AUBURN, ALABAMA – OCTOBER 11: Gunner Stockton #14 of the Georgia Bulldogs dives for a touchdown past Champ Anthony #1 and Kaleb Harris #8 of the Auburn Tigers during the fourth quarter at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Every college football program reached the halfway point of its 2025 regular season schedule, and 24 teams already punched their ticket to bowl eligibility. This is your guide to tracking which teams will reach the postseason through the end of the regular season.
College Football Bowl Eligibility Criteria
The future of the College Football Playoff is in question but when it comes to this year’s postseason, here’s a quick overview.
The final day of the 2025 regular season is on Nov. 29 with bowl games expected to be announced on Dec. 7. Bowl season begins Dec. 13 and ends Jan. 19. The postseason consists of 35 traditional bowl games, four CFP first round games, four quarterfinal games, two semifinal games and one national championship game. That adds to up to 46 matchups with 82 FBS programs set to play beyond conference championship weekend.
To qualify for bowl eligibility, teams must win at least six games, and they can only count one win against FCS opponents. If there are too many bowl-eligible teams, some will be left out of postseason play.
If there are not enough bowl-eligible teams, the first two spots would go to Delaware and Missouri State, which are transitioning from the FCS, assuming they satisfy the bowl-eligibility criteria. After that, it will come down to Academic Progress Rate scores for teams one win away from bowl eligibility, which is why in some years you see teams with a 5-7 record competing in bowl games.
Before the countdown to bowl season even began, one program was already eliminated. Akron was ruled ineligible for postseason play in May due to a failing Academic Progress Rate score during the 2023-24 season.
Bowl Eligible Teams (24)
Fourteen programs became bowl eligible during Week 8 of the college football season including Alabama, Cincinnati, Georgia, Hawaii, Houston, James Madison, Missouri, North Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tulane, USF, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
The following programs secured at least six victories to become bowl eligible:
- SEC (7) – Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
- Big Ten (3) – Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon
- ACC (2) – Georgia Tech, Virginia
- Big 12 (4) – BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Texas Tech
- Pac-12 (0) – None
- American (5) – Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Tulane, USF
- Mountain West (2) – Hawaii, UNLV
- Sun Belt (1) – James Madison
- MAC (0) – None
- Conference USA (0) – None
- Independents (0) – None
Eliminated From Bowl Eligibility (1)
The following programs are no longer eligible to participate in a bowl game. This means they’ll fall short of the five-win mark or are ineligible for non-football reasons:
- SEC – None
- Big Ten – None
- ACC – None
- Big 12 – None
- Pac-12 – None
- American – None
- Mountain West – None
- Sun Belt – None
- MAC – *Akron
- Conference USA – None
- Independents – None
One Win Away From Bowl Eligibility (28)
Twenty-six teams have an opportunity to become bowl eligible during Week 9. The following programs are one victory away from six wins to become bowl eligible:
- SEC – LSU, Tennessee, Texas
- Big Ten – Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, USC, Washington
- ACC – Cal, Louisville, Miami, Pitt, SMU
- Big 12 – Arizona State, Iowa State, TCU, Utah
- Pac-12 – None
- American – None
- Mountain West – Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State
- Sun Belt – Southern Miss, Troy
- MAC – None
- Conference USA – Western Kentucky
- Independents – Notre Dame, UConn
One Win Away From Five Wins (26)
The following programs are one victory away from five wins to potentially play in a bowl if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams:
- SEC – Mississippi State
- Big Ten – Maryland
- ACC – Duke, NC State, Wake Forest
- Big 12 – Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, UCF
- Pac-12 – None
- American – East Carolina, Temple
- Mountain West – New Mexico, Utah State
- Sun Belt – Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Old Dominion
- MAC – Buffalo, Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
- Conference USA – Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Louisiana Tech
- Independents – None
FBS APR Rankings
If fewer than 82 teams become bowl eligible, it will come down to Academic Progress Rate scores for teams one win away from bowl eligibility. Here’s a look at the APR score rankings among teams still eligible for bowl game participation:
- Ohio State
- Alabama
- Michigan/North Carolina
- Clemson/Wake Forest
- Cincinnati
- Northwestern
- Air Force/Minnesota
- Iowa State/Wisconsin
- Auburn/Florida State/Kansas State/Notre Dame
- Missouri
- Rice
- Duke/NC State
- Boise State/Boston College/Miami/Oklahoma State/Texas/Tulane/UCF
- Ball State/Stanford
- James Madison/Louisville/Utah
- Arkansas/East Carolina/Virginia
- Coastal Carolina/Florida/Indiana/Iowa
- Liberty/Texas Tech
- Army/Ole Miss/West Virginia
- Georgia/Kentucky/Mississippi State/Nevada/Old Dominion/UNLV/Vanderbilt/Western Kentucky
- Rutgers/Washington
- Eastern Michigan
- Nebraska/USC/Virginia Tech/Wyoming
- Fresno State/Oklahoma/South Carolina
- Baylor/Pitt
- Arizona State/Toledo
- Kansas/Purdue/Troy
- Cal/Illinois/Sam Houston State
- **Delaware
- Arizona/Bowling Green/Georgia State/Georgia Tech/Temple
- Appalachian State/Michigan State
- UCLA
- San Diego State
- Northern Illinois/Oregon State
- Navy/South Alabama/Tennessee/Washington State
- TCU
- Maryland/UTSA
- Colorado/Marshall/USF
- SMU/Texas State
- Miami (OH)/Middle Tennessee
- Colorado State/Georgia Southern/Memphis/Syracuse
- Ohio
- Texas A&M
- FIU/Kennesaw State
- BYU/New Mexico State
- Louisiana
- North Texas
- LSU/UTEP
- New Mexico
- Kent State/San Jose State
- Arkansas State/UConn/Western Michigan
- FAU/Hawaii/Penn State
- Oregon/UAB/UMass
- Central Michigan
- Tulsa
- Houston
- Utah State
- Southern Miss
- Buffalo
- Jacksonville State
- Louisiana-Monroe
- Louisiana Tech
- Charlotte
- **Missouri State
*Akron is ineligible for postseason play due to a failing APR score during the 2023-24 season.
**Delaware and Missouri State would get a bowl bid if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams and if they satisfy bowl eligibility criteria.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikbuchinger/2025/10/20/2025-college-football-bowl-eligibility-tracker-week-9/
