75 teams have clinched bowl berths, 5-win teams needed to fill spots
With bowl games in Orlando and Tucson added this season, there will be a record 41 bowl games played this season. That calls for 80 teams to fill all of those slots.
Coming into this weekend’s set of games, 71 teams already sealed bowl berths while 14 additional five-win teams had a chance to clinch bowl eligibility.
Only four teams – Washington, Tulsa, Indiana and Virginia Tech – were able to take advantage of that opportunity.
Here’s how it went down:
From Friday’s games:
Nebraska (5-7): The Huskers hung tough with No. 4 Iowa, but were doomed by four interceptions from Tommy Armstrong in a 28-20 loss. Nebraska, at 5-7, still has a chance for postseason play. We’ll get to that later.
Washington (6-6): The Huskies blew out in-state rival Washington State (who played without starting quarterback Luke Falk) 45-10 in an impressive home win in the Apple Cup to improve to 6-6.
Missouri (5-7): In what was Missouri’s final regular season game under head coach Gary Pinkel, the Tigers failed to get much going offensively in a 28-3 loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville. Like Nebraska, Missouri dropped to 5-7, but still could find itself playing in the postseason.
San Jose State (5-7): The Spartans led the Broncos 10-9 at halftime, but could not keep the BSU offense out of the end zone for long. Boise scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to improve to 8-4 while SJSU dropped to 5-7.
Buffalo (5-7): This one was not good. The Bulls started the season 5-4 but dropped their final three games to miss out on a bowl. On Friday, Buffalo lost 31-26 at home to lowly UMass, who will finish with just three wins. UMass RB Marquis Young carved up the Buffalo D for 240 yards and three touchdowns. UB had most of the fourth quarter to take a lead, but could not move the ball whatsoever.
Tulsa (6-6): Tulsa looked like it would pull a Buffalo and blow its chance to reach six wins against three-win Tulane, but the Golden Hurricane scored three times in the final seven minutes – including two pick-sixes – to win 45-34.
From Saturday’s games:
Kentucky (5-7): This one stings. The Wildcats stormed out to a 24-7 halftime lead over rival Louisville at home, but allowed the Cardinals to storm back in a big way. Louisville scored 31 unanswered points in the second half to beat the Wildcats 38-24. Kentucky could muster only 291 yards of offense in the loss. Not great.
East Carolina (5-7): East Carolina dropped a heartbreaker to Cincinnati when the Bearcats’ Andrew Gantz drilled a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give Cincy a win and spoil the bowl hopes of the Pirates.
Old Dominion (5-7): The Monarchs finished 6-6 in their first FBS season last year, but missed out on a bowl. With a bowl berth pretty much guaranteed with a win over Florida Atlantic, ODU laid an egg. FAU picked up just its third win of the year by beating ODU 33-31 in Norfolk. ODU actually came all the way back from a 24-3 deficit, but Owls kicker Greg Joseph hit a 29-yarder with 5:26 to go to pull out an upset win.
Virginia Tech (6-6): For the 23rd consecutive season, Virginia Tech will play in the postseason. In what was Frank Beamer’s final regular season game as Hokies head coach, Virginia Tech came from behind to beat in-state rival Virginia to win its sixth game of the season. Joey Slye’s 41-yard field goal with 1:38 to go was the deciding score in the 23-20 win.
Indiana (6-6): For the first time in the Kevin Wilson era, Indiana is headed to a bowl game. The Hoosiers used their high-powered offense to overwhelm Purdue, 54-36. The Hoosiers finished off the season with back-to-back road wins over Maryland and the Boilermakers to reach a bowl game for the first time since 2007.
Louisiana Lafayette (4-7): The Ragin’ Cajuns were clinging to life at 4-6 coming into Saturday’s game at Appalachian State, but had no answer against a nine-win App State team.
Illinois (5-7): On the same day the Illini named Bill Cubit it’s full-time coach moving forward, Cubit’s bunch couldn’t overcome Northwestern at Soldier Field. Illinois scored first, but Northwestern controlled things for most of the game and cruised to a 24-14 win.
Minnesota (5-7): It’s been a tough year for Minnesota with the resignation of head coach Jerry Kill due to health reasons, but the Gophers couldn’t pull an upset in a rivalry game against Wisconsin that the Badgers won 31-21. The Gophers started the year 4-2, but dropped five of their last six to finish 5-7 and likely miss out on a bowl.
Still alive:
South Alabama (5-6): South Alabama was blown out 55-17 by Georgia Southern, but still have a chance to reach the six-win mark. That task won’t be easy, however. Next on the schedule for 5-6 USA? 9-2 Appalachian State. That would be a big upset.
Kansas State (5-6): The Wildcats improved to 5-6 on the year by knocking off winless Kansas. They didn’t have much trouble doing it, either, and cruised to a 45-14 victory. To reach six wins, the Wildcats have a tougher task — a home matchup next Saturday against a 7-4 West Virginia team that is riding a four-game winning streak.
Georgia State (5-6): Like its Sun Belt counterpart South Alabama, Georgia State has a tough task ahead to reach six wins. The Panthers, who won their third straight game in a 31-21 decision over Troy on Friday, will head to Statesboro to take on 8-3 Georgia Southern. Southern gave Georgia a big test (a 23-17 loss) last week and knocked off USA this week, so the Eagles are playing well and will be a tough task for GSU.
With wins from Washington, Tulsa, Indiana and Virginia Tech, 75 teams have guaranteed bowl spots, but there are still five to go. And since South Alabama, Kansas State and Georgia State are the only teams that can clinch automatic berths, the NCAA will have to step in to fill at least two slots.
Various reports have surfaced that indicate the NCAA could use Academic Progress Rate (APR) to fill the remaining spots. According to CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm, Nebraska (985), Missouri (976), San Jose State (975), Minnesota (975) and Illinois and Rice (both have 973) have the best APRs among five-win teams that have completed their schedules. If Kansas State cannot beat West Virginia, the Wildcats jump toward the top with its 976 APR, which would tie Missouri.
As of now, it is unclear how the NCAA will differentiate, if necessary, between teams with the same APR.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
