College Football

Bowl eligibility tracker, Week 8: FSU, Oklahoma among 15 that could clinch

Two of this week’s top-25 games are sure to mean bowl eligibility for somebody.

Oct 15, 2013, 2:00 PM UTC

Jeff Gammons

Out of 14 teams that could have clinched bowl berths last week, 10 did. Congrats, teams! Let’s take a look at our bowl eligibility tracker. Reminder: you need six wins to be bowl eligible, as long as no more than one comes against an FCS team.

In:

Ohio State (6-0)

Louisville (6-0)

Missouri (6-0)

Virginia Tech (6-1)

Texas Tech (6-0)

Ball State (6-1)

LSU (6-1)

Clemson (6-0)

Oregon (6-0)

Northern Illinois (6-0)

Alabama (6-0)

Almost in (with odds for each)

Baylor (5-0) -31.5 vs. Iowa State (1-4). The Cyclones are coming off two straight close Big 12 losses. Baylor will likely change that.

Michigan State (5-1) -24.5 vs. Purdue (1-5). Is Purdue the worst team in the Big Ten? Probably, so expect the Spartans to cruise to a home victory here.

Oklahoma (5-1) -24 at Kansas (2-3). After a disappointing loss in the Red River Rivalry, the Sooners should cruise against one of the lesser teams in the Big 12.

Fresno State (5-0) -21 vs. UNLV (4-2). Two teams that have been playing lots of wild football as of late meet, and this might be the most likely game of the week to end in five overtimes.

Texas A&M (5-1) -12.5 vs. Auburn (5-1). A&M has Johnny Football, but their defense has been suspect enough to keep inferior teams in the game for far too long. This game could be tighter than Vegas predicts.

Michigan (5-1) -11 vs. Indiana (3-3). The Wolverines fell to Penn State last week -- a team that Indiana beat easily -- but the Wolverines have a clear talent advantage here and should be hungry enough for the win.

Oregon State (5-1) -9.5 at Cal (1-5). The Sonny Dykes era has gotten off to a slow start in Berkeley, and the top-ranked Beaver passing attack will look to take full advantage of an injury-riddled Bear defense.

Miami (5-0) -7.5 at North Carolina (1-4). The Hurricanes came out of the bye week to find themselves a top-10 team, and will look to expand on that win a win against what looks like a very bad North Carolina squad.

South Carolina (5-1) -7 at Tennessee (3-3). The Vols have shown they won’t lay down at home, taking Georgia to overtime before losing, and the Gamecocks could get a test after a drubbing of Arkansas.

Maryland (5-1) -7 at Wake Forest (3-3). After getting blown out by Florida State, the Terps survived in an ugly game against Virginia, and will look to clinch their first bowl berth since 2010 with a win against a poor Wake Forest squad.

Stanford (5-1) -6.5 vs. UCLA (5-0). Ah, another double bowl eligibility showdown. The Cardinal are coming off a shocking loss to Utah and will look to rebound with a home win, but UCLA is a tough team with a very, very good quarterback.

Florida State (5-0) -3 at Clemson (6-0). One of the more shocking lines of the week, the Seminoles have looked much better than the Tigers in recent weeks and could get their first win in Death Valley in more than a decade.

Houston (5-0) +9 vs. BYU (4-2). Houston is probably the least-talked about undefeated team in the country -- thanks in large part due to close wins over the likes of Temple, Rice and Memphis -- but could make a big statement with a win against a good BYU team.

Out

Western Michigan (0-7)

Almost out

Akron (1-6) -7 at Miami (OH) (0-6). Akron is bad, but Miami (OH) is irrefutably worse.

Temple (0-6) -2.5 vs. Army (3-4). Another curious line, especially considering the thrashing Army put on Eastern Michigan last week. But P.J. Walker is a talented young quarterback, and the Owls could survive for another week.

Georgia State (0-6) +19.5 at Texas State (3-3). Georgia State was a bad FCS team last year that moved up to FBS this year. It has not gone well so far.

New Mexico State (0-6) +20 vs. Rice (4-2). The Aggies are coming off a bye week, but were rolled by a not-very-good New Mexico team 66-17 the week before. Rice hung with Texas A&M for a while. This game will not be close.