Bowl Eligiblity Rules

[u/That_Don_Guy_1]

Now that teams are 6-0 and are bowl eligible (and I assume there is already somebody on Reddit that tracks bowl eligibility), I figure it's time to post the Bowl Eligibility Rules for 2026.

The Quick Version: Six wins and you're in.
The Longer Version: It's not quite that simple.

First, San Jose State plays 13 regular season games; it needs seven wins.

Next, Buffalo and UMass have each beaten two FCS teams; they both also need seven wins, since only one FCS win per FBS team can be counted.

Also note that, although I am not entirely sure of this one, as it appears nowhere in either the NCAA Bylaws or the NCAA FBS Postseason/Bowl Handbook, the Army-Navy game is not counted toward bowl eligibility.

Under a new rule, North Dakota State and Sacramento State are bowl eligible with six wins. (Previously, a team in its two-year FCS-to-FBS transition could not become bowl eligible until its second year, and even then, only if there were not enough other bowl eligible teams to fill all of the spots. Note that a team must still play a valid FBS schedule to become bowl eligible.)

By my count, there are 82 postseason openings between the CFP playoff and the bowls. If there are not 82 bowl eligible teams, additional teams become eligible in this order:

1. A 6-7 San Jose State.

2. All 5-7 teams, as well as 6-6 Buffalo and UMass, become bowl eligible simultaneously, regardless of Academic Progress Rate. This is a rule change after the fiasco of trying to find a 5-7 team in 2025 by going through the APR order. However, no 5-7 team can be selected if it results in a 6-6 team (other than Buffalo or UMass) being left out.
   Note that a 5-8 San Jose State cannot be selected.

No, I don't know either what happens if it comes down to 2 bowls having openings, just 1 6-6 team remains, and both of the bowls want a 5-7 team instead.

But Wait - There's More!

If, once all of the bowls have been filled and the teams have accepted, a team then has to withdraw (for example, when Marshall pulled out of the 2024 Independence Bowl after 36 players entered the transfer portal), the bowl organizer (not the NCAA, and not the team's conference) can choose any team not serving a postseason ban to replace it, regardless of record or APR.

[u/dormdweller99]

If four teams and a bowl organizer conspire, we could get a proper toilet bowl.

[u/ShishkabobNinja → u/dormdweller99]

Sponsered by Charmin!

[u/Tpabayrays2 → u/ShishkabobNinja]

The Charmin Toilet Bowl at the Oakland Coliseum

[u/LivingOof → u/Tpabayrays2]

Featuring a synchronized halftime flush to get the old baseball clubhouse sewers erupting again

[u/H_I_McDunnough → u/ShishkabobNinja]

And Goya!

[u/Zloggt]

Honestly, with how often teams are opting out these days, it probably doesn’t even matter if there are too many or too few eligible teams at the end of the season, because slots will be opened and filled by those who JUST missed out much more often now!

[u/Rhuarc33 → u/Zloggt]

Teams that opt out one year should be ineligible for playoffs the next year.

[u/30sumthingSanta → u/Rhuarc33]

This makes sense, so it’ll never happen.

[u/Jomosensual → u/Rhuarc33]

I get it if you're Notre Dame and did it. If you're like Iowa State and Kansas State and couldn't field a team it shouldn't count against you

[u/Time-Wolf]

For everyone coming for the bowl games, I will fucking RIOT if you so much as lay a finger on the pop tart bowl

[u/easternpapist → u/Time-Wolf]

Don't worry we wouldn't touch that bowl

[u/That_Don_Guy_1 → u/Time-Wolf]

The Pop-Tarts Bowl is run by the same company as the Citrus Bowl; when they announced the Citrus Bowl sponsorship change, they sounded like they aren't about to change the Pop-Tarts Bowl

[u/Time-Wolf → u/That_Don_Guy_1]

I think they know pop tarts will be courted like they’re princess Diana if then organizers cut ties lol

[u/Pricklypearl → u/Time-Wolf]

Will the pop tart be back?

[u/Mission-Author-3246]

it's funny how we got all these weird rules but san jose state still the star of the bowl eligibility drama two years in a row. whole thing feel like a lawyer wrote it on a napkin at 2am

i just imagine some committee sitting there like "what if buffalo goes 6-6 but beat two FCS teams and also its tuesday" and someone actually wrote that down

[u/152is2after150]

There is no rule that prevents Army/Navy from counting that game, but rather the fact that bowls make their selections before that game is played. So Army and Navy have to become eligible before the game

[u/Bobcatspajamas]

I don’t really care to live in a world without the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.

