12 More Teams Clinch Bowl Eligibility & Nine Who Will Not

College Football can bring many blessings and for seven Group of 5 teams, those blessings mostly consist of Bowl Bids and Conference Championships. It can also be a cruel, fickle game, and for seven Group of 5 teams and two Power 5 schools the end is already here.

Going Bowling!

1.)No. 15 Washington (6-2)
The Huskies entered the season with higher aspirations than winning the PAC-12, but after losses to Auburn and Oregon, that seems to be there best bet. They've still got some heavy lifting to do as the Apple Cup looks very interesting with Washington State off to a hot start.
Best Win: Colorado
Bowl Projection: Holiday Bowl

2.)No. 14 Washington State (6-1)
Gardner Minshew has been lights out since coming over from East Carolina. Minshew is second to only Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State) in passing yards and while his 323 yards against Oregon were his second fewest on the season, he still threw four touchdowns in the game. The Cougars are the new it team in the PAC-12 and can make waves with wins against Stanford, Colorado, and Washington in the Apple Cup.
Best Win: Oregon
Bowl Projection: Sun Bowl

3.)No. 8 Oklahoma (6-1)
The Sooners lone blemish came at the hands of rival Texas, but they nearly saw a second loss to the time eaters known as the Army Black Knights. Army set a prime example of how to neutralize the high powered offense or if you're the Longhorns, you just outscore them.
Best Win: Baylor
Bowl Projection: Liberty Bowl

4.)No. 12 Kentucky (6-1)
The Wildcats are the big surprise of the early season as they're off to their best start in SEC play. Benny Snell Jr. will run over anyone and needs just 232 yards to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark. Being in the SEC, the road will be a tough one. If they get out of their smaller conference games, they have Georgia and more than likely Alabama if they make the SEC Championship.
Best Win: Florida
Bowl Projection: Outback

5.)No. 18 Iowa (6-1)
The Hawkeyes are hanging in there again, just waiting to ruin someone in the Big Ten's season. It wasn't Wisconsin as the Badgers are their lone defeat. They have a chance to make it Penn State this weekend and have an easy finish on paper, but the Buckeyes will tell you not to underestimate Purdue.
Best Win: Maryland
Bowl Projection: Outback

6.)Western Michigan (6-2)
The Broncos began the season 0-2 with losses to Syracuse and Michigan, but have pummeled anything in their path since. Already claiming wins over their in-state rivals, WMU only has one goal left, to win the MAC. The Broncos should be favored in their final four games, but anything can happen before they see Buffalo in the MAC Championship.
Best Win: Eastern Michigan
Bowl Projection: Bahamas Bowl

7.)Utah State (6-1)
A team that was nearly 7-0 after they barely lost at Michigan State to start the season, but they have punished those in front of them. In five of their six wins, they've scored at least 42 and in three of those at least 59. Jordan Love has 17 total touchdowns and should only rack up more against the likes of New Mexico, Colorado State, and San Jose State.
Best Win: BYU
Bowl Projection: New Mexico Bowl

8.)San Diego State (6-1)
Yes that's a picture of kick John Barron II.The Lou Groza candidate is an unfair advantage for the Aztecs as he has crushed hopes of opponents like Eastern Michigan by making all four of his 50+ yard field goal attempts. With an ailing Juwaun Washington, the foot of Barron becomes that much more important. He has been the difference in two of the six wins this season.
Best Win: Arizona State
Bowl Projection: Las Vegas Bowl

9.)Georgia Southern (6-1)
Shai Werts leads an option attack that has Georgia Southern sixth in the country in rushing yards. The Ealges hope their second game against a ranked opponent goes better than their trip to Clemson. Georgia Southern goes into a battle for the Sun Belt Conference with No. 25 Appalachian State (5-1) who are looking to become bowl eligible.
Best Win: Arkansas State
Bowl Projection: Cure Bowl

