Makeup games could determine bowl bids
Virginia Tech still has a chance to reach the .500 mark and secure bowl eligibility.
The Hokies (4-6) are set to play Marshall on Dec. 1 — if Virginia Tech needs a win to become bowl eligible. The Hokies and Thundering Herd had games against other opponents canceled Sept. 15 because of Hurricane Florence, and it looked like the shortened schedule might cost Virginia Tech a chance to extend its 25-season bowl streak.
That streak may still come to an end. The Hokies have to beat Virginia this coming week to have any chance at reaching .500, but now they have a willing opponent for a potential 12th game.
Marshall was supposed to face South Carolina on Sept. 15. That game was called off, and the Gamecocks scheduled a makeup game for Dec. 1 against Akron, which had a Sept. 1 matchup with Nebraska cancelled due to lightning. The Akron-South Carolina game could have bowl implications too. South Carolina is already eligible, but Akron is 4-6.
There are 78 bowl slots to fill this season, and the following 71 teams are already eligible:
Alabama
Alabama-Birmingham
Appalachian State
Arizona State
Arkansas State
Army
Auburn
Boise State
Boston College
Buffalo
BYU
California
Central Florida
Cincinnati
Clemson
Duke
Eastern Michigan
Florida
Florida International
Fresno State
Georgia
Georgia Southern
Georgia Tech
Hawaii
Houston
Iowa
Iowa State
Kentucky
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
LSU
Marshall
Memphis
Miami
Michigan
Michigan State
Middle Tennessee
Mississippi State
Missouri
N.C. State
Nevada
North Texas
Northern Illinois
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Oregon
Penn State
Pittsburgh
San Diego State
South Carolina
South Florida
Stanford
Syracuse
Temple
Texas
Texas A&M
Toledo
Troy
Utah
Utah State
Virginia
Washington
Washington State
West Virginia
Western Michigan
Wisconsin
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The following games this coming week involve teams still on the bowl bubble:
Tuesday
Miami, Ohio (5-6) vs. Ball State
Friday
Akron (4-6) at Ohio
Coastal Carolina (5-6) at South Alabama
Virginia Tech (4-6) vs. Virginia
Saturday
Arizona (5-6) vs. Arizona State
Baylor (5-6) vs. Texas Tech (5-6)
Colorado (5-6) at California
Florida Atlantic (5-6) vs. Charlotte
Florida State (5-6) vs. Florida
Indiana (5-6) vs. Purdue (5-6)
Kansas State (5-6) at Iowa State
Maryland (5-6) at Penn State
Minnesota (5-6) at Wisconsin
SMU (5-6) at Tulsa
Southern California (5-6) vs. Notre Dame
Southern Mississippi (5-5) at Texas-El Paso
Texas Christian (5-6) vs. Oklahoma State
Tulane (5-6) vs. Navy
Vanderbilt (5-6) vs. Tennessee (5-6)
Wake Forest (5-6) at Duke
Wyoming (5-6) at New Mexico
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister