Bowl eligibility picture after Saturday’s early games; 76 teams in, room for 6 more

UPDATED 4 p.m. ET

After the early Saturday games, there are now a guaranteed 76 teams that will be bowl eligible for 82 spots, with another eight teams a victory away from getting bowl eligible.

Of the three teams trying to get eligible in the noon window, only Kansas State won. Kentucky and Baylor both lost. Also, UCF lost to BYU.

That leaves seven teams remaining that are trying to get bowl eligible on Saturday. Not included in that group are three matchups between 5-6 teams: Georgia Southern at Marshall, Arkansas State at Appalachian State and Penn State at Rutgers. The three teams that win those matchups are already included in the 75 bowl-eligible teams.

The teams a win away from bowl eligibility, listed first, with their Saturday opponents. It’s simple: win and they’re bowl bound – unless there are more than 82 teams. Then it gets tricky determining which teams make the cut.

Louisiana (5-6) vs. ULM, 3 p.m.

Texas State (5-6) vs. South Alabama, 3 p.m.

Army (5-5) at UTSA, 3:30 p.m.

Florida State (5-6) vs. Florida, 4:30 p.m.

Washington State vs. Oregon State, 6:30 p.m.

Rice (5-6) at USF, 7 p.m.

Auburn (5-6) vs. Alabama, 7:30 p.m.

Earlier today:

Kansas State (6-6) defeated Colorado

Kentucky (5-7) lost to Louisville

Baylor (5-7) lost to Houston 

UCF (5-7) lost to BYU 

So what happens if 82 teams don’t get bowl eligible? The NCAA will fill the remaining openings with any FBS teams making the transition from FCS with six wins and then fill any other openings based on the 2023-24 APR (Academic Progress Rates) rankings of the five-win teams.

That would be great news for Missouri State (7-4) and Delaware (5-6). The Conference USA members are in their first year transitioning from FCS. They could only earn a bowl bid if there weren’t enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots.

Delaware has to defeat UTEP on Saturday or the Blue Hens would not be eligible.

Following Missouri State and Delaware, if eligible, will be the highest-ranked five-win teams based on APRs. Those teams that already have five wins or can get to five wins with a victory Saturday, based on APR rankings, would be chosen in this order until all bowl spots are filled.

School (Record) APR score

North Carolina (4-7) 996

Wisconsin (4-7) 991

Auburn (5-6) 990

Florida State (5-6) 990

Rice (5-6) 988

UCF (5-7) 986

Stanford (4-7) 985

Ball State (4-7) 985

Liberty (4-7) 981

Army (5-6) 980

Mississippi State (5-6) 979

Kentucky (5-7) 979

Rutgers (5-6) 978

Check back Saturday for updates as the games go final.