Even though 82 teams make a bowl game, making one can still be difficult. In fact, 52 teams were left in the cold and with the addition of more teams in 2025, it's getting harder and harder. Most of the teams in this part of the final rankings weren't so lucky, but one team did get a second chance. Louisiana Tech finished 5-7 but had its season revived when Marshall announced that they would be pulling out of their bowl game due to an influx of players entering the transfer portal. The Bulldogs were the logical choice as they were the closest to the Independence Bowl giving them time to prepare.
Appalachian State had the toughest blow when its game against Liberty was canceled due to flooding from the slew of hurricanes this fall. That left them with just 11 games played and they finished at 5-6. Other teams simply collapsed like Eastern Michigan dropping six of their final seven games or Kansas beating three-straight ranked opponents and then losing to Baylor by 28 in the final game. However you slice it, these teams just didn't do enough in 2024 to earn the spotlight of a Tuesday afternoon bowl game somewhere in Alabama.
Here's a look at the teams that were close but no cigar.
100. Louisiana Tech (5-8, 105.4, 76.6)
Preseason Rank: 126
Prediction: 4-8
Best Player: WR-Tru Edwards (77 rec, 897 yards*, 6 TD) *3rd in CUSA
Bowl Game: Independence Bowl (27-6 loss to Army)
Recap: The Bulldogs received an extra shot to play despite a losing record. Their proximity to the Independence Bowl made them the obvious choice to replace Sun Belt Champs Marshall after most of their players entered the transfer portal causing them to drop out. La Tech was on the wrong side of many close games, losing 5 games by seven points or fewer including three in overtime. Their bowl appearance e
99. Eastern Michigan (5-7, 121.2, 73.7)
Preseason Rank: 110
Prediction: 5-7
Best Player: QB-Cole Snyder (240-402, 2,684 yards*, 15 TD, 9 INT, 4 Rush TD) *3rd in MAC
Recap: Only Eastern Michigan could put a winning non-conference record together and then look completely lost when it came to conference play. The Eagles sat just one win away when they inexplicably lost on the road to Akron. From then on things went downhill. They missed a two-point conversion to earn a rare win over Toledo, were blown out by Ohio and Buffalo, and fell short in the final game against Western Michigan to earn the right to stay home.
98. Charlotte (5-7, 116.8, 37.3)
Preseason Rank: 121
Prediction: 2-10
Best Player: WR-O'Mega Blake (32 rec, 795 yards*, 9 TD) *5th in AAC
Recap: Biff Poggi was fired before the season even finished when the 49ers were manhandled by South Florida with two weeks left. The interim staff pulled off two wins over FAU and UAB to earn a third of the wins that Poggi amassed in his 22 games as head coach. Charlotte poached Ohio signal caller Tim Albin after the Bobcats won the MAC Championship.
97. Air Force (5-7, 107.8, 76)
Preseason Rank: 74
Prediction: 6-6
Best Player: RB-Dylan Carson (138 carries, 600 yards, 5 TD)
Recap: The Falcons got off to an incredibly slow start going 1-7 to begin the season and were sitting at 131 with four games left. However, Air Force went out with their heads high, earning wins over Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State, and Nevada to close out the season on a four-game heater.
96. Hawaii (5-7, 103.6, 62.7)
Preseason Rank: 99
Prediction: 5-7
Best Player: QB-Brayden Schager (233-403, 2,591 yards*, 19TD, 13 INT)* 4th in MWC
Recap: The Rainbow Warriors were a few points short of making a bowl appearance with three losses by a total of 8 points, including a three-point loss to UCLA. Hawaii opted for spoiler at the end of the season, winning their final home game over New Mexico to keep the Lobos from going bowling.
95. Louisiana Monroe (5-7, 100.8, 63.1)
Preseason Rank: 133
Prediction: 2-10
Best Player: RB-Ahmad Hardy (237 carries, 1,351 yards*, 13 TD) *Led Sun Belt
Recap: The Warhawks were sitting pretty at 5-1 and just needed one more win to go bowling. Unfortunately, ULM had the toughest part of their schedule back-loaded. The final six games were against five bowl teams and an SEC school (Auburn). Despite having the Sun Belt's leading rusher, the Warhawks lost all six of those games to wind up at home.
Preseason Rank: 81
Prediction: 6-6
Best Player: WR-Nick Marsh (41 rec, 649 yards, 3 TD)
Recap: There were plenty of growing pains in Jonathan Smith's first season as Sparty's coach. The offense scored more than 20 points in just four games this season, with one of those coming against Prairie View A&M (FCS). The lack of offense saw them on the wrong side of one-score games with Michigan and Boston College to prevent the Spartans from going bowling.
