SBCC won its last six games and tied for the inaugural American Pacific Conference football championship but the Vaqueros were only ranked No. 20 in the final Southern Cal poll and didn’t receive a bowl invitation on Sunday.
“I’m upset because I don’t know what they looked at,” said Vaquero coach Craig Moropoulos, whose team went 6-4 overall and tied Antelope Valley for first with a 6-1 conference record. “The fact that I’m upset doesn’t change the fact that we’re not in a bowl game.
“I told my team they can’t take away that we won six in a row or that we came back from an 0-4 start when others could have crumbled.”
SBCC went 3-0 in October and 3-0 in November, capped by a 45-14 victory at East L.A. on Saturday. Despite beating L.A. Valley 55-52 two weeks ago, Valley was ranked 18th in the final poll. The 14 bowl teams were all ranked No. 14 or higher.
“Now I know how some BCS teams feel,” said Vaquero athletic director Mike Warren, referring to the controversial Bowl Championship Series.
The Vaqueros can look back to the season opener when they trailed Hancock 14-10 and had a first-and-goal on the 7-yard line with 17 seconds left but failed to convert.
Southwestern, ranked No. 11 with a 7-3 record, will take on No. 12 Pasadena (6-4) in the Tremblay Financial Services Santa Barbara Bowl on Saturday at SBCC’s La Playa Stadium. The Jaguars were co-champions of the American Mountain Conference while the Lancers finished third in the National Northern Division.
Kickoff for the TFS Bowl is set for 6 p.m. Tickets are available by calling Tremblay Financial at 569-1982. Prices are $8 for pregame tickets and $10 on the day of the game. Seniors and student tickets are $5.
