It's official: SMU in Armed Forces Bowl

[skyscraper]

http://conferenceusa.cstv.com/sports/m- ... 10aaf.html

Three additional Conference USA schools accepted bowl invitations on Saturday to bring the total number of teams scheduled to play in the 2010 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) postseason to six. After winning the Conference USA Championship Game, UCF accepted an invitation to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on December 31 in Memphis. West Division Champion SMU will play in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on December 30 and Tulsa will play in the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl on December 24. This marks the fifth time in the last six years that the league has sent six teams to postseason play.

[Pony_Law]

I'm Out of the Country for bowl but I'll tivo it and/or maybe try espn3, Ya'll turn out and give us a good showing Beat Army Pony UP!!!!!

[mrydel]

I am ready. Got my flight reserved in and out, rental car reserved, and tickets in hand.

[RGV Pony]

so what's the over/under for the Hawaii bowl gonna be? 105?

[sbsmith]

Thank God, let's go beat Army. We have nearly a month to get ready and we played another option team pretty well already this season.

[skyscraper]

I'm looking forward to a bonus day on the Boulevard. Should be a full house, which will be cool to see.

[03Mustang]

Will the Boulevard be open? That would be awesome.

[smupony94]

When do tickets go on sale? Each team gets an allotment do don't tell me it is sold out

[horseshoe hilltop]

Nice, I will definitely be there.

[skyscraper]

http://www.armedforcesbowl.com/2010/12/ ... -bowl-bid/

Loooooooong press release. Some bits and pieces:

As the official bowl game that honors all branches of the United States armed forces, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will air at 11 a.m. (CST) on ESPN and ESPN Radio. SMU will be competing in the NCAA postseason for the second-straight year after posting a 45-10 win over Nevada at the 2009 Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl to improve their bowl record to 5-6-1.

"We are very proud to be playing in a postseason bowl game for the second-straight season," said SMU Athletic Director Steve Orsini. "We are also very excited to be playing in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl on our home field. This is a very unique opportunity that affords our fans the chance to cheer us on at Gerald J. Ford Stadium and will also provide a tremendous game day atmosphere for our student-athletes."

In addition to playing in their home stadium, SMU will be the home team as the Conference USA representative where teams of that league have won two of their previous six appearances. Army will be the visiting team as the Black Knights enter this year’s Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl with a 2-2 post-season record with their last appearance being in 1996 at the Independence Bowl.
Army leads the series with SMU 2-0 after winning 14-13 in 1928 at West Point when the Mustangs were playing their first football game east of the Mississippi. The Black Knights also posted a 24-6 victory over the Mustangs at a 1967 meeting at Ownby Stadium on the campus of SMU where Gerald J. Ford Stadium was constructed with the first game in 2000.

[ponyscott]

I don't believe its 'offical' yet...the official invite will be tomorrow, but educated speculation is that SMU will be there. If you noticed it didn't say SMU was offered a Bowl bid and nor was Tulsa officially offered the Hawaii Bowl yet either.

[Pony Soup]

Huge disappointment., Steve.

[mustang1108]

I think we should be able to beat army no question. they have played no one and are just happy to be in a bowl. Not to mention we already have some experience in playing against a triple option offense in Navy.

[ponyscott]

Huge disappointment., Steve.

What?....where else would you think they would go? Why not on campus to showcase the campus, the New Bush library site, Ford Stadium, DFW etc? Its a great recruiting tool for SMU. At least this year anyway.....

[skyscraper]

I don't believe its 'offical' yet...the official invite will be tomorrow, but educated speculation is that SMU will be there. If you noticed it didn't say SMU was offered a Bowl bid and nor was Tulsa officially offered the Hawaii Bowl yet either.

Headline of the Armed Forces Bowl release is "SMU ACCEPTS 2010 BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL BID."

Dunno how much more official it can be.