Will 68 teams get bowl eligible?

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SelectionSunday

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We're at 62 for 68 available bowl slots. I think it would be classic if a sub-.500 (at-large) team had to go to a bowl game just to prove what a mockery it is having 34 bowls, but it doesn't look like this year will be the year. It's going to happen one of these years.

BOWL ELIGIBLE
1. Alabama (10-0)
2. Boise State (10-0)
3. Cincinnati (10-0)
4. Florida (10-0)
5. Texas (10-0)
6. TCU (10-0)
7. Georgia Tech (10-1)
8. Pitt (9-1)
9. Central Michigan (9-2)
10. Iowa (9-2)
11. Ohio State (9-2)
12. Oklahoma State (9-2)
13. Penn State (9-2)
14. BYU (8-2)
15. Houston (8-2)
16. LSU (8-2)
17. Oregon (8-2)
18. Temple (8-2)
19. Utah (8-2)
20. Wisconsin (8-2)
21. Rutgers (7-2)
22. Navy (8-3)
23. Boston College (7-3)
24. Cal (7-3)
25. Clemson (7-3)
26. Miami-Florida (7-3)
27. Middle Tennessee State (7-3)
28. Nebraska (7-3)
29. Nevada (7-3)
30. North Carolina (7-3)
31. Northern Illinois (7-3)
32. Ohio (7-3)
33. Ole Miss (7-3)
34. Oregon State (7-3)
35. Stanford (7-3)
36. Troy (7-3)
37. USC (7-3)
38. Virginia Tech (7-3)
39. West Virginia (7-3)
40. Arizona (6-3)
41. South Florida (6-3)
42. Air Force (7-4)
43. Auburn (7-4)
44. Idaho (7-4)
45. Northwestern (7-4)
46. Arkansas (6-4)
47. Central Florida (6-4)
48. East Carolina (6-4)
49. Fresno State (6-4)
50. Georgia (6-4)
51. Kentucky (6-4)
52. Louisiana-Monroe (6-4)
53. Mizzou (6-4)
54. Notre Dame (6-4)
55. Oklahoma (6-4)
56. SMU (6-4)
57. Southern Miss (6-4)
58. Texas Tech (6-4)
59. Iowa State (6-5)
60. Michigan State (6-5)
61. Minnesota (6-5)
62. South Carolina (6-5)

NEED 1 MORE WIN (game this weekend)
1. Kansas State *(6-5): at Nebraska (only 1 I-AA win counts)
2. Bowling Green (5-5): AKRON
3. Duke (5-5): at Miami-Florida
4. Florida State (5-5): MARYLAND
5. Kansas (5-5): at Texas
6. Kent State (5-5): at Temple
7. Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5): LOUISIANA-MONROE
8. Marshall (5-5): SMU
9. Tennessee (5-5): VANDY
10. Texas A&M (5-5): BAYLOR
11. UAB (5-5): at East Carolina
12. UCLA (5-5): ARIZONA STATE
13. Wyoming (5-5): TCU
14. Michigan (5-6): OHIO STATE
15. Western Michigan (5-6): idle
 

One correction: Kansas State isn't eligible yet. Despite having six wins, two of them came against FCS competition. They must win at Nebraska tomorrow to become eligible.

Regardless, 68 teams will definitely be eligible this year. I'm just hoping no more teams from the MAC/Sun Belt get to seven wins so they must automatically be taken by the GMAC/Papa Johns/Motor City Bowls of the world that will be mining for at-large teams. Rutgers-NC State (Papa Johns) last year was a whole lot more watchable than Central Michigan-Florida Atlantic (Motor City).

Next year, we'll most likely have 70 bowl slots available - add the new games at Yankee Stadium and the Cotton Bowl and subtract at least one bowl, most likely the International.
 

I don't believe that Kansas State is eligible yet due to the level of the teams they have played. It has been a point of discussion on the Iowa State board that many publications are putting K-State in a bowl and not Iowa State, despite the fact that K-State needs to beat Nebraska to become bowl eligible while Iowa State is legitimately bowl eligible.
 

