Given that we have lost Zach Line for the season and the team appears to be struggling down the stretch, I was curious about our bowl prospects in the event that we finished 6-6...under normal circumstances I'd be worried, but given the state of C-USA right now I think we are fine:
Current Standings:
Conference USA Standings
EAST OVERALL
* - Southern Miss 9-1
East Carolina 4-6
Marshall 4-6
UCF 4-6
x - UAB 2-8
x - Memphis 2-8
WEST OVERALL
* - Houston 10-0
* - Tulsa 7-3
* - SMU 6-4
x - Rice 3-7
UTEP 5-5
x - Tulane 2-9
Marginal (not yet bowl-eligible teams with 6 losses) are ECU, UCF, and Marshall, and UTEP is 5-5 - given the way that the East teams play each other in the last 2 games, a maximum of 2 (and more likely only 1) will be bowl-eligible. No additional teams in the West can become eligible, meaning that a maximum of only 6 teams in C-USA will be bowl-eligible this season.
Assuming Houston loses one of its last 2 games (presumably Tulsa....), then we still would not have enough teams to fill in the 7 CUSA slots. I have to think that the Military Bowl and Beef O'Brady's Bowl would be filled be East teams, and of course we have no shot at the Liberty Bowl....
Long way of saying I see it at 100% that we play in Ticketcity, Hawaii, New Orleans, or AFB win or lose Nov. 26. Sucks to end a season limping into a bowl like that, but I suppose it's better than we had for 25 of the last 27 years.