Bowl eligibility clinching watch 2022

[pf9]

79 teams have clinched nominal eligibility, and only up to two more can do so - Buffalo and New Mexico State. However, 82 teams are required to fill all the bowl slots outside the CFP title game. This means that every nominally eligible team, regardless of how many there end up being, will go to a bowl game this year.

Buffalo has a makeup game with Akron scheduled on Friday afternoon. New Mexico State had a game with San Jose State earlier this season postponed due to a player death on the latter team the night before. But there has been no announcement yet as to whether that game will be made up.

So, here are the 79 teams that have clinched nominal eligibility:

ACC (9): Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Wake Forest
American (7): Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Tulane, UCF
Big Ten (9): Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Wisconsin
Big 12 (8): Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech
C-USA (5): Middle Tennessee, North Texas, UAB, UTSA, Western Kentucky
MAC (5): Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo
Mountain West (7): Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah State, Wyoming
Pac-12 (7): Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, Washington State
SEC (11): Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee
Sun Belt (7): Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Marshall, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy
Independent (4): BYU, Liberty, Notre Dame, UConn

An 80th team, Appalachian State, has clinched conditional bowl-eligibility. They have 6 wins with 2 of them being against FCS teams. Normally, that would keep them out of a bowl. But since there can be a maximum of 81 nominally eligible teams this year, the Mountaineers have a shot at heading to a bowl..

Army can clinch conditional bowl eligibility at 6-6 with two wins against FCS teams by beating Navy.

Two 5-7 teams have a shot at a bowl game as well - Rice and UNLV. They have the highest two APR scores of 5-7 teams. Rice needs only two teams between Army, Buffalo, and New Mexico State to lose, while UNLV will need all three of them to lose.