It makes a football fan excited to be able to watch that many games over the holidays. I think if I recall you are a huge basketball fan and you take in a lot of what I would consider to be meaningless, unwatchable games.
 



SS, I'm not sure on this, but heard someone say that Duke has to get to 7 wins to be eligible as well due to two I-AA games.
 

howeda7 said:
SS, I'm not sure on this, but heard someone say that Duke has to get to 7 wins to be eligible as well due to two I-AA games.
Click to expand...

Duke did play two I-AA games this year, but they lost to Richmond. They need to beat either Miami this week (not happening) or Wake Forest next week (probably not happening) to get bowl-eligible.
 

howeda7 said:
SS, I'm not sure on this, but heard someone say that Duke has to get to 7 wins to be eligible as well due to two I-AA games.
Click to expand...

I understand the confusion. That was based on the assumption that Duke would win both of the I-AA games. If they had won both, they would have needed seven wins, but since they lost one, they just need 6.

I wonder why they played 2 I-AA teams. If they had played a low-level I-A team and got the win, they would be bowl elligible now. Did they just want to rack up another win, and didn't care that it wouldn't help them get to a bowl? Which just makes it more ironic since they lost the game. Or did they have a whole in the schedule to fill?
 

SelectionSunday said:
We're at 62 for 68 available bowl slots. I think it would be classic if a sub-.500 (at-large) team had to go to a bowl game just to prove what a mockery it is having 34 bowls, but it doesn't look like this year will be the year. It's going to happen one of these years.


NEED 1 MORE WIN (game this weekend)
1. Kansas State *(6-5): at Nebraska (only 1 I-AA win counts)
2. Bowling Green (5-5): AKRON
3. Duke (5-5): at Miami-Florida
4. Florida State (5-5): MARYLAND
5. Kansas (5-5): at Texas
6. Kent State (5-5): at Temple
7. Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5): LOUISIANA-MONROE
8. Marshall (5-5): SMU
9. Tennessee (5-5): VANDY
10. Texas A&M (5-5): BAYLOR
11. UAB (5-5): at East Carolina
12. UCLA (5-5): ARIZONA STATE
13. Wyoming (5-5): TCU
14. Michigan (5-6): OHIO STATE
15. Western Michigan (5-6): idle
Click to expand...

I see Bowling Green and FSU won, that is 64. TAMU & Tennessee should win and UCLA should be favored over ASU.

That will bring it up to 67.

Wyoming plays CSU, who is winless in the MWC, on the 27th of November. That's 68.
 



RodentRampage said:
I understand the confusion. That was based on the assumption that Duke would win both of the I-AA games. If they had won both, they would have needed seven wins, but since they lost one, they just need 6.

I wonder why they played 2 I-AA teams. If they had played a low-level I-A team and got the win, they would be bowl elligible now. Did they just want to rack up another win, and didn't care that it wouldn't help them get to a bowl? Which just makes it more ironic since they lost the game. Or did they have a whole in the schedule to fill?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure but wouldn't be shocked if he just wanted them to get the extra win. Cutcliff seems big on needing to 'change the culture' at Duke, and he has. Man the ACC sure emberassed itself vs 1-AA teams this year. Both Duke and UVa lost and Maryland came close.
 

Not Quite NBA or NHL Like Yet

SelectionSunday said:
We're at 62 for 68 available bowl slots. I think it would be classic if a sub-.500 (at-large) team had to go to a bowl game just to prove what a mockery it is having 34 bowls, but it doesn't look like this year will be the year. It's going to happen one of these years."

Yeah, it would be rather NBA or NHL like. March Madness-like if you want to go there.

What does happen if there aren't enough to qualify?

It never happened to the NFL but its' probably coming. Two teams in 2004 and two in 2006 made the playoffs at 8-8 and the 1978 Vikings tied the Green Bay Packers at 8-7-1. The Vikings went because they were 1-0-1 against the Packers in those non-overtime years.