Preseason Rank: 118
Prediction: 2-10
Best Player: QB-Devon Dampier (226-390, 2,768 yards, 15 TD, 15 INT, 155 carries, 1,166 yards*, 19 TD) *3rd in MWC
Recap: Dampier along with running back Eli Sanders eclipsed the 1,000 yards mark and combined for 28 touchdowns on the ground. It was just too bad that the defense couldn't stop anybody. Lobos opponents scored at least 30 points in an alarming 10 games. The biggest insult came in week one when they lost to FCS powerhouse Montana State. In the last two weeks, they upset Washington State to force a must-win at Hawaii, but the Rainbow Warriors held off New Mexico. Then after just one season, head coach Bronco Mendenhall left to be the head coach at Utah State.
Preseason Rank: 38
Prediction: 7-5
Best Player: RB-Tawee Walker (190 carries, 864 yards, 10 TD)
Recap: The Badgers were sitting at 5-2, but like Louisiana Monroe, they faced a gauntlet of five straight bowl teams to end the season. Surprisingly, the closest they came to the elusive sixth win was against Oregon at Camp Randle, where the Ducks escaped 16-13.
Preseason Rank: 60
Prediction: 4-8
Best Player: RB-Anthony Hankerson (232 carries, 1,082 yards, 15 TD)
Recap: The Beavers opened the season 4-1 and looked like they might get to a bowl game. Instead, they dropped six of their final seven games with all of their losses by at least 8 points. Their lone win came in the defacto Pac 12 Championship win over Washington State.
90. Utah (5-7, 88.8, 49)
Preseason Rank: 23
Prediction: 10-2
Best Player: RB-Micah Bernard (197 carries, 1,009 yards, 4 TD)
Recap: Injuries and bad luck plagued the Utes, who opened the season 4-0, but lost QB Cam Rising again. They had six games in which they lost by one score including a bizarre series of events that allowed BYU to snatch a win thanks to some controversial calls that saw Utah fans storm the field only to lose because of a penalty.
Preseason Rank: 45
Prediction: 9-3
Best Player: QB-Payton Thorne (199-317, 2,713 yards, 21 TD, 9 INT)
Recap: The Tigers were short on three games decided by one score that could've delivered a bowl bid. They nearly rallied with a win over ULM and then won a four-overtime thriller against Texas A&M to set up a must-win in the Iron Bowl. The Crimson Tide rolled past the Tigers to keep them home. Jarquez Hunter was one of two players in the SEC to finish with over 1,000 yards rushing in the pass-happy conference
Preseason Rank: 100
Prediction: 3-9
Best Player: QB-Brendan Sorsby (249-389, 2,813 yards, 18 TD, 7 INT)
Recap: Like many teams on this list, the Bearcats couldn't; win the close games, going 1-4 in one-possession games. UC had a chance in the final weeks to make a bowl game but lost their final five contests to seal their fate. Corey Kiner ran for over 1,100 yards, which was sixth-best in the Big 12.
Preseason Rank: 113
Prediction: 3-9
Best Player: RB-Aaron Young (172 carries, 887 yards*, 8 TD) *5th in Sun Belt
Recap: The Monarchs had a bizarre season as they went 4-4 in one-score games. They bookended the season with wins over South Carolina and Arkansas State, but they lost three of their final four games, all by one score to keep them from going bowling.
Preseason Rank: 46
Prediction: 5-7
Best Player: LB: Carson Schwesinger (136 tackles*, 4 sacks, FF, 2 INT)* 3rd in NCAA
Recap: The Bruins' first year in the Big Ten was a trying one. They opened the season 1-5 before earning three-straight Big Ten wins over Rutgers, Nebraska, and Iowa. Washington and USC put them out of their misery to seal the losing season, but they did finish with a win over Fresno State to close out the season.
85. Virginia (5-7, 58, 48.9)
Preseason Rank: 91
Prediction: 6-6
Best Player: WR-Malachi Fields (55 rec, 808 yards, 5 TD)
Recap: The Cavaliers were riding high at 4-1 to begin the season, but conference play was a disaster. It didn't help that their final nine games were against teams that ended up making a bowl game. Only two contests in the final seven games were decided by one score, including their lone win over Pitt.
Preseason Rank: 23
Prediction: 10-2
Best Player: RB-Devin Neal (219 yards, 1,266 yards*, 16 TD) *5th in Big 12
Recap: The Jayhawks were sitting at 2-6 with the hardest part of their schedule staring at them. All they did was collect wins over ranked opponents BYU, Colorado, and Iowa State. All they had to do was defeat Baylor and they could go bowling. Instead, the Bears plucked Kansas 45-17 for a deflating end to the season.
Preseason Rank: 40
Prediction: 10-2
Best Player: QB-Joey Aguilar (218-390, 3,003 yards*, 23 TD, 14 INT) *Led the Sun Belt
Recap: The Mountaineers had their season shortened by the devastating hurricanes that passed through Appalachia in the fall. That canceled their home game against Liberty forcing App State to play just 11 games. It was an up-and-down season, but the Mountaineers still had a chance to earn a shot at a bowl game. That hope was lost when Georgia Southern knocked them off and Shawn Clark was fired at the end of the season.
Preseason Rank: 106
Prediction: 5-7
Best Player: RB-Jaden Nixon (143 carries, 919 yards*, 12 TD) *5th in MAC
Bowl Game: Salute to Veterans (23-16 loss to South Alabama)
Recap: The Broncos had an up-and-down season as they were able to beat Buffalo, but lost to Central Michigan, forcing them into a must-win against their lesser rival from Ypsilanti. Fortunately, the former Normalites were in a tailspin and Western prevented Eastern from winning the Michigan MAC trophy. Their bowl game was close, but it was essentially a home game for South Alabama with the game in Mobile. While they lost, they didn't do what EMU did when they played the Jaguars last year and tried to fight the whole team after the game.
Preseason Rank: 112
Prediction: 4-8
Best Player: QB-Chandler Morris (322-510, 3,774 yards*, 31 TD, 12 INT)* Led AAC
Bowl Game: First Responders (30-28 loss to Texas State)
Recap: The Mean Green started the season 5-1 thanks to strong play from their QB. Then they dropped six straight before finally knocking off Temple to secure a bowl bid. After leading the conference in passing, Morris opted to enter the transfer portal for the second time. That gave college football one of the best bowl stories for the First Responders Bowl against Texas State. Drew Mestemaker was starting at QB for the first time since he was a Freshman in high school and all he did was throw for 393 yards, two touchdowns, and a 70-yard TD run that cut the lead to two. His second interception of the game would seal the win for Texas State in a valiant effort that coach Eric Morris could not have forseen.
Preseason Rank: 34
Prediction: 9-3
Best Player: RB- Omarion Hampton (281 carries, 1,660 yards*, 17 total TD)* Led ACC
Bowl Game: Fenway (27-14 loss to UConn)
Recap: After a 3-0 start, the second stint for Mack Brown saw the wheels begin to fall off when they were dismantled by James Madison who scored 70 points against the Tar Heels! That began four straight losses before wins over Virginia, Florida State, and Wake Forest earned them a bowl spot. However, UNC lost its final two games including a tough loss to NCST in what turned out to be Brown's final game as the Tar Heels coach. They turned to NFL veteran Bill Belichick as their new head coach thanks to his ability to talk to college-aged individuals who hang around his fiancee. He opted not to show up for the dismantling of UNC at the hands of the UConn Huskies at Fenway Park.
Preseason Rank: 95
Prediction: 5-7
Best Player: LB-Clev Lubin (43 tackles, 9.5 sacks*, 3 FF, FR) *3rd in Sun Belt
Bowl Game: Myrtle Beach (44-15 loss to UTSA)
Recap: The Chanticleers got four wins in their first five contests, but struggled in the second half of the season. They earned a 48-27 win over Georgia State to earn another home game by way of the Myrtle Beach Bowl. There they suffered one of the worst defeats of the bowl season, with an embarrassing 29-point loss to UTSA.
Preseason Rank: 15
Prediction: 8-4
Best Player: QB-Jackson Arnold (154-246, 1,421 yards, 12 TD, 3 INT)
Bowl Game: Armed Forces (21-20 loss to Navy)
Recap: The first year in the SEC was unforgiving to the Sooners but they did score one of the biggest upsets in conference play. The Sooners made Jalen Milroe look fooling, a blueprint likely used by the Wolverines, to stun Alabama to earn their sixth win of the season. They trailed for much of the Armed Forces Bowl but scored in the final minute with a chance to tie the game. Brent Venables opted for the win and went for two, but the Midshipmen held to win 21-20. Venables will likely find himself on the hot seat going into the 2025 season.
Preseason Rank: 29
Prediction: 8-4
Best Player: RB-Jahiem White (149 carries, 845 yards, 8 Total TD)
Bowl Game: Frisco (42-37 loss to Memphis)
Recap: It seemed like the Mountaineers were alternating wins and losses in 2024, but defeated UCF to earn their sixth win of the season. That wasn't enough to save Neal Brown's job as he was fired and replaced by a familiar face in Jacksonville State coach Rich Rodriguez. West Virginia had one of the more bizarre endings in the bowl season. The Mountaineers threw an interception in the final minute, but it appeared that the defender fumbled the return and it was recovered by West Virginia for a second chance at victory. Instead, replay review ruled that the defender was sliding and therefore down before he fumbled to end the season in controversy and a Memphis win.
Preseason Rank: 67
Prediction: 6-6
Best Player: RB-Jaivian Tomas (100 carries, 626 yards, 7 TD)
Bowl Game: LA (24-13 loss to UNLV)
Recap: After a 3-0 start, the Bears became the kings of bad luck dropping four straight by a combined nine points. Eventually, they got some good luck when Fernando Mendoza threw his third touchdown of the game with 3 minutes left to rally past Stanford in their first rivalry game as members of the ACC. The Bears earned a trip to the LA Bowl to take on Mountain West runner-up and were no match for the Rebels who cruised to a 24-13 victory.
