Weather could impact the Orange Bowl
- Thread starter WylieTexasTider
- Start date
MIchigan has the largest alumni base in the country. ND is a nationwide program. Oklahoma is not in that category. I lived in Oklahoma for ten years and thus I think I can speak with a little bit of experience on this subject. I followed Oklahoma very closely while I was there and even attended games in Norman. Outside of their band, the Sooner Schooner club, Roughnecks, and a very small crowd of OU fans they never travelled heavily to Miami. Never. Oklahoma is a very poor state like our own. Yes, they have won more Orange Bowls than anyone else, but that is only because of the old Big 8 Conference Tie-In that disappeared 20 years ago, when they or Nebraska won the title every year.
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Yeah and I’ve followed Alabama around the country for the last 5 years and have seen a big decrease of folks going to playoff games. Miami is a lot more expensive trip than Dallas, and Santa Clara is a whopper of a trip. The playoffs have killed the idea that Alabama fans travel as well as the Pittsburgh Steelers. Alabama fans are broke, and only the most well off financially, have Tide Pride and hotel hookups, or are in the area are going. Had the game been in Dallas I guarantee you that there would be a far bigger Alabama crowd because there are a lot more Bama fans in Texas than Florida and it being a cheaper overall trip, but there would also be a far larger Oklahoma crowd as well.
I’m predicting either 50-50 or 60-40 OU. I can see us possibly having a slight advantage, but would be shocked if we have the stadium better than 55-45. I’ve seen Oklahoma travel well to many bowl games. Not as well as Ohio St, but well enough. Oklahoma fans are not as broke as the Bama fans who have traveled to LA, NOLA (5), Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, Tampa, and Atlanta (8) this past decade.
One of the things that has been troubling me in terms of Defense against Oklahoma is Georgia's and others success when they ran an offensive scheme that forced Anfernee Jennings or Dylan Moses into coverage. Viewing the plays where Nauta was free down field and Moses was in coverage it was a significant mis-match. Fortunately these are difficult throws into the seam in front of the DBs but when completed it obviously a big play.
How does Alabama combat this which will be an obvious threat with Kyler Murray in the backfield?
Does Alabama go with a dime package to put more speed on the Defense which impacts pressure on the QB? The obvious answer would be to constantly change up to confuse Murray at the LOS.
Taking that a bit further a normal OLB set would hardly ever be successful in containing Murray in the pocket and once he gets outside then it is game on to extend coverage on the WRs downfield.
Looking at Oklahoma film Murray throws from the pocket much more than I would have expected but this is against porous Big 12 Defenses. Against Alabama he will have to scramble. This is where he becomes a Johnny Manziel only a much better runner and will improvise on the run.
Conclusion: Oklahoma will put plenty of pressure on the Defense and will make some big plays. Can Alabama run the ball, put points on the board and shrink the game? Give the ball up on downs and run the risk of being 14 points down quickly!
Comments?
Notre Dame outnumbered Bama fans by a great deal in 2012. We will not have the majority of partisans here either. It is what it is.
OU plays on a grass field.
Definitely would favor the better defense if it rains but OU is a good running team as well.
We didn’t choose the OB...I believe that was covered earlier. Home field is determined by the NCAA and is supposed to favor the higher seed, but we didn’t choose the venue. ��
Actually, on their boards, they're resigned to being outnumbered by us. They still remember the invasion of Bama RVs...
different times. The RV crowd is almost non existent because the university started to get greedy on parking, and like ive said Bama fans for the most part have spent "once in a decade" vacations about 8 times in the last 10 years. Going to Norman was a once in a lifetime trip for Bama fans, and it was during a 15 year stretch in which we only went to one major bowl game. When fanbases don't experience a long stretch of success they tend to spend top dollar to go on special trips. Look at UGA and Clemson fans now.
Its more likely to see about 30% of the stadium not full than Alabama invading Miami. Dallas would've drawn a far stronger Alabama crowd. If you just look at how tickets are going, Alabama lower level sideline tickets are in the 300's. Compare that to the Clemson-ND game in which lower sideline is in the 500's to the 1k's. I would be totally shocked if we have an overwhelming contingency like Sooner boards and Deliveryman seem to think based on ticket prices at this part of bowl season. It just screams that the typical traveling Bama fans aren't looking forward to Miami. Ive seen and heard from several Tide Priders indicating they were not going if we were playing in Miami.
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I had said during the home stretch that I would've preferred the Dallas site to the Miami site. There is Big-8/Big-12 history with the Orange Bowl, so I expect their turnout to be stronger. Granted, the Dallas site would've been a home game for them but Alabama has a stronger alumni base in that area. Might've legitimately gotten it to 60/40 in Dallas. I'm confident Oklahoma could have up to 75% of the stadium in Miami. It will likely be short of that but not far off. Dallas is just a far cheaper travel, lodging, and assorted incidentals location for the fans. Miami is an expensive location and a fanbase that has a decade's worth of once-in-a-lifetime sports vacations can't really justify it.
I thought so too. However, was told by someone on the Cotton Bowl Committee the week of the Championship games Saban made it known to the Committee and CFP he did not want OU in Jerry World and to hold off buying tickets. The night of the SEC Champ game a friend with OB ties called and asked if I wanted to go b/c BAMA would be there if OU was #4. Not saying Saban had a choice but, sounds like he made his opinion known. (At least privately as he'd be crazy to say anything publicly.)
TP sold its allotment in Miami without any issues. The out of state alumni chapters typically get offered the opportunity to buy tickets for the playoffs and Natty. While the Natty was readily available, I'm not even sure if the S. Florida chapters could buy tickets. I know Tide in Texas probably had 50 requests or more for OB tickets. I literally couldn't give away 4 at face value to the Natty in Cali. The Natty is the game I fear ND or Clemson will have 80% of the tickets. I expect Miami to be 55/45 OU just b/c they still have ties to the corporate/PSL seats from their days of the OB being tied into the B8.
Not saying your info is wrong, and it really doesn't matter. He likes Dallas, he really really likes Dallas. That's all.
I mean, I think the committee would know better than to put the #1 seed in a glorified road game in a city where OU plays at least once a season if not twice now with the Big-12 championship game back
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