How many five-win teams can get at least one win over the final two weeks of the regular season?
Fifty-eight bowl-eligible teams already have six or more wins and are making their postseason plans. Twenty-four teams, meanwhile, have five wins entering Week 12.
If all 24 of those teams got just one win over the final two weeks, then there would be no worries about a 5-7 team in one of the 41 bowl games thanks to James Madison and Jacksonville State’s success this year.
News flash: All 24 of those teams aren’t getting a win before the regular season ends. Our latest bowl projections include both James Madison and Jacksonville State in the field again along with Northwestern as a 5-7 team in the bowl field. The Wildcats are home underdogs to Purdue in Week 12 before playing Illinois to end the season.
Here’s a look at what each five-win team is facing before the end of the season.
Arkansas State: The Red Wolves are home underdogs to Texas State on Saturday and will likely be underdogs to Marshall to end the season.
Boise State: The Broncos visit Utah State and host Air Force on Black Friday and will be doing it with an interim coach after Andy Avalos was fired on Sunday.
BYU: The Cougars have lost three straight games and host No. 14 Oklahoma before visiting No. 23 Oklahoma State.
Central Michigan: The Chips host Ohio on Wednesday night before visiting Toledo to end the season. Toledo and Ohio are a combined 17-4.
Eastern Michigan: The Eagles beat Akron on Tuesday to move to 5-6 and need a win at Buffalo next Tuesday to get to a bowl game.
Florida: The Gators are 11-point underdogs at No. 9 Missouri before hosting No. 4 Florida State to end the season.
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets need to beat Syracuse on Saturday as their regular-season finale is against No. 1 Georgia.
Illinois: The Illini head to Iowa before hosting Northwestern to end the season.
Louisiana: The Ragin’ Cajuns lost at home to Southern Miss in Week 11 and head to Troy in Week 12. A win over a 2-8 UL Monroe team in Week 13 is probably the ticket to six wins.
Marshall: The Thundering Herd broke a five-game losing streak with a win over Georgia Southern in Week 11 and has games against fellow 5-5 teams South Alabama and Arkansas State remaining.
Minnesota: Minnesota visits No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday before a likely attempt at its sixth win at home against Wisconsin in the last week of the season.
Nebraska: The Huskers visit Wisconsin in a matchup of 5-5 teams before hosting Iowa to end the season.
Northern Illinois: Thanks to a Tuesday win over Western Michigan, Northern Illinois just needs to beat a 1-9 Kent State next Saturday to make a bowl game.
Northwestern: The Wildcats are home underdogs to Purdue despite having a better record. Northwestern then plays Illinois to end the season, but keep in mind that Northwestern will be the top 5-7 team eligible for a bowl because of the team’s APR.
San Jose State: The Spartans dominated Fresno State in Week 11 and should get a win over a hapless San Diego State in Week 12 before finishing the season at UNLV.
South Alabama: After Marshall, the Jaguars head to Texas State.
South Florida: The Bulls’ best chance for a sixth win is in the final week of the regular season at home against Charlotte. USF plays at UTSA on Friday.
Syracuse: The likely recipe for both Syracuse and Georgia Tech making a bowl game is a Georgia Tech win on Saturday and a Syracuse win over Wake Forest in the final week of the season.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders host UCF on Saturday before heading to Texas on Black Friday. A win against the Knights is probably necessary.
UCF: If UCF loses to Texas Tech on Saturday then it needs to beat Houston at home in the final week of the season.
Utah State: After playing Boise State, the Aggies head to New Mexico to end the season. USU will be a significant favorite in that game.
Virginia Tech: The Hokies are slight home favorites against NC State in Week 12 before a trip to Virginia in Week 13.
Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers have lost three of four but finish the season against Sam Houston and Florida International. They have a combined record of 6-14.
Wisconsin: It’ll be a shock if all three of Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin are bowl eligible at the end of the season given that the Badgers have to play both the Huskers and the Gophers.
New Year’s Six Bowls
Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29)
Texas vs. Washington
Peach Bowl (Dec. 30)
Penn State vs. Alabama
Orange Bowl (Dec. 30)
Louisville vs. Missouri
Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1)
Tulane vs. Oregon
Rose Bowl [CFP semifinal] (Jan. 1)
Michigan vs. Florida State
Sugar Bowl [CFP semifinal] (Jan. 1)
Georgia vs. Ohio State
Other Bowls
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 16)
Coastal Carolina vs. Western Kentucky
New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 16)
Jacksonville State vs. Troy
Cure Bowl (Dec. 16)
Colorado State vs. Georgia Southern
New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 16)
Air Force vs. Liberty
LA Bowl (Dec. 16)
Fresno State vs. Arizona
Independence Bowl (Dec. 16)
Iowa State vs. San Jose State
Famous Toastery Bowl (Dec. 18)
New Mexico State vs. Eastern Michigan
Frisco Bowl (Dec. 19)
Navy vs. Illinois
Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 21)
Florida Atlantic vs. Georgia State
Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 22)
South Florida vs. South Alabama
Birmingham Bowl (Dec. 23)
UCF vs. Louisiana
Camellia Bowl (Dec. 23)
Toledo vs. James Madison
Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 23)
Texas Tech vs. Northwestern
Potato Bowl (Dec. 23)
Northern Illinois vs. Boise State
68 Ventures Bowl (Dec. 23)
Ohio vs. Appalachian State
Las Vegas Bowl (Dec. 23)
Minnesota vs. USC
Hawaii Bowl (Dec. 23)
SMU vs. Wyoming
Quick Lane Bowl (Dec. 26)
Syracuse vs. Marshall
First Responder Bowl (Dec. 26)
Utah State vs. Texas State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Dec. 26)
West Virginia vs. Rutgers
Military Bowl (Dec. 27)
NC State vs. Memphis
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Dec. 27)
Duke vs. Kentucky
Holiday Bowl (Dec. 27)
Clemson vs. UCLA
Texas Bowl (Dec. 27)
Kansas vs. Texas A&M
Fenway Bowl (Dec. 28)
Boston College vs. UTSA
Pinstripe Bowl (Dec. 28)
Virginia Tech vs. Maryland
Pop-Tarts Bowl (Dec. 28)
North Carolina vs. Oklahoma State
Alamo Bowl (Dec. 28)
Oklahoma vs. Oregon State
Gator Bowl (Dec. 29)
Miami vs. Florida
Sun Bowl (Dec. 29)
Georgia Tech vs. Utah
Liberty Bowl (Dec. 29)
Kansas State vs. Tennessee
Music City Bowl (Dec. 30)
Wisconsin vs. Auburn
Arizona Bowl (Dec. 30)
Miami (Ohio) vs. UNLV
ReliaQuest Bowl (Jan. 1)
Notre Dame vs. LSU
Citrus Bowl (Jan. 1)
Iowa vs. Ole Miss
