The NCAA granted 6-7 Georgia Tech a bowl waiver, ensuring one bowl eligible team was going to be left out. That team will be the nine-win Louisiana Tech, who were ranked much of the season. The Bulldogs needed an invite to a bowl, as the WAC had only one automatic bid. Depending on the source, the Bulldogs either turned down the Independence Bowl or were still considering other offers that did not pan out when the Independence Bowl jumped for Ohio.

“We asked the Independence Bowl to let the games play out because we were told by the Heart of Dallas Bowl and the Liberty Bowls that they were very interested in us,” said Van De Velde Sunday night. “They (the Independence Bowl reps) called us on Saturday and put a deadline on us. We thought there would be a spot open for us in one of those other bowls. We asked them to wait so we could vet out these other options, but they wouldn’t.”

For fans, it would have been fun seeing one of the top offenses in the country one more time. You feel for the seniors, but the school itself may be better off not playing.

Louisiana Tech would have lost money playing in whatever bowl game it went to. The option it turned down/didn’t have time to accept was playing Louisiana-Monroe, a half-hour down the road, in Shreveport, an hour and a half down the road in the other direction. It would be on TV, but that’s hardly a national branding opportunity. The Bulldogs should have more opportunities to fritter away money next year in Conference USA.

[Photo via Presswire]