# How bad can a team suck and still get invited to bowl games? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 1, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005 "2014-12-01T04:24:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/1 "2014-12-01T04:24:23Z")
I guess you can suck pretty bad and get a bowl game invite? Arkansas racked up an[impressive SEC 17 game losing streak](http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400548336) before finally winning a SEC game. They even won a second game before losing again. Yep, they got a bowl invite. That’s just embarrassing to me. You get your ass handed to you and get a bowl invite? I love my Razorbacks but want to see them earn that bowl invite. How bad can a team suck and still get invited to bowl games? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/2 "2014-12-01T04:27:55Z")
Think it takes six wins to become bowl eligible…the entire SEC West is bowl eligible this year. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/3 "2014-12-01T05:02:11Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How bad can a team suck and still get invited to bowl games? There are a lot of bowl games. As long as you meet minimum eligibility odds of getting one aren’t that bad. Since power conference teams tend to put butts in seats and gets eyes on the TV they tend to get the invite over a team with the same record that doesn’t have the same draw. They at least put some rules in place to try and limit the draw factor from taking precedence from teams with better records. Up to one of the usual 6 wins required can be against a FCS school (a de facto home game). Then you just need to eke out a 5-6 record in FBS with some favorable scheduling. Getting a bowl game doesn’t mean you aren’t supremely mediocre (with a horrible in conference season). ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/4 "2014-12-01T14:05:25Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I guess you can suck pretty bad and get a bowl game invite? > > Yep, they got a bowl invite. That’s just embarrassing to me. You get your ass handed to you and get a bowl invite? > > How bad can a team suck and still get invited to bowl games? A team needs six wins to be bowl eligible. Which bowl invited them? I thought the announcements were not being made until next week. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/5 "2014-12-01T16:32:28Z")
It’s not quite as easy as “six wins and you’re in” - the six wins have to be against FBS opponents, except that a school can count one FCS win if that school gave out at least 90% of its allowed scholarships over the past two years. Note that Arkansas’ FCS win was against a team that lost every game, and the only game that could be considered close was against a team whose only win was against an NAIA team. Also note that all losses to non-FBS teams are counted. Also, if a team plays 13 regular season games (e.g. Hawaii, or a team with an away game at Hawaii), then the team needs 7 wins, unless there aren’t enough teams to fill all 78 bowl slots, in which case 6-7 is good enough. Note that a team that goes 6-6 in the regular season but makes it to its conference championship game and loses is bowl eligible anyway. On top of that, Georgia Southern and Arkansas State are not eligible as they are in the second year of their FCS-to-FBS transfer period. They would have been eligible if not all of the bowl spots were filled, but there are at least 78 qualifying teams (which don’t include Cal, which would have been 6-6 had it not been for a successful hail mary on the last play of the game against Arizona, or Northwestern, which would have been 6-6 had they not lost a home game to Cal). ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/6 "2014-12-01T16:47:07Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > On top of that, Georgia Southern and Arkansas State are not eligible as they are in the second year of their FCS-to-FBS transfer period. Arkansas State went to bowl games the last 3 years and have been a FBS school for 20 years. This is actually relevant this year as 7-5 Arkansas State in the Sun Belt may or may not get a bowl bid while 6-6 Arkansas will certainly go. Bowl tie-ins with a conference are a key factor, and everybody wants an SEC school. The SEC has 9 tie-ins not including the playoff/former BCS bowls with 12 eligible teams while the Sun Belt only has 3 tie-ins with 6 eligible teams. There are enough bowls and unclaimed spots that the Sun Belt can probably get most of their teams in, but there’s a fair chance 1 or 2 of their schools, which may include Arkansas State, may not get a bid. Only after a conference uses all its tie-ins will win-loss record matter. Up to that point, a team needs to get to 6-6 for bowl eligibility, as mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/7 "2014-12-01T16:56:53Z")
According to the computer rankings (the Massey composite of dozens of polls) Arkansas is the 26th best team in the country. With 78 bowl slots that don’t necessarily go to the 78 best teams in the country, you will see teams much, much worse than Arkansas in bowl games. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/8 "2014-12-01T19:28:36Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How bad can a team suck and still get invited to bowl games? Well, Illinois is bowl eligible. I think that answers the question. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/9 "2014-12-01T20:06:30Z")