So yeah, there's a lot of mockery out there beyond College Football.
Click to expand...
 

howeda7 said:
I'm not sure but wouldn't be shocked if he just wanted them to get the extra win. Cutcliff seems big on needing to 'change the culture' at Duke, and he has. Man the ACC sure emberassed itself vs 1-AA teams this year. Both Duke and UVa lost and Maryland came close.
Click to expand...

And Florida State pulled out a win in the final minute vs. Jacksonville State.
 

The first round of the tournament should be spectacular, I wonder who'll get the byes. Oh....wait...nm
 



I love bowl games - I must be one of the few remaining people who doesn't mind the lack of a playoff. As a kid, all my friends would get amped up about Christmas, but New Year's Day was MY holiday (how I wish we could go back to that). Bowls are tradition. Part of me died when it was Miami vs. Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.

That said, 34 games (likely 35 next year) is a bit much. I'd like to see the number trimmed to 25-26, which would give 50+ teams a chance to experience a bowl, but maintain some of the prestige.
 

I'm with Jike on this one. I like the bowl season as well, but there's too many of them. I prefer the days of when the major bowls (Cotton, Rose, Sugar, Orange) all kind of overlapped on New Year's Day. They're too spread out now.
 

"March Madness-like if you want to go there."

Technically, there has never been a NCAA tourney at-large team with a sub-.500 record. Automatic qualifier, yes, but not an at-large team. I believe Georgia (16-14 in 2000-01) is the closest we've had to .500, and the Bulldogs earned it with the killer schedule they played that year.

But I understand your point.
 

I love the bowls, also.....

....but if they're gonna approve so many, they need to increase the number
of teams in the FBS. I realize the moratorium ends in 2011 so teams can move up.

In the meantime, I wouldn't mind seeing a hungry FCS team fill a slot if there
are no bowl-eligible teams left to fill. Just my 2 cents, however.
 

Iceland12 said:
SelectionSunday said:
We're at 62 for 68 available bowl slots. I think it would be classic if a sub-.500 (at-large) team had to go to a bowl game just to prove what a mockery it is having 34 bowls, but it doesn't look like this year will be the year. It's going to happen one of these years."

Yeah, it would be rather NBA or NHL like. March Madness-like if you want to go there.

What does happen if there aren't enough to qualify?

It never happened to the NFL but its' probably coming. Two teams in 2004 and two in 2006 made the playoffs at 8-8 and the 1978 Vikings tied the Green Bay Packers at 8-7-1. The Vikings went because they were 1-0-1 against the Packers in those non-overtime years.

So yeah, there's a lot of mockery out there beyond College Football.
Click to expand...

North Texas went to a bowl game a few years ago at 5-6. They won their conference, but had a losing overall record. The NCAA gave them a waiver for bowl elligibility. The team that finished second had a 6-5 record, the other option would have been to give the bowl game to them instead.

We did have teams with a 4-5 record making the playoffs during a strike season.

The 1978 tie between the Vikings and the Packers involved 15 minutes of overtime, the NFL introduced overtime for the regular season in 1974.
Click to expand...
 

SelectionSunday said:
I'm with Jike on this one. I like the bowl season as well, but there's too many of them. I prefer the days of when the major bowls (Cotton, Rose, Sugar, Orange) all kind of overlapped on New Year's Day. They're too spread out now.
Click to expand...

I don't think that minor bowls hurt the prestige of the major bowls. The Cotton Bowl used to be one of the most prestigious bowls. The SWC dragged it down, the the Fiesta Bowl game out of nowhere to take its place.
 


I think what leads to the perception that there are too many bowls is all the coaches of teams in very minor bowls claiming victory for becoming bowl eligible and treating it like it's a major accomplishment (Mason, Brewster included). If coaches would treat the minor bowls like the NIT, I think we'd all be better off.

I say keep all the bowls, let us avoid the ones we aren't interested in and continue to tune out the coaches who are content with the minor ones. Oh, and put the four major bowls back on News Year's Day, move the lesser bowls back during the week between Christmas and New Year's, and for god's sakes no minor bowls like the International Bowl or Alamo Bowl after New Year's. That's blasphemy.
 

20 bowls, that's what I would like to go back to - and move the NYD bowls back you NYD!
 


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