With the College Football Playoff expanding in the years to come, there are a lot of questions around NCAA football regarding the future of bowl games. In the past, teams with 5-7 season records have sometimes been able to participate in bowl games. According to a new report, that trend will continue under specific circumstances.
“NEW: If teams (with) 5-7 records are needed to fill bowls, the bowl’s conference will choose replacement (and) choice won't be based on highest APR scores, sources told On3. If an ESPN-owned bowl is selecting from pool of G6 teams, ESPN chooses the team to fill the vacancy, source said,” On3 reporter Brett McMurphy posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Teams traditionally have to win at least six of their 12 scheduled games in a season to reach bowl eligibility. In the past, almost all bowl teams each year are at minimum 6-6 on the campaign.
There are some teams though through the years who have been able to go to bowl games with 5-7 records. Part of the reason why is because there are so many NCAA football bowl games each year.
The CFP is soon expanding to a 24-team field. When that happens, it is estimated that many bowl games will simply disappear.
Article Continues Below“I would say that it's too soon to predict the number of bowl games moving forward,” Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli told CBS Sports. “But I think it's safe to say that, as a complementary part of college football's postseason, there will still be more teams playing in bowl games than are participating in the playoff.”
Time will tell if bowl games are eliminated in the years to come due to the shifting landscape of NCAA sports.