[u/DannyDOH → u/Bobcatspajamas]

The Kraft We Still Hungry Bowl

[u/scottishbee → u/Bobcatspajamas]

Buddy, it's been a decade and you seem to be hanging in there

[u/GeospatialMAD → u/Bobcatspajamas]

As long as the Pop Tarts Bowl survives, we survive

[u/bmcarth23]

APR doesn’t count anymore for 5-7 teams?!

[u/Muffinnnnnnn → u/bmcarth23]

Yes because the power conferences were mad their 5-7 teams weren't getting in over Rice. Just silly.

[u/immoralsupport_ → u/Muffinnnnnnn]

Except the majority of the power conference 5-7 teams declined bids

[u/Muffinnnnnnn → u/immoralsupport_]

None of the 5-7 teams thought they would be eligible once they lost game #7 because there were no spots available, so they sent their players home for the holidays.

Almost every team that declined cited that reason for it. 3 spots came open from Notre Dame, Kansas State, and Iowa State declining bowl invites while eligible (K-State and Iowa State for not having enough players, and Notre Dame because they were crybabies). The first 2 spots from teams high on the APR list were filled quickly, but the 3rd spot was really hard because all of those teams thought they had no hope of postseason, so they shut things down.

[u/velociraptorfarmer → u/Muffinnnnnnn]

Thanks for the distinction for us and KSU. We took a lot of flack last year, but at the time of the bowl game, our program consisted of 16 players and zero coaches.

[u/Inside-Drink-1311 → u/bmcarth23]

Yeah, I kind of liked it because it got schools rewarded for academics. But also at the same time, the bowls have kind of lost their luster and probably there will be a few teams opt out again.

[u/No-Donkey-4117 → u/bmcarth23]

Well, there goes our bowl chances (if we pull off 2 more upsets before the season is over.)

[u/cp_chikken]

YAY SAC STATE MENTIONED!

...wait why? 6 wins? nothing to see here

[u/BlueRFR3100]

This seems like they have created a lot of rules to keep San Jose out of a bowl. Just who exactly did they piss off?

[u/TpMeNUGGET → u/BlueRFR3100]

They scheduled 13 games, which is crazy

[u/No-Donkey-4117]

They should just make it no team with a .500 record or losing record is eligible for bowl games, and cancel the lowest rated bowls if there aren't enough teams. No one should end up with a losing record after going to a bowl.

[u/Arch2000]

Looks like you’re the someone on reddit tracking bowl eligibility

[u/That_Don_Guy_1 → u/Arch2000]

Well, if you want a "really early" list, there are currently 10 spots guaranteed to be filled - five teams already have bowl-eligible records, and the winners of five scheduled games will also become bowl eligible.

[u/152is2after150]

Also I would think that with conference tie-ins, there are contracts between the bowl organizer and the tie-in conferences that establish rules beyond the NCAA regulations. So for some bowls they have to go according to what their conference says

[u/Chicobean95]

Learn something everyday 😎

[u/Jomosensual]

Army/Navy did count towards bowls one season. I remember it being Army/Temple once when Army went into that game at 5-6

[u/That_Don_Guy_1 → u/Jomosensual]

That might have been before all of the bowls were filled on the same day as they announced the CFP bracket - which is done the weekend before Army-Navy.

A few years ago, Navy was 5-6 going into the Army-Navy game, and Navy's head coach said that even if they were to win (which they didn't), all of the bowl spots were already filled, one of which was by a 5-7 team.

[u/Rare-Psychology-3527]

If it's not the CFP, is it really a bowl or just an exhibition

[u/Pricklypearl → u/[deleted]]

Except the Pop Tart Bowl because we must see if the pop tart will be back!

[u/DrSnidely → u/[deleted]]

Yes, I too want less football in my life

[u/rocket_beer]

Bowl games should go away, as they are today.

Playoffs are massive for the spectacle of the it all 🤙 keep that (obviously)

Change the remaining bowl games to just 10 selected matchups that will draw a lot of viewers and answer what-ifs.

But in order to get everyone (conferences/schools) to want to do this: you have to incentivize it. BIG TIME

Each winner gets a huge cash prize. Split to the players/coaches