Bowl Eligibility - Conference Breakdown (Nov 26)
[edited to fix Big Ten # and chart]
Another crazy weekend that really impacted the bowl games, and in particular, Georgia Tech.
Your recap of bowl affiliations by conference:
Big Ten – 8 affiliations
Rose, Heart of Dallas, Outback, Gator, Capital One, Buffalo Wild Wings, Meineke Car Care and Little Ceasars
ACC – 8 affiliations
Orange, Sun, Music City, Chick Fil A, Russell Athletic, Independence, Military and Belk
B12 – 7 affiliations
Fiesta, Cotton, Pinstripe, Buffalo Wild Wings, Alamo, Meineke Car Care and Holiday
Big East – 6 affiliations
BBVA Compass, Liberty*, Pin Stripe, Russell Athletic, Belk and Beef O’Brady’s
Conference USA – 6 affiliations
Heart of Dallas, Liberty*, Armed Forces, Hawaii, New Orleans and Beef O’Brady’s
MAC – 3 affiliations
Go Daddy, Little Caesars and Famous Idaho Potato
Mountain West – 5 affiliations
Armed Forces, Hawaii*, Las Vegas, Poinsettia and New Mexico
PAC 12 – 7 affiliations
Rose, Sun, Kraft Fight Hunger, Alamo, Holiday, Las Vegas and New Mexico
SEC – 10 affiliations
Sugar, BBVA Compass, Cotton, Outback, Gator, Capital One, Music City, Liberty*, Chik Fil A and Independence
Sun Belt – 2 affiliations
Go Daddy and New Orleans
WAC – 2 affiliations
Hawaii* and Famous Idaho Potato
At Large Bids – 5
BCS Championship, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange
Other Bids (Independent) – 3
Poinsettia (takes BYU eligible), Kraft Fight Hunger (takes Navy if eligible) and Military (takes Army if eligible)
* Liberty takes either CUSA or SEC team and Hawaii takes Mountain West or WAC team
In total, 35 bowl games meaning 70 slots that have to be filled by eligible teams. Let us see how each conference fairs in terms of eligible teams. This is likely the last entry for this season since I expect that after next weekend we will know all of the eligible teams AND where they will be going. However, one new addition.
Did someone say cha...
Chart!
It was requested that I add a chart to make it easier to see the eligible teams by conference. Hopefully the following chart will do the job:
Your conference-by-conference breakdown:
Big Ten
Eligible Teams:
Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin
Analysis:
As a conference, the Big Ten really wanted both Purdue and Michigan State to win for greater visibility during the bowl season. And they did just that each becoming bowl eligible with identical 6-6 records. With OSU and Penn State out of the bowl picture, it will mean tougher opponents for the remaining teams with the conference only fielding 7 of the 8 teams it needed to fill its obligations.
ACC
Eligible Teams:
Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, NC State and Virginia Tech
Analysis:
Virginia Tech reach a bowl game for the 20thstraight season with its victory of Virginia. Wake Forest, on the other hand, could not beat Vanderbilt and will remain home. Georgia Tech, by virtue of their lose to Georgia, now needs to win the ACC Championship game to guarantee themselves a bowl game. Otherwise, their 6-7 record will leave them hoping there will be an insufficient number of eligible teams requiring the NCAA to use its eligibility rules for such circumstances. The ACC currently has 6 teams eligible out of a required 8, but Georgia Tech’s status is up in the air.
Big 12
Eligible Teams:
Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia
Analysis:
It is still hard to believe we are this late into the season and still talking about West Virginia’s eligibility given how they started the year. Yet, at long last, the Mountaineers will be in a bowl game after defeating Iowa State. High scoring Baylor outlasted Texas Tech to also reach bowl eligibility. The Big 12 will finish with 9 eligible teams while only requiring 7 to fill its obligations.
Big East
Eligible Teams:
Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers and Syracuse
On the Cusp:
Pittsburgh (South Florida)
Analysis:
It is remarkable that, even though they are 7-5, Syracuse is actually in the BCS bowl conversation. Though they will not be selected, as the rule is based on where they wind up in the BCS rankings with Rutgers and Louisville, it still demonstrates the turnaround for their season. Pittsburgh defeated Rutgers given them a much easier road to bowl eligibility this week against South Florida. Assuming they win, the Big East will have 5 teams out of a required 6 obligations.
Conference USA
Eligible Teams:
UCF, East Carolina, Rice, SMU and Tulsa
Analysis:
Marshall lost in double overtime to East Carolina to fall out of bowl contention. SMU and Rice, on the other hand, both won their final games and are now eligible for a bowl. Conference USA finishes with 5 eligible teams while requiring 6 for their affiliations.
Independents
Eligible Teams:
BYU, Notre Dame and Navy
Analysis:
Notre Dame will be going to the BCS Championship. No other changes for the Independents. They finish with 3 bowl teams while having 3 affiliations.
MAC
Eligible Teams:
Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kent State, Ohio, Northern Illinois and Toledo.
Analysis:
As expected, Central Michigan defeated UMass and is now bowl eligible. The MAC finishes with 7 eligible teams while only having 3 bowl affiliations.
Mountain West
Eligible Teams:
Air Force, Fresno State, San Diego State, Boise State, Nevada
Analysis:
The MWC was already complete with 5 eligible teams to fill its 5 affiliations.
PAC 12
Eligible Teams:
Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington
Analysis:
The PAC-12 has eight eligible teams for seven affiliations.
SEC
Eligible Teams:
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt
Analysis:
Missouri lost to Texas A&M meaning they will be staying home this bowl season while Ole Miss defeated Mississippi State to reach bowl eligibility. The SEC will have 9 eligible teams coming one short of its 10 obligations.
Sun Belt
Eligible Teams:
Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee State and
Western Kentucky
Analysis:
Troy lost their last game meaning the Sun Belt is done with 5 eligible teams. They are affiliated with only 2 bowl games.
WAC
Eligible Teams:
Utah State, Louisiana Tech, San Jose State
Analysis:
When it comes to bowl eligibility, the WAC is already set with 3 teams. They are affiliated with 2 bowl games.
Final Analysis
Of the 70 slots available, 71 teams have already qualified, which includes Pittsburgh who should become eligible this week. The impact of Pittsburgh winning will likely affect one of the WAC or Sun Belt bowl eligible teams.
With these numbers including Georgia Tech, it does appear that they will have to win their game against Florida State in the ACC Championship to maintain their eligibility. Ah the craziness of the ACC!
Last week, I predicted that the following schools would become bowl eligible after the past weekend:
Central Michigan(Won)
Michigan State(Won)
Purdue(Won)
Rice(Won)
Virginia Tech(Won)
Perfect score, though several other teams also became eligible (SMU, West Virginia, Mississippi). It means that there will be enough school eligible to fill all the bowl games, which organizers of some low-rated games are thankful for.
November 26th, 2012 at 2:15 PM ^
What's crazy is that the Orange Bowl is sending reps to the MAC Championship Game too
November 26th, 2012 at 9:33 PM ^
Kent St is in a position where if they beat Northern Illinois, they might automaticly qualify for a BCS bowl. Orange Bowl has the last selection and would probably end up with Kent St.
November 26th, 2012 at 2:56 PM ^
I count 7 BIG teams eligble, but your chart and summary say 6.
November 27th, 2012 at 9:09 AM ^
Been quite busy with work, so I rushed a bit to get it up.. never pays.. I will fix it!
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