10.)Houston (6-1)
The Cougars have a chance to derail both of the top teams in the American as they face No. 21 USF (7-0) this week and could see No. 10 UCF (7-0) in the  AAC Championship Game. D'Eriq King can toss the ball with the best of them, but can Houston's defense keep up.
Best Win: Arizona
Bowl Projection: Birmingham Bowl

11.)Fresno State (6-1)
The former Oregon State product, Marcus McMaryion has lifted Fresno State to a competitive level once again. Their toughest conference tests still remain, starting with Hawai'i (6-3), and then play back-to-back games against the last two Mountain West Champions, Boise State and San Diego State.
Best Win: UCLA
Bowl Projection: Arizona Bowl

12.)UAB (6-1)
Simply amazing. UAB had their football program cut at the end of the 2014 season after only making one bowl game since joining the FBS in 1996. They set the bar high in their first season back winning eight games and went to the Bahamas Bowl. Now they will look for a Conference USA title after beating North Texas (6-2) and also their first bowl win in school history.
Best Win: North Texas
Bowl Projection: Hawai'i Bowl

So Sorry It's Over:

1.)Ole Miss (NCAA Sanctions)
The Rebels (5-3) have a winning record and would likely make a bowl, but former coach Hugh Freeze did a lot of things he shouldn't have. Now Matt Luke (pictured) has the pleasure of guiding this lame duck team.
2.)Liberty (First Season in FBS and not eligible)
The Flames (4-3) are off to an OK start this season since joining the FBS ranks this season, although their strength of schedule is something to be desired. They actually play a home and home with fellow independent New Mexico State this season. Liberty did have a nice win against Troy this year.

3.)UTEP (0-7)
The Miners haven't won a game since President Trump was sworn into office. That's 19 straight losses! They are the inverse to a UCF team that has won 20 straight. UTEP came oh so close last week against Louisiana Tech, but couldn't do it. Rice and Western Kentucky provide glimmers of hope on the rest of the schedule.
Worst Loss: Northern Arizona (FCS)

4.)San Jose State (0-7)
The Spartans have only lost seven straight, so they can't complain per se, but still. They almost knocked off San Diego State, but that sledgehammer of a leg on John Barron II crushed SJST's hopes. UNLV and Wyoming seem like the last hopes for a win this season.
Worst Loss: UC Davis (FCS)

5.)Rutgers (1-7)
It's tough to decide what's more embarrassing for the Scarlet Knights: losing to a MAC school for the second year in a row (Buffalo) or losing to Kansas. Since beating Texas State to open the season, they've only been competitive since in just two games, including a close call with Northwestern last week.
Worst Loss: They lost to Kansas by 41, so Kansas it is.

6.)Rice (1-7)
Things started off shaky, but they won against Prairie View A&M. Since then they've lost seven straight by an average of almost 23 points per game. The Owls have UTEP and Old Dominion left to possibly brighten their season, but they might have just as much chance to beat LSU the way things are going.
Worst Loss: UTSA

7.)Bowling Green (1-7)
The first head coach to get the ax this season, Mike Jinks watched his Falcons crumble under pressure in a loss to Western Michigan on Homecoming before losing his job. His replacement, Carl Pelini, didn't fare much better, losing 49-14 to Ohio. Their lone win barely came against Eastern Kentucky (FCS).
Worst Loss: Miami, OH

8.)Central Michigan (1-7)
I'm just torn up about how bad Central Michigan has been this season. While Kansas is a Big 12 team, the Chippewa's certainly didn't want to be the first home team to lose to the Jayhawks since 2009. You could also point to the fact that Kentucky, Buffalo, Western Michigan, and Michigan State isn't the easiest path to take. The lone win was a 17-5 victory over Maine (FCS), but they also lost a 1-point thriller to Ball State.
Worst Loss: Ball State

9.)Kent State (1-7)
It's a good thing that Sean Lewis is the youngest head coach in college football. If he wasn't, he may not have been able to survive the devastating loss to rival Akron. The Golden Flashes make this list because they botched an extra point in overtime to lose by one to the Zips. They did have Illinois and Ohio on the ropes, but the lone win has come against Cam Newton's brother and Howard (FCS).