80 teams are needed for this years Bowl Bonanza. Teams with 6-6 records are eligible for Bowl Games. The problems set in when there are not enough 6-6 or better teams to fill all the Bowl Games. Here is a partial list of teams that currently 5-7 records. As of now, there are 64 teams that are Bowl Eligible.
Northwestern (992) -- vs. Illinois
Vanderbilt (990) -- vs. Tennessee
North Texas (984) -- at UTEP
Boston College (981) -- at Wake Forest
Indiana (979) -- vs. Purdue
Maryland (977) -- vs. Rutgers
Texas (971) -- vs. TCU
Miami-OH (969) -- vs. Ball State
NC State (969) -- at North Carolina
Arizona State (960) -- at Arizona
Ole Miss (958) -- vs. Mississippi State
UT San Antonio (956) -- vs. Charlotte
Southern Miss (955) -- vs. Louisiana Tech
Akron (947) -- at Ohio
SMU (945) -- vs. Navy
TCU (935) -- at Texas
There is a total of 17 teams on that list. 16 teams are needed to fill the Bowl Schedule. TCU and Texas are both listed because both have 5-6 records and play each other on Saturday. The chances of 16 teams winning and filling out the Bowl Games are next to impossible. Army has won 6 games but needs to defeat Navy because two of their wins are against FCS schools. If there are not 80 teams eligible, Army get the first shot. Hawaii can finish at 6-7 with a win against UMass on Saturday Night and get the 2nd spot behind Army. If there still are not enough teams eligible, then something called the APR (Academic Progress Rate) is used to select the teams. The above listed teams are listed in order of their APR.
Just one other thing to confuse the issue even more. Teams like Cal and UCLA, who play each other on Saturday, have 4 wins. If they win on Saturday, that throws them into the 5 win pile and their APR,s determine if they make it or not. There are 16 teams with 4 wins including Cal, UCLA, and Notre Dame.
Northwestern (992) -- vs. Illinois
Vanderbilt (990) -- vs. Tennessee
North Texas (984) -- at UTEP
Boston College (981) -- at Wake Forest
Indiana (979) -- vs. Purdue
Maryland (977) -- vs. Rutgers
Texas (971) -- vs. TCU
Miami-OH (969) -- vs. Ball State
NC State (969) -- at North Carolina
Arizona State (960) -- at Arizona
Ole Miss (958) -- vs. Mississippi State
UT San Antonio (956) -- vs. Charlotte
Southern Miss (955) -- vs. Louisiana Tech
Akron (947) -- at Ohio
SMU (945) -- vs. Navy
TCU (935) -- at Texas
There is a total of 17 teams on that list. 16 teams are needed to fill the Bowl Schedule. TCU and Texas are both listed because both have 5-6 records and play each other on Saturday. The chances of 16 teams winning and filling out the Bowl Games are next to impossible. Army has won 6 games but needs to defeat Navy because two of their wins are against FCS schools. If there are not 80 teams eligible, Army get the first shot. Hawaii can finish at 6-7 with a win against UMass on Saturday Night and get the 2nd spot behind Army. If there still are not enough teams eligible, then something called the APR (Academic Progress Rate) is used to select the teams. The above listed teams are listed in order of their APR.
Just one other thing to confuse the issue even more. Teams like Cal and UCLA, who play each other on Saturday, have 4 wins. If they win on Saturday, that throws them into the 5 win pile and their APR,s determine if they make it or not. There are 16 teams with 4 wins including Cal, UCLA, and Notre Dame.