Arkansas played an amazing schedule, and I think all their losses came against teams that were in the Top 10 at some point in the season. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/10 "2014-12-01T21:25:41Z")
Things have changed in the past 20 years. I can remember when Bowl games were for the conference champions and the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the conference. Playing in a bowl game was a treat for a very successful season. Today it seems like almost any team gets an invite. As mentioned earlier they just have to win 6 games. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/11 "2014-12-01T22:41:46Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Today it seems like almost any team gets an invite. As mentioned earlier they just have to win 6 games. And it got worse when they expanded the regular season from 11 to 12 games. I hoped against hope that they would raise the requirement from 6-5 to 7-5, making it a _little_ more challenging. But no. Instead they dumbed it down to 6-6. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/12 "2014-12-01T22:52:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Things have changed in the past 20 years. I can remember when Bowl games were for the conference champions and the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the conference. Playing in a bowl game was a treat for a very successful season. > > Today it seems like almost any team gets an invite. As mentioned earlier they just have to win 6 games. Yeah, the 1994 season had 19 bowl games. This year we’re going to have 39 bowl games (38 if you take out the playoff championship game). That’s 76 teams in the post season out of 128 total FBS teams (3 of those are transitional). Over 60% of all the teams will be playing in a bowl. At this rate, it won’t be long before we see 5 win teams in the post season. Whatever gives ESPN more programming so they can sell more beer and insurance ads, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/13 "2014-12-01T22:58:31Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Arkansas played an amazing schedule, and I think all their losses came against teams that were in the Top 10 at some point in the season. True, but that could just mean that the voters didn’t know what the hell they were doing. South Carolina was in the Top Ten at the start of the season. Why? Who knows? They didn’t deserve to be, but they were. Well, Texas A & M clobbered them, so the Aggies shot up to the Top Ten. Hey, they HAD to be great, because they beat South Carolina. That was a VERY impressive win, because the Gamecocks were in the TOP TEN!!! Mississippi State then beat the Aggies, and shot up to #1. They HAD to be an amazing team, see, cause they beat the Aggies, who were in the TOP TEN!!! Of course, South Carolina and the Aggies never deserved to be anywhere near the top ten, but it doesn’t matter. Not in the SEC, where losing is almost as good as winning. EVERYBODY in the SEC is always assumed to be great. So, if you lose to another SEC team, no matter how weak they are, you get credit for PLAYING such a mighty team. How else could a Georgia team with 3 losses (inclkuding one to a pathetic Florida team) still be ranked so high? Speaking of sucking, our Texas Longhorns are 6-6and coming off an embarrassing 48-10 loss. They will undoubtedly get to a bowl game. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/14 "2014-12-02T03:47:08Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Mississippi State then beat the Aggies, and shot up to #1. They HAD to be an amazing team, see, cause they beat the Aggies, who were in the TOP TEN!!! No, Miss State beat TAM, LSU, and Auburn, all of whom were in the Top Ten at the time the games were played, in consecutive weeks, including a road win at Death Valley at night, before rightfully being named #1. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/15 "2014-12-02T16:08:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > No, Miss State beat TAM, LSU, and Auburn, all of whom were in the Top Ten at the time the games were played, in consecutive weeks, including a road win at Death Valley at night, before rightfully being named #1. Anyone still think the Aggies, LSU or Auburn are top ten caliber teams? What LOOKED like impressive wins weren’t really impressive at all, as it turns out. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/16 "2014-12-02T17:09:49Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Anyone still think the Aggies, LSU or Auburn are top ten caliber teams? Auburn arguably. Despite the final score, they put up one hell of a game against Alabama. They’re all arguably top 25. ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/17 "2014-12-02T21:39:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I guess you can suck pretty bad and get a bowl game invite? > > Arkansas racked up an[impressive SEC 17 game losing streak](http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400548336) before finally winning a SEC game. > How bad can a team suck and still get invited to bowl games? Bowl Bids are based on this season… they didn’t lose 17 conference games this year. The losses in 2012, and 2013 shouldn’t be a consideration ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-bad-can-a-team-suck-and-still-get-invited-to-bowl-games/706005/18 "2014-12-02T22:02:52Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Arkansas State went to bowl games the last 3 years and have been a FBS school for 20 years. My mistake - I meant Appalachian State.