some excerpts from article re: Independence Bowl in Shreveport:
...If the SEC comes up empty, the I-Bowl could head to one of its secondary agreements.
Up first, the American Conference with seven bowl-eligible teams. The AAC has six primary bowl agreements ahead of the I-Bowl deal. However, unless UCF loses the AAC Championship Game to Memphis on Saturday, the Golden Knights will qualify for a New Year’s Six bowl. In that case, the I-Bowl would probably not be an option for the conference.
Want to think big? How about a UCF loss in the AAC game and then a trip to Shreveport to play Miami? I’m guessing Miami and the ACC would not be big fans of the matchup, but it would be an epic get for Shreveport.....
...C-USA qualified seven teams and has six primary agreements.
C-USA could send any of its schools to Shreveport. FIU (8-4) has already accepted a berth into the Bahamas Bowl so the Golden Panthers are out of contention.
With an ACC team awaiting, the I-Bowl would be a juicy landing spot for many of the schools who’d like to face a Power Five opponent – the only other C-USA bowl with a Power Five opponent is the First Responder Bowl in Dallas.
Middle Tennessee State (8-4) and UAB (9-3) will play for the conference title on Saturday.
Other eligible teams: Marshall (8-3), North Texas (9-3), Louisiana Tech (7-5) and Southern Miss (6-5). It’s unlikely C-USA would send the Golden Eagles to Shreveport for a second straight year.
Who will be left out of the ACC to choose? Wake Forest and two others. Duke’s head coach David Cutcliffe loves Shreveport – he won three I-Bowl games in a five-year span (1998-2002) with Ole Miss. The Blue Devils would be fun, but they just got smoked by Wake Forest, 59-7 – not the most attractive choice.
Although Miami is a big name, the Hurricanes aren’t known to travel well, so that could leave them on the table and make a return to Shreveport a big possibility.
Middle Tennessee has never played a Power Five opponent in a bowl game. UAB has never won a bowl game – played in two – and never faced a P5 team in the postseason.
Keeping the prediction conservative again this week -- a prediction that aligns with the supposed guidelines of the conference agreements.
This week’s prediction
Miami vs. UAB