2012 Bowl Projections: 5 Major Programs That Could Miss out on Bowl Season

While the 2011 college football season has been fun for most people, some of the highest-profile teams in the country just want it to end on a good note.

Whether it’s a traditional power that is in a rut or a big-name FBS program that was ranked early this season and has fallen by the wayside, some teams’ only goal is to make it to a bowl game this year.

Unfortunately for the following five teams, that may not be possible.

Tennessee

It seems like forever ago that Tennessee was an elite football program, but they won the national championship in 1998 and have been to a bowl game every year except one since 1989.

The Vols are currently 3-5, so they need three wins to make it to a bowl game.

Unfortunately, they still have to play Arkansas in conference, and Vanderbilt is no longer a definite win.

The Commodores will want that game badly against their in-state rivals, and they nearly beat Georgia and Arkansas.

They also have more interceptions than 116 teams in the country and Tyler Bray may not be back in time for the game.

Missouri Tigers

The Tigers have been close to being a great football team this year, but they’ve lost three games to currently-ranked opponents by 10 points or less.

And with Baylor, Texas, Texas Tech and a huge rivalry game with Kansas remaining, getting the two necessary wins to get to a bowl may not happen.

Both the Bears and Red Raiders were ranked not that long ago, and Texas is currently ranked.

Odds are they get six wins, but it could be extremely close if all of those teams play up to their potential.

Florida

Behind Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps, the Gators have four wins, but that may not be enough to get them to a bowl game.

Florida still has to get through Vanderbilt, Florida State and a road trip to South Carolina.

Their two SEC opponents have fantastic turnover ratios compared to Florida’s, which ranks 114th in the country, and Florida State has had three convincing wins in the past weeks after losing three straight to teams with a combined record of 20-5.

Mississippi State

I’ll admit it, I bought into the Bulldogs.

Their offense was firing on all cylinders and the defense had really stepped up.

Now they have a new quarterback system, a new defensive coordinator and will need to either pull off the upset against Alabama or Arkansas or beat their in-state rivals in the Egg Bowl to become bowl eligible.

Of all the teams on this list, they have probably the easiest road, but considering that this team was ranked in the preseason and lost to LSU by just 13 points, you’d think they would have an easier time making it to the postseason.

Baylor

Dan Fike gets the nod here for playing the most compared to rest of the bunch.

Fike played in 115 games for the Cleveland Browns, starting 102