Team Selection Committee holds final October meeting
Florida Citrus Sports’ Team Selection Committee held its final October meeting Monday morning, as members representing the committee discussed the Week 9 slate of games and their potential impact on the newly-minted Vrbo Citrus Bowl and the Camping World Bowl.
The Week 9 presentations opened with a report from Royce Kincaid, who was in the building for Clemson’s 59-7 rout of Boston College on Saturday. Kincaid said that Clemson fans shared positive memories from the team’s last visit to Orlando — a 40-6 win over Oklahoma in 2014 — and would likely enjoy a return trip whenever the time comes.
Elsewhere, Ronnie Rachels and Cannon Church were on hand in Pittsburgh for Pitt-Miami and noted the enthusiasm shared by the Pitt faithful at Heinz Field.
“They don’t tailgate like I’ve ever seen anyone tailgate — you’d think it was like the Super Bowl,” Rachels said. “They line tables up and down the rows of the parking lot, and it is a buffet. Everyone brings what they want and shares, and it was pouring down rain, and cold. So they’re definitely enjoying their time.
“They would give anything to come and get an invite to Orlando,” Rachels added of the 5-3 Panthers. “They were all over us to get their opportunity to come here.”
Several other ACC games had Florida Citrus Sports representatives in attendance, as well, including Syracuse-Florida State, Duke-North Carolina and Virginia-Louisville at Cardinal Stadium, where the father-daughter team of David and Amy Pryor said fans were excited about the possibility of an Orlando bowl return.
“They said that most of the fans would show up no matter the weather, and all the fans that we talked to seemed to like the idea of a game in Orlando, especially that time of the year,” David Pryor said.
In the Big 12, Camping World Bowl representatives were on hand at Iowa State and TCU, and several Citrus Bowl scouts also took in action in the Big Ten and SEC, including stops at Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio State, LSU and Texas A&M.
“Both schools reminded us they’ve never been to Orlando for a bowl game,” David Haas said of his and Greg Milakovic’s trip to see Mississippi State take on the Aggies, who improved to 5-3 on the year with a win over the Bulldogs.
“If Texas A&M wins out they could be an attractive pick,” Haas added, “as we were reminded that A&M is starting six true freshmen and had played three No. 1 teams at the time of the game.”
The Team Selection Committee is an all-volunteer community that represents Florida Citrus Sports at games across the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12, and participation is open to all active members. To learn more about membership options, visit our information page.