it would have to be seen to be believed.
The Military Bowl, a Tier Two, would be okay, though a bit further away. The Sun Bowl has appeal by its name, despite the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere and Boston College would travel horribly. We’ve gone into our views on Detroit or a return trip to Shreveport.
The Pinstripe Bowl could also give us a decent matchup. The Eagles might run into Penn State down in the Bronx, kindling a rivalry that has been off for about ten years. Word is that Pitt fans really want to face Penn State, and that would be fine — you can play them in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit while we play some other middling Big Ten team in New York.
Some of this depends on the outcome of the ACC title game and whether or not Florida State helps dilute the tie-in pool or they’re whisked to the playoff. Regardless, if Boston College wants a chance of fans in the seats and an easy trip, the Pinstripe Bowl should be the school’s target right now.