Bowl chance is very simple: SMU must beat Rice

There are a lot of "what if" discussions on this board about bowl possibilities, but it is really simple now for SMU: if they beat Rice, they get a bowl bid. If they lose, they don't.
Here's the specifics:
CUSA has 5 bowl tie-ins this year.
Right now there are 6 CUSA teams that are "bowl eligible" with at least 6 wins.
If Marshall and UTEP each win their last game of the season, they would both be "bowl eligible" as well - making for 8 "bowl eligible" CUSA teams.
So then we have to look at who would finish in the top 5 among this bunch of bowl eligible teams. We know Houston is there already with 9 wins. Tulsa is next with 7 wins. Southern Miss may get their 7th win tonight over UAB. (they're up by 10 in the 4th)
ECU could get a 7th win if they beat NC State next week. (which seems likely)
That means that either Rice or SMU would be the 5th and final 7 win team for CUSA.
If for some reason ECU didn't beat NC State, that would put the loser of the Rice/SMU game in the awful position of trying to convine a bowl committee that they should be picked over ECU for a game. ECU has much better attendance than either Rice or SMU. It seems unlikely there's any chance Rice or SMU would beat out ECU for a bowl bid if they had the same record.
There you have it. Now, GO PONIES! Beat the Owls!
Here's the specifics:
CUSA has 5 bowl tie-ins this year.
Right now there are 6 CUSA teams that are "bowl eligible" with at least 6 wins.
If Marshall and UTEP each win their last game of the season, they would both be "bowl eligible" as well - making for 8 "bowl eligible" CUSA teams.
So then we have to look at who would finish in the top 5 among this bunch of bowl eligible teams. We know Houston is there already with 9 wins. Tulsa is next with 7 wins. Southern Miss may get their 7th win tonight over UAB. (they're up by 10 in the 4th)
ECU could get a 7th win if they beat NC State next week. (which seems likely)
That means that either Rice or SMU would be the 5th and final 7 win team for CUSA.
If for some reason ECU didn't beat NC State, that would put the loser of the Rice/SMU game in the awful position of trying to convine a bowl committee that they should be picked over ECU for a game. ECU has much better attendance than either Rice or SMU. It seems unlikely there's any chance Rice or SMU would beat out ECU for a bowl bid if they had the same record.
There you have it. Now, GO PONIES! Beat the Owls!