Conference USA Bowl Chances

Bowl Eligible Teams:

• East Carolina (7-2, 5-1): The Pirates are pretty much guaranteed a bowl spot with 7 wins. ECU hosts UAB in what should be a very easy match up before traveling to North Carolina State and then Marshall for the season finale. The Pirates are currently tied with Marshall for first place in the East and the season finale will determine who represents the East and is guaranteed a spot in one of the top CUSA Bowls. I personally believe they are the front runner for the CUSA crown so I slot them in the Liberty Bowl.
• Marshall (6-3, 4-1): The Thundering Herd sit at 6-3 and tied with East Carolina atop the East Division of Conference USA. Marshall should win back-to-back road trips versus Tulsa and Florida International. The season finale, versus East Carolina, will vault the winner into the CUSA title game. I just don't see Marshall beating East Carolina in the season finale which would drop them to #3 or #4 in the CUSA rankings based on Rice's finish to the season. I see them as the #3 team in CUSA and making the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
• Middle Tennessee (6-4, 4-2): The Blue Raiders are bowl-eligible but must make sure to get that 7th win after getting snubbed from a bowl berth in 2012. MTSU gets the two worst teams in CUSA, Southern Miss and UTEP, to end the season and should finish at 8-4. That would put them at #5 in CUSA with a trip to the Military Bowl.
• North Texas (7-3, 5-1): The Mean Green are bowl eligible with 7 wins and hold their own destiny in their hands as the leader of the CUSA West Division. As long as North Texas takes care of business with wins over UTSA and Tulsa to end the regular season, they earn a berth in the CUSA title game. I don't think they can beat ECU in the title game so they will be the #2 overall CUSA team slotting them in the Hawaii Bowl (CUSA #2 is secondary choice if Hawaii is ineligible).
• Rice (6-3, 4-1): The Owls are tied with North Texas but must win out and hope for a loss by the Mean Green in one of the final two games of the season. Rice should win at least two of three to end the regular season but I don't see UNT dropping either of their final two games. That would drop Rice to the #4 CUSA team with a slot in the Beef O' Brady Bowl.
• Tulane (6-4, 4-2): Tulane is the team to worry about with 6 wins on the season making them bowl eligible but unable to secure that 7th win so far. With UTSA, Louisiana Tech and Florida Atlantic still with hope to make a bowl, the Green Wave must get to 7 or more wins. Luckily, they have UTEP next. They must beat UTEP as a trip to Rice to end the season may be too much to ask for to get the seventh win. The Green Wave would then fall to CUSA #6 with puts them in line for the New Orleans Bowl.

Bubble Teams:

• UTSA (5-5, 4-2): The Roadrunners are in the complicated spot of needing two win their final two games of the regular season to guarantee a bowl berth. The Roadrunners travel to North Texas on Nov. 23 before a season finale versus Louisiana Tech. The North Texas game is the biggest in a short team history due to the fact that six wins may not make a bowl, ask MTSU about that. Currently, I have the Roadrunners just outside my projected bowl teams but many things can and will change that could give them the opportunity to make a bowl.
• Florida Atlantic (3-6, 2-4): The Owls are technically still in the running to get to six wins and a bowl but must sweep the final three games of the season and get some help as well. The Owls have Southern Miss, New Mexico State, and Florida International to end the season and could easily win all three but even with a 6-6 record, I believe that UTSA would still get the nod if another bowl spot is open for CUSA.
• Louisiana Tech (4-5, 3-2): The Bulldogs are an interesting team with 4 wins in nine games and needing two wins in the final three games to have a shot at a bowl berth. The Bulldogs travel to Rice before facing Tulsa and UTSA to end the season. The season finale versus UTSA could be two teams sitting at 5-6 with the winner staying alive for a bowl berth. I say that UTSA takes that game and the Bulldogs end the season at 5-7.

Eliminated:

• UAB (2-7, 1-4): The Blazers could play spoiler but are well beyond the chance of making a bowl in 2013. Two of the final three games of the season, ECU and Rice, are against teams not only looking to make a bowl but make it to the CUSA title game.
• Florida International (1-8, 1-4): The only hope for FIU left in the season is the chance that they could get a win versus UTEP to get a second win of the season. Otherwise, wait until next year.
• Southern Miss (0-9, 0-5): The Golden Eagles are still looking for their first win of the season with three games left. The only hope left is that Southern Miss can end a 21-game losing streak dating back to 2012.
• UTEP (1-8, 0-5): The Miners are nearly as bad as FIU and Southern Miss and will play in the pillow fight of the year on Nov. 16 versus FIU.

Other Notes:

BCS Conference Bowl Eligible Teams:

• SEC: 10 bowl tie-ins. 8 bowl eligible teams (Missouri, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss), 2 eliminated teams (Kentucky, Arkansas), 4 bubble teams (Florida 4-5, Vanderbilt 5-4, Tennessee 4-6, Mississippi State 4-5).
• ACC: 8 bowl tie-ins. 6 bowl eligible teams (FSU, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Duke, Miami), 1 eliminated team (Virginia), 7 bubble teams (Syracuse 5-4, Boston College 5-4, Wake Forest 4-6, Maryland 5-4, NC State 3-6, North Carolina 4-5, Pittsburgh 5-4).
• Big 10: 8 bowl tie-ins. 7 bowl eligible teams (Michigan State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin), 2 eliminated teams (Penn State, Purdue), 3 bubble teams (Northwestern 4-5, Indiana 4-5, Illinois 3-6).
• PAC 12: 7 bowl tie-ins. 8 bowl eligible teams (Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Arizona State, UCLA, USC, Arizona), 2 eliminated teams (California, Colorado) 2 bubble teams (Washington State 4-5, Utah 4-5).
• Big 12: 7 bowl tie-ins. 5 bowl eligible teams (Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech), 2 eliminated teams (Iowa State, Kansas), 3 bubble teams (Kansas State 5-4, West Virginia 4-6, TCU 4-6).
• AAC: 6 bowl tie-ins. 4 bowl eligible teams (UCF, Louisville, Cincinnati, Houston), 2 eliminated teams (Memphis, Connecticut), 4 bubble teams (Rutgers 5-3, SMU 3-5, South Florida 2-6, Memphis 2-6).

Teams to pull against:

Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Syracuse, Boston College, Wake Forest, Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Northwestern, Indiana, Illinois, Washington State, Utah, Kansas State, West Virginia, TCU, Rutgers, SMU, South Florida, Memphis, Navy, CMU, SDSU, SJSU, UNLV, Colorado State, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arkansas State, ULM, Troy, South Alabama.