Let me try to explain our destination.
We have the five bowl tie ins (NO, Myrtle, Camellia, Lending Tree, Cure) In addition, the ESPN pool of bowls they own come into play. Those are Boca Raton, Idaho Potato, New Mexico, First Responder and Frisco.
The picking order is ESPN, NO, ESPN, ESPN, Lending Tree. However, there are years (once every three I think but don't quote me) when New Orleans can invoke a clause that gives them the first pick, which they did this year.
Without the clause, we'd probably still be in NO, although they could have matched us with UTSA in the Frisco Bowl (where the Roadrunners will play San Diego State.)
As far as our opponent is concerned, once UAB was placed in the Independence and UTSA in the Frisco, that left WKU and Marshall as the next strongest teams (UTSA, as champion, got to select the bowl they preferred.)
WKU would have been an interesting matchup, as their quarterback Bailey Zappe has thrown for 54 touchdowns this year (that isn't a misprint) and still has an outside chance at Joe Burrow's record.
As of 10am yesterday, our opponent still had not been determined. It was finally decided that Marshall would come to NO, while WKU went to Boca Raton. And, App State was selected to play the Hilltoppers.
I agree with the Marshall fan who posted here, I think the Herd is a better team than WKU. (And, can you imagine if WKU was in NO, how long that damn game would last with a gazillion passes thrown?)
We complained last year about UTSA being our opponent and it turned out to be a great game. Hopefully this will be the same.
Dr. Maggard was all for New Orleans since it's been five years since we've played there. And, NO Bowl has a good reputation for the way they run their bowl game. Dr. Maggard wanted to give Cajun fans the best opportunity to see the team play.
Hey, it could be worse. We could be Georgia State who is playing in the Camellia Bowl.....on Christmas Day.