2015 Heart of Dallas Bowl: Washington breaks records, beats Southern Miss to clinch winning record

Honestly, a 6-6 cutoff for a bowl is pretty arbitrary. Going by F/+ ratings, your average 5-7 power-conference team is midway between your average 7-5 or 8-4 mid-major. The only reason we cut things off at 6-6 is to make ourselves feel better about not sending a team with a losing record to a bowl.

We learned this year that having 40 bowls is a tipping point. While there were plenty of scenarios that could make for 80 bowl-eligible teams, three 5-7 teams -- Nebraska, San Jose State, and Minnesota -- got postseason bids.

Washington entered Saturday as probably the nation’s best 6-6 team. It left with a winning record, after beating Southern Miss 44-31 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl.

The Huskies jumped out to a 21-10 lead thanks to three rushing touchdowns in the first half, including two from Myles Gaskin. But Southern Mississippi was able to keep it close thanks to big plays. A 56-yard touchdown pass from Nick Mullens to Michael Thomas was the Eagles’ first score of the game, and a second quarter fake punt led to a TD to make it 21-17.

Bowls with regional ties are good for attendance and interest. But sometimes it’s fun to see two teams with no ties whatsoever. It probably went without saying that Washington and Southern Miss have never played each other. Hell, this might be these schools’ first meeting in any sport. But both are capping unique, interesting seasons in a famous locale.

Dec. 26, 2:20 ET, ESPN.

There are now 40 bowl games, plus the National Championship. That’s a lot of football.

This overflow of football has meant the usual group of 6-6 teams aren’t the worst teams to go bowling this year. This time, all of the 6-6 teams are in, plus some 5-7 teams. The idea of giving a trophy to a team that finishes 6-7 is a funny one, but everything about this sport is funny, so whatever.

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