Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Wow.. Never realized Beaver stadium was 2nd largest in the country. Honestly thought it was slightly smaller than the Shoe.

It can be deceiving because they have that partial upper deck.  If you look at the part WITH the upper deck it looks like it would be the largest in the country BY FAR.  Then if you look at parts WITHOUT the upper deck it looks like it would barely be top-half in the conference.  

On TV, the scariest two places for me are at LSU and at PSU.  

Bowls have bought their way into prominence, like the FIESTA Peach Bowl has done.  It's considered a major, usually, now.  It was on the ropes for years back in the day.  

FIFY

As for Las Vegas, I could see the squeeze on during my last visit in 2014. Even then, most of the big casinos were owned by publicly traded companies, and were making everything turn profits instead of using the "cheap" dinners as loss leaders for the gambling floors.

And again, that's my point... The top second-tier bowls aren't going to cede their conference alignments to Vegas. Which means Vegas needs a concerted multi-year effort to build its name.

But... Why? Who's going to care about bowls in 10 years when we have a 24-team College Football Playoff?

Right, and that's what they are doing. Look at the conference affiliations this decade versus those prior.

History - Las Vegas Bowl

In 2020 they signed an agreement with the B1G and SEC. They switch every-other-year and LV grabs another power at-large to fill the game.

In 1992 (first year), they had WAC vs. MAC for the first 5 years.

Right, and that's what they are doing. Look at the conference affiliations this decade versus those prior.

History - Las Vegas Bowl

In 2020 they signed an agreement with the B1G and SEC. They switch every-other-year and LV grabs another power at-large to fill the game.

In 1992 (first year), they had WAC vs. MAC for the first 5 years.

2020 was when they built the new stadium, so the timeline adds up. 

Right, and that's what they are doing. Look at the conference affiliations this decade versus those prior.

History - Las Vegas Bowl

In 2020 they signed an agreement with the B1G and SEC. They switch every-other-year and LV grabs another power at-large to fill the game.

In 1992 (first year), they had WAC vs. MAC for the first 5 years.

I get all that. But looking at 2023 (the last year I can find this info), the selection order for the Las Vegas bowl was after all teams made the NY6 (now CFP), then the Citrus Bowl, then the ReliaQuest Bowl, the Las Vegas Bowl would get to pick said B1G/SEC team. 

Well, in the 2024 CFP, 4 B1G teams and 3 SEC teams made the playoff. So the Las Vegas Bowl would get to select either the 7th-place B1G team or the 6th-place SEC team. 

The scuttlebutt is *already* active about expanding the playoff to 16 teams and guaranteeing the B1G and SEC 4 each. So that means the Las Vegas bowl would again be at best the 7th-place B1G/SEC team--and possibly lower if somehow a 5th team from either the B1G or SEC made it in. 

I mean, the LV bowl could continue trying to move up the pecking order, and try to move up beyond the ReliaQuest Bowl or the Citrus Bowl--and then at best they'd have the 5th-place team from either conference. But I don't see that happening unless either the ReliaQuest or the Citrus decide to stop hosting bowl games...

So yeah, they can get B1G/SEC teams. So far that's been (regular season schedules posted):

• 2021: An 8-4 Wisconsin team
• 2022: A 6-6 Florida team
• 2023: A 7-5 Northwestern team
• 2024: An 8-4 Texas A&M team (facing a now-B1G but legacy PAC 6-6 USC team)

Meaning they're not getting a ton of "power" teams coming off good seasons, the type of games we historically would have associated with the Citrus and Outback (ReliaQuest) bowls. They're getting teams coming off lackluster or disappointing seasons. 

And with an expanded CFP, it's only going to get worse. 

The bowls are dying, folks. The Las Vegas Bowl can try all they want to elevate themselves within the bowl structure, but even if they do, what have they actually obtained?