IdaGriz01
Well-known member
Granted that there’s only a weak connection to the FCS and Griz football. Still, I thought we could amuse ourselves during the looong week to come with the matter of filling FBS bowl games. Turns out, that’s difficult because there are so damn many bowls.
The link here is that the “drama” involved two teams that are currently making their transition from FCS to FBS: James Madison and Jacksonville State. Both had very successful years. The Duke were cruising undefeated until they lost to Appalachian State in overtime on November 18. Jacksonville State had some good G-5 wins and finished at (8-4). Both were/are obviously bowl-worthy, but excluded by their transitional status.
As a matter of fact, when they were (10-0), JMU was seriously exploring legal action after the NCAA turned down their petition to be declared bowl-eligible. They dropped that after their loss (they ended at 11-1).
Early last week, I came across an article that reviewed the bowl picture as it then stood. With 41 bowls outside the FBS “playoff” picture, that meant they needed 82 bowl-eligible teams. At that time, there were 68 bowl-eligible teams (not including JMU or J-State). There were 24 teams with five wins who could become eligible if they won their last game. So, just as a side-bit of interest, I decided to track those 24 teams to see how they did. I have to admit, that notion did add some excitement to games that would have otherwise been of little (or no) interest. [Hey, we’re college football junkies here.] And several games delivered, with wins by 1 or 3 points, including a double-overtime win to put Utah State in. And, late in the evening, a last-second FG in Hawaii knocked Colorado State out of the running.
In the end, 11 candidates won and became bowl-eligible at (6-6), filling 79 bowl spots … and insuring that JMU and Jacksonville would go somewhere. Here’s where it gets even more interesting. Headlines popped up all over the web saying that (5-7) Minnesota, which lost to Wisconsin, would get that 82nd spot. (Nothing official, that I’ve seen.) Of all the (5-7) teams, they have the best Academic Progress Rating.
What’s interesting is that Army and Navy are both (5-6), so the winner of the Army-Navy games (Dec 9) should become bowl eligible. Now, I could see them perhaps excluding Army, because their record includes two FCS (still, D-I) wins. But Navy should have no problem if they win. Will that happen? Only one writer I came across even suggested that possibility. I guess we’ll see.
The link here is that the “drama” involved two teams that are currently making their transition from FCS to FBS: James Madison and Jacksonville State. Both had very successful years. The Duke were cruising undefeated until they lost to Appalachian State in overtime on November 18. Jacksonville State had some good G-5 wins and finished at (8-4). Both were/are obviously bowl-worthy, but excluded by their transitional status.
As a matter of fact, when they were (10-0), JMU was seriously exploring legal action after the NCAA turned down their petition to be declared bowl-eligible. They dropped that after their loss (they ended at 11-1).
Early last week, I came across an article that reviewed the bowl picture as it then stood. With 41 bowls outside the FBS “playoff” picture, that meant they needed 82 bowl-eligible teams. At that time, there were 68 bowl-eligible teams (not including JMU or J-State). There were 24 teams with five wins who could become eligible if they won their last game. So, just as a side-bit of interest, I decided to track those 24 teams to see how they did. I have to admit, that notion did add some excitement to games that would have otherwise been of little (or no) interest. [Hey, we’re college football junkies here.] And several games delivered, with wins by 1 or 3 points, including a double-overtime win to put Utah State in. And, late in the evening, a last-second FG in Hawaii knocked Colorado State out of the running.
In the end, 11 candidates won and became bowl-eligible at (6-6), filling 79 bowl spots … and insuring that JMU and Jacksonville would go somewhere. Here’s where it gets even more interesting. Headlines popped up all over the web saying that (5-7) Minnesota, which lost to Wisconsin, would get that 82nd spot. (Nothing official, that I’ve seen.) Of all the (5-7) teams, they have the best Academic Progress Rating.
What’s interesting is that Army and Navy are both (5-6), so the winner of the Army-Navy games (Dec 9) should become bowl eligible. Now, I could see them perhaps excluding Army, because their record includes two FCS (still, D-I) wins. But Navy should have no problem if they win. Will that happen? Only one writer I came across even suggested that possibility. I guess we’ll see.
