Bowl Games 2011: Ranking The 25 Worst Teams to Receive Bowl Invites
There are too many bowl games. There, I said it.
Starting this Saturday and going until January 10, all eyes will be on college football as they play through their 35 bowl games.
Some of the games make for exciting matchups, such as Oregon vs. Auburn, Wisconsin vs.TCU, etc. Others however, make us wonder why we should have the games at all. Nebraska vs. Washington? Oklahoma State vs. Arizona? Miami (OH) vs. Middle Tennessee State?
The following are 25 teams that can easily be cut, as they are the worst of the sizable group of teams to receive invites.
25. Toledo
1 of 24
The only 8-4 team to make the list is one who lost badly to Oregon and Wyoming. The only major foe they faced was Boise State. Beating Purdue wasn't that big a deal this year.
They're still a lot better than Florida International though, who's highly ranked here. If you don't care for the WAC, you can put Fresno State here, who nearly made it on.
24. & 23. Kentucky/Tennessee (tie)
2 of 24
These two teams really aren't that bad, they just happen to be unfortunate enough to play in the SEC. Having said that, I cannot, in good conscience, leave off a 6-6 team from a list of undeserving teams.
22. Notre Dame
3 of 24
Notre Dame started off their season having to face Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, and later faced Utah and USC. They won the last two, so they're getting better and are on the way up, but 7-5 is still not a record Fighting Irish fans are ever comfortable with.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
21. North Carolina
4 of 24
They're not too bad. In fact, they and Miami are the best of the crowded middle of the ACC pack. The middle of the ACC isn't what it once was though, and narrow victories against William & Mary and Rutgers don't help your case.
20. Georgia
5 of 24
If I had to cut one SEC team, it would be Georgia. They had no tough wins or bad losses, but definitely had an off year and will hopefully bounce back.
19. South Florida
6 of 24
The South Florida Bulls had their best wins against Miami and Louisville, but lost to pretty much everyone above them in the Big East. They didn't really face anyone tough or cupcake enough to give a good indication of what they can or can't do.
18. Kansas State
7 of 24
The Big 12 was very tough this year, but Baylor and Texas Tech as least had some statement wins and tough ranked losses to go with their 7-5 records. Kansas State's big wins came against Kansas and Texas, both of whom went nowhere this season.
17. Boston College
8 of 24
One of the many mid-level ACC teams this year, Boston College has a solid defense but has no offense to show for it. The result was five straight losses in the middle of the season and a spot on this list.
16. Northwestern
9 of 24
I liked Northwestern when they started 5-0. I liked them less when they finished 7-5. I double checked who they played: Rice, Vanderbilt, Central Michigan barely... beating them doesn't make a strong case for getting a bowl bid.
15. Clemson
10 of 24
They may be 6-6 and not have too many quality wins and as a result, they have to be in the top 15.
That being said, they did force Auburn to overtime, so they can't be all that bad. They may actually keep their game against South Florida competitive, though as you can tell by this list, that game's unnecessary anyway.
14. Syracuse
11 of 24
The Syracuse Orange and the disappointing Big East are an iffy case. Beating West Virginia certainly helps, but beating Akron and Maine, well, not so much. I could probably put them even higher on the list.
13. SMU
12 of 24
When a conference division co-champ gets on a list like this, it's either a fluke that they one, or a pretty weak conference. In the case of SMU, it seems a bit of both.
They upset Tulsa to get in the championship game for the conference, but end the year with a 7-6 record while Tulsa and their 9-3 record figure out what exactly happened.
12. Arizona
13 of 24
Arizona's 7-5 squad was good to start the season but just tanked, ending with a loss to Arizona State that there was no excuse for. As a result, they shouldn't have gotten a bowl bid, and now their record will fall to 7-6 after Oklahoma State handles them.
11. Illinois
14 of 24
Yes, a 6-6 record in a major conference isn't terrible, but Illinois could have easily been 9-3; they just didn't produce. Losses to Michigan, Minnesota, and Fresno State are going to hurt any team down the stretch.
10. Georgia Tech
15 of 24
While Illinois has losses to Ohio State and other tough teams to show for their record, Georgia Tech has nothing beyond Virginia Tech. They won the games they were supposed to and didn't really win any more beyond that; winning just enough should not get you a bowl bid.
9. Troy
16 of 24
The final 7+ win team on the list was at least gutsy enough to schedule South Carolina and Oklahoma State. They were crushed in one and almost won in the other, so at least they tried unlike the other two Sun Belt teams, which we both know are coming up.
8. BYU
17 of 24
The Mountain West Conference had four solid teams that deserved to get a bowl game. Then, they had BYU, who snuck in.
Five of their losses were against admittedly good opponents, but barely beating Washington and losing to Utah State does not help. On top of that, they're the better team in their bowl game; their opponent is yet to come.
7. Washington
18 of 24
At least BYU beat Washington though, who also barely beat the 2-10 Washington State to get in the bowl picture. They did face Nebraska on top of Stanford and Oregon, which is nice to see, but the wins they did get were usually squeakers. Narrowly beating Oregon State and California isn't that impressive, even though it used to be.
6. Army
19 of 24
I'm glad to finally see Army back in the bowl picture, but they only got in because of how many bowls there were. They actually beat no noteworthy teams this season, and while Air Force and Navy were good this year, they had a few very winnable games on their schedule that they lost.
5. Louisville
20 of 24
One of the Big East's weak links this year, Louisville managed to beat Connecticut. Besides that, their non-conference wins include Memphis and Arkansas State. Their losses weren't terrible, so I may be a bit harsh on them, but having a record with the teams they scheduled is still iffy.
4. East Carolina
21 of 24
When your defense is dead last, of course it's going to be tough getting into a bowl game. Yes, Virginia Tech and North Carolina were tougher this year, but ending the year with losses to Rice and SMU? Apparently they didn't want to play in a bowl game.
3. FIU
22 of 24
FIU faced decent nonconference opponents in Pittsburgh, Maryland, and Texas A&M. Unfortunately, when you go 0-4 outside of the conference, it doesn't help you or your conference's image. Beating up Troy helped keep them from the top spot.
2. UTEP
23 of 24
When you stick teams like UTEP into a bowl game, it just doesn't look right. I mean, who did they beat? New Mexico State? Rice? What keeps them from the top spot?
Simple. They faced Arkansas. They lost badly, but they at least faced an SEC team.
1. Middle Tennessee
24 of 24
I don't know why Mid. Tenn. got a bowl bid even over Temple or Western Michigan.
Sure, they would have both been on here, WMich in the top five, but they're better than this team. They gave Memphis their only win of the season, their only nonconference win was against Austin Peay, they faced no tough teams, and two of their final wins to get a bid were by a point.
Teams like this getting bowl bids are why everyone gets bowl fatigue.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
