by Week 14 College Football Bowl projections
With less than a week to go before the bowl deals are officially announced, it’s still unknown how many teams will qualify for the bowl.
Pausing our weekly Bowl projections for breaking news: Action Network is reporting that Middle Tennessee and San Diego State are heading to the Hawaii Bowl… now back to the Bowl projections.
It’s unknown how many teams are eligible as Buffalo (5-6) play Akron in a Friday game that was postponed due to weather. It’s easy for Buffalo — winning, and the Bulls are in as the 80th bowl-eligible team.
If Buffalo wins, it will take two teams with five wins to fill the bottom two spots. An Akron win means it takes three teams with five wins to fill the 82 spots.
The order of the five winning teams is based on Academic Progress Rate (APR) results. Rice had the highest APR score of the five-win teams, followed by UNLV and Auburn. Regardless of the Buffalo Akron result, rice is guaranteed to be a bowl. UNLV has the second highest APR, followed by Auburn.
If Buffalo loses, UNLV and Auburn would be next in line for bowl bids.
New Mexico State Athletic Director Mario Moccia told Action Network the school appealed to the NCAA Football Oversight Committee today to seek a waiver that would allow 5-6 NMSU to play in a bowl.
New Mexico State is seeking a waiver as the Aggies were unable to play their full 12-game schedule due to tragic circumstances including the death of a San Jose State player and the subsequent cancellation of the NMSU-SJSU game to play.
The state of New Mexico tried unsuccessfully to find another FBS opponent. Learn more about the New Mexico state appeals effort here.
If the NCAA rules in favor of New Mexico State, the Aggies would be selected ahead of Rice, UNLV and Auburn. Whether or not New Mexico state gets a waiver, Rice will still be key. UNLV and Auburn must wait and see if (a) Buffalo wins and (b) if New Mexico State’s appeal is successful.
In terms of my bowl predictions this week, I expect Buffalo to become the 80th bowl-eligible team, leaving spots for two five-win teams. Until the NCAA decides on New Mexico’s appeal, I put Rice and UNLV in my key projections.
After Tuesday’s penultimate college football playoff rankings, I will have a special updated bowl projection on Wednesday. And plan accordingly – all bowl matchups will be officially announced on Sunday.
Here are this week’s predictions with Action Network senior writer Collin Wilson with the latest college football betting performance numbers.
CFP National Championship Prediction
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CFP National Championship
College Football Playoff Semifinals Projections
New year six bowl games
Projections for all other shells
* The top-scoring champion from the Group of Five conferences (American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt) will be selected to play in the Cotton Bowl if they do not qualify for the College Football Playoffs.
**A highlighted team name means the team is already confirmed for their respective bowl.
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