Betting bowl bubble teams
By DAVID PAYNE
Sixteen teams need to win this week to qualify for a bowl game. Some want it more than others.
Take Southern Miss, which has turned around its season and would like nothing more than to cap off coach Larry Fedora’s first year with a bowl berth.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have Clemson. The Tigers entered the season as a dark horse national title contender. Now, they need to beat South Carolina to contend for a berth in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Talk about a letdown.
That doesn’t mean Clemson will come out flat against the Gamecocks. Instate rivalries generally provide more motivation than any bowl game anyway.
The same goes for Auburn and Virginia. Bowl eligibility isn’t the primary source of motivation for the Tigers against No. 1 Alabama or the Cavs against Virginia Tech.
So what are some of the characteristics of teams that will be motivated by bowl aspirations?
First-year coaches obviously would prefer to put a pretty bow on their initial seasons. They know, no matter how obscure the bowl, the added exposure will benefit from recruiting.
You can also expect new programs looking for their first ever bowl berth to give inspired efforts, as well as teams mired in long bowl droughts.
Three games with bowl implications
UTEP at East Carolina (-4.5)
The Miners have everything to play for, while East Carolina has nothing.
UTEP needs a victory to avoid a third consecutive bowl-less season.
ECU has already clinched a spot in the Conference USA title game.
Southern Mississippi (-15) at SMU
A bowl berth seemed farfetched after the Golden Eagles suffered a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season. But Southern Miss has rallied for three straight wins, including an upset of East Carolina and needs only to knock off downtrodden SMU on Saturday to become bowl eligible.
"There was a point there where everybody had written us off, but these guys kept fighting and they fought back," coach Larry Fedora said during this week’s press conference. "They have gotten themselves in a position now, where if we win on Saturday, we will achieve one of our goals.
"If we don't, all of those things will have been for nothing. If we take care of our business here, and get into a bowl game, who knows what will happen. Obviously, we want to ride that momentum into the off-season to get better. You have to feel like it will help you in recruiting."
Washington State at Hawaii (-28)
The Warriors can sure up a third straight bowl bid by knocking off pitiful Washington State.
First-year coach Greg McMackin’s offense has steadily improved throughout the season. Hawaii is averaging 45.5 points in its last two games.
Since 1999, UH is 21-5 at home during the month of November, including a 10-4 mark against non-conference opponents.
Teams looking for their first bowl game ever
Louisiana-Lafayette: vs. Middle Tennessee, Wednesday
Florida International: vs. Florida Atlantic, Saturday (FIU must beat FAU and Western Kentucky on Dec. 6 to become bowl eligible.)
Teams that must win this weekend to earn a bowl berth
Colorado: at Nebraska, Sat.
Clemson: vs. South Carolina, Sat.
Virginia: at Virginia Tech, Sat.
Memphis: vs. Tulane, Sat.
So. Miss: at SMU, Sat.
UTEP: at East Carolina, Sat.
Louisiana-Lafayette: vs. Middle Tennessee, Wed.
Louisville: at Rutgers, Thurs.
Middle Tennessee: at Louisiana-Laf., Wed.
Akron: at Temple, Fri.
Bowling Green: at Toledo, Fri.
Auburn: vs. Alabama, Sat.
Florida Atlantic: vs. Florida International, Sat.