CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 19: Head coach Bret Bielema of the Illinois Fighting Illini is seen following the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
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We’ve reached the final month of the college football season with plenty of bowl game spots available for the taking. We are four more weeks till the regular season comes to a close, and 51 programs have already punched their ticket to bowl eligibility. This is your guide to tracking which teams will reach the postseason through the end of the regular season.
College Football Bowl Eligibility Criteria:
The future of the College Football Playoff is in question but when it comes to this year’s postseason, here’s a quick overview.
The final day of the 2025 regular season is on Nov. 29 with bowl games expected to be announced on Dec. 7. Bowl season begins Dec. 13 and ends Jan. 19. The postseason consists of 35 traditional bowl games, four CFP first round games, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games and one national championship game. That adds to up to 46 matchups with 82 FBS programs set to play beyond conference championship weekend.
To qualify for bowl eligibility, teams must win at least six games, and they can only count one win against FCS opponents. If there are too many bowl-eligible teams, some will be left out of postseason play.
If there are not enough bowl-eligible teams, the first two spots would go to Delaware and Missouri State, which are transitioning from the FCS, assuming they satisfy the bowl-eligibility criteria. After that, it will come down to Academic Progress Rate scores for teams one win away from bowl eligibility, which is why in some years you see teams with a 5-7 record competing in bowl games.
Before the countdown to bowl season even began, one program was already eliminated. Akron was ruled ineligible for postseason play in May due to a failing Academic Progress Rate score during the 2023-24 season.
College Football Bowl Eligible Teams (51)
Eleven teams became bowl eligible during Week 10 of the college football season including Arizona State, Fresno State, Illinois, Kennesaw State, Minnesota, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, SMU, UConn and USC.
Here’s the full list of teams that secured at least six victories and are bowl eligible:
- SEC (9) – Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
- Big Ten (10) – Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, USC, Washington
- ACC (6) – Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, Pitt, SMU, Virginia
- Big 12 (7) – Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah
- Pac-12 (0) – None
- American (5) – Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Tulane, USF
- Mountain West (6) – Boise State, Fresno State, Hawaii, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV
- Sun Belt (4) – James Madison, Old Dominion Southern Miss, Troy
- MAC (0) – None
- Conference USA (2) – Kennesaw State, Western Kentucky
- Independents (2) – Notre Dame, UConn
One Win Away From Bowl Eligibility (23)
Eighteen teams have an opportunity to pick up their sixth victory during the Week 11 slate. Here’s the full list of programs that are one victory away from six wins:
- SEC – LSU, Mississippi State
- Big Ten – Northwestern
- ACC – Cal, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest
- Big 12 – Arizona, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas
- Pac-12 – None
- American – East Carolina, Temple
- Mountain West – None
- Sun Belt – Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina
- MAC – Buffalo, Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Ohio, Western Michigan
- Conference USA – Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, **Missouri State
- Independents – None
One Win Away From Five Wins (17)
The following programs are one victory away from five wins to potentially play in a bowl if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams:
- SEC – Auburn
- Big Ten – Maryland, Rutgers
- ACC – Florida State
- Big 12 – Kansas State, UCF
- Pac-12 – Washington State
- American – Army, Rice, UTSA
- Mountain West – Utah State, Wyoming
- Sun Belt – Appalachian State, Marshall
- MAC – Toledo
- Conference USA – **Delaware, Liberty
- Independents – None
Eliminated From Bowl Eligibility (5)
The following programs are no longer eligible to participate in a bowl game. This means they’ll fall short of the five-win mark or are ineligible for non-football reasons:
- SEC – None
- Big Ten – None
- ACC – Boston College
- Big 12 – Oklahoma State
- Pac-12 – None
- American – None
- Mountain West – None
- Sun Belt – None
- MAC – *Akron, UMass
- Conference USA – Sam Houston State
- Independents – None
FBS APR Rankings
If fewer than 82 teams become bowl eligible, it will come down to Academic Progress Rate scores for teams one win away from bowl eligibility. Here’s a look at the APR score rankings among teams still eligible for bowl game participation:
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- Michigan/North Carolina
- Clemson/Wake Forest
- Cincinnati
- Northwestern
- Air Force/Minnesota
- Iowa State/Wisconsin
- Auburn/Florida State/Kansas State/Notre Dame
- Missouri
- Rice
- Duke/NC State
- Boise State/Boston College/Miami/Oklahoma State/Texas/Tulane/UCF
- Ball State/Stanford
- James Madison/Louisville/Utah
- Arkansas/East Carolina/Virginia
- Coastal Carolina/Florida/Indiana/Iowa
- Liberty/Texas Tech
- Army/Ole Miss/West Virginia
- Georgia/Kentucky/Mississippi State/Nevada/Old Dominion/UNLV/Vanderbilt/Western Kentucky
- Rutgers/Washington
- Eastern Michigan
- Nebraska/USC/Virginia Tech/Wyoming
- Fresno State/Oklahoma/South Carolina
- Baylor/Pitt
- Arizona State/Toledo
- Kansas/Purdue/Troy
- Cal/Illinois/Sam Houston State
- **Delaware
- Arizona/Bowling Green/Georgia State/Georgia Tech/Temple
- Appalachian State/Michigan State
- UCLA
- San Diego State
- Northern Illinois/Oregon State
- Navy/South Alabama/Tennessee/Washington State
- TCU
- Maryland/UTSA
- Colorado/Marshall/USF
- SMU/Texas State
- Miami (OH)/Middle Tennessee
- Colorado State/Georgia Southern/Memphis/Syracuse
- Ohio
- Texas A&M
- FIU/Kennesaw State
- BYU/New Mexico State
- Louisiana
- North Texas
- LSU/UTEP
- New Mexico
- Kent State/San Jose State
- Arkansas State/UConn/Western Michigan
- FAU/Hawaii/Penn State
- Oregon/UAB/UMass
- Central Michigan
- Tulsa
- Houston
- Utah State
- Southern Miss
- Buffalo
- Jacksonville State
- Louisiana-Monroe
- Louisiana Tech
- Charlotte
- **Missouri State
*Akron is ineligible for postseason play due to a failing APR score during the 2023-24 season.
**Delaware and Missouri State would get a bowl bid if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams and if they satisfy bowl eligibility criteria.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikbuchinger/2025/11/02/2025-college-football-bowl-eligibility-tracker-after-week-10/
