With 35 bowl games, 72 teams became bowl eligible.
2 left out:
W. Michigan – no big surprise at 6-6 – MAC
Temple – a small surprise in that they were 8-4. But, MAC had 4 teams with better overall+conf records. Nobody wants the 5th place MAC team in their bowl.
1 screwed themselves:
Arizona State upset Arizona to get to 6-6. However, two of their wins were against I-AA teams and count as one win. They filed a waiver but no dice. Schedule stronger, Sun Devils.
6-6 teams in bowl games:
Florida Intl – tied Troy for the Sun Belt championship – lamest conf ever.
Middle Tenn – #3 Sun Belt
E Carolina – C-USA had 6 bowl tie-ins. ECU was #5
UTEP - #6 C-USA.
BYU – playing UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl, ugh.
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisville
Tennessee
Washington
Clemson
Army – 6-5 and probably loses to Navy this Saturday.
1 loss is all it takes:
Boise will play Utah in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas on December 22. Fittingly enough, that is a Wednesday – one of their favorite days to play on.
10 Bowls we can do without:
New Mexico Bowl, Albuqurque, NM – BYU (6-6) vs. UTEP (6-6) – zzzzzzzzzz…
New Orleans Bowl, New Orleans, LA – Troy (7-5) vs. Ohio (8-4) – N.O. already has the Sugar Bowl. Do they really need another in that run down old relic?
St. Petersburg Bowl, St. Petersburg, FL – Louisville (6-6) vs. Southern Miss (8-4) – another crappy game in another crappy dome.
Military Bowl, Washington DC – Maryland (8-4) vs. East Carolina (6-6) – no offense to our armed forces but these two bowls are just useless.
Armed Forces Bowl, Fort Worth, TX – SMU (7-6) vs. Army (6-5) – I love our military but do we really need two of these bowls using up money that could go to the actual military?
Pinstripe Bowl, New York, N.Y – Syracuse (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5) – football in Yankee Stadium with two mediocre teams…yawn. Been there, done that.
GoDaddy.com Bowl, Mobile, AL – Miami (Ohio) (9-4) vs. Middle Tennessee State (6-6) – they will be lucky to half fill the stadium
BBVA Compass Bowl, Birmingham, AL – Pittsburgh (7-5) vs. Kentucky (6-6) – that name just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?
Humanitarian Bowl, Boise, ID – Northern Illinois (10-3) vs. Fresno State (8-4) – YES! Idaho in December! That is exactly where I want to be!
Little Caesars Bowl, Detroit, MI – Toledo (8-4) vs. Florida International (6-6) – Right, I am spending my Christmas in Detroit instead of Miami.
74½:
The over/under is for Auburn vs. Oregon is 74½. Take the over!