If winning the cotton bowl helps recruiting for Bama

[capnfrog]

wouldn't it stand to reason that awbarn and jawja would both be hurt bad in the recruiting wars with both of them having been beaten so soundly in their bowl games and how about teenersee being beaten up on all year to the point they were not even bowl eligible? or noder dame being out coached to the point that charles weis was pathetic. I bet some folks in Indianer are having second thoughts about his big contract.

 

[jthomas666]

Not necessarily. There are so many different factors at work that it's hard to accurately predict how a bowl game will affect a recruiting class. As I recall, we didn't have a particularly stellar class after blowing out Miami in the 93 Sugar Bowl.

And Tennessee pulled a lot of top notch recruits during their several-year string of getting blown out in bowl games.

 

[HITIDE]

wouldn't it stand to reason that awbarn and jawja would both be hurt bad in the recruiting wars with both of them having been beaten so soundly in their bowl games and how about teenersee being beaten up on all year to the point they were not even bowl eligible? or noder dame being out coached to the point that charles weis was pathetic. I bet some folks in Indianer are having second thoughts about his big contract.

Don't think it will make a drastic difference either way. If a kid is undecided between two favorite schools or hasn't really decided on a favorite it could have some effect on his decision. The Cotton Bowl win and the way our D stiffled the #1 (rated) offense in the nation should certainly make a favorable impression on some of the recruits.

 

[Tide49]

I think Bama's Bowl win was much more important to the program than the Georgia or Auburn losses were detrimental to their programs... a Bama loss to TT would have made 3 straight losses to end the season. It could have given recruits (and people in general) the impression that the momentum the team had is gone and that the team simply played over their heads, got lucky, or whatever the first 9 games. A win to finish the season greatly lessened the impact of Auburn and LSU losses, and showed that the program still has very positive momentum. Plus, a top 10 finish and 10 wins after 2 down years gives a real impression that Bama is "back" to the observer.

Georgia and Auburn, on the other hand, both ended the season on a high note and both have played at a very high level for a couple of years now. Really, one loss doesn't tarnish either one all that much in my opinion due to their circumstances. To me, it has always seemed that the results of one game on anyone's, even recruits, perception of a program is very small... however, several straight losses or bad games can make people perceive a trend, which is much more significant in how the program is received.

 

[bamaslaw]

I agree in general that simply a bowl win doesn't help all that much in recruiting. However, the way our defense played in that bowl game has to weigh heavily in the minds of some of the guys on defense.