Stookey57 Wrote:It reads as such Gator Bowl Big East, Notre Dame, meaning a 7-5 ND team can take the bowl from a 2nd place 8-4 Big East school.
That is actually incorrect. After Louisville's appearance in 2006 Gator Bowl, the Big East signed a new 4 year contract with the people in Jacksonville. The contract stated that in two of the four years the bowl would take will take Big East teams or ND while the other two years would be filled with Big 12 teams. The contract also has a clause in it that states that Notre Dame may replace a Big East team so long as they finish within 2 wins of the highest non-BCS representative. When the Gator decides to take a Big 12 team, Big East/ND will be taken by the Sun Bowl and visa versa.
The first year of the contract they took WVU, the second year they took Texas Tech. Let's say WVU takes the BCS bid, Pitt finishes at 8-4, and Notre Dame finishes at 6-6. According to our bowl contract a 6-6 Notre Dame team could replace an 8-4 Pitt team. A 6-6 Notre Dame team could not, however, replace a 9-3 Pitt team. If Notre Dame is not available, the Gator bowl could opt to take a Big 12 team over a Big East team this year. If they went this route, they would have to take a Big East team or ND in the final year.
If the Gator decides to take a Big 12 team this year, then our number two team/ND will be taken by the Sun bowl. However, the Sun bowl contract does not have a "within 2" clause in it for ND meaning 6-6 Notre Dame could replace a 10-2, 11-1, 9-3 Big East team.
Personally, I think that if the Gator can't take ND, they will opt for a Big 12 team this year and hold off to take Notre Dame in the last year of their contract. That means the Sun will pick between ND and the Big East and will end up taking Notre Dame so long as they are bowl eligible, even if it means bumping a second place BE team to the Meineke Car Care bowl.
The biggest problem with this arrangement if they continue it is that it only works when Notre Dame is bad/not bowl eligible. If Notre Dame gets back to being mediocre (i.e. 6-6, 7-5) and isn't gifted wrapped a BCS bowl, you could end up with a situation where ND would steal all four bids (both Gator and both Sun) and no Big East team would actually go to either bowl over the 4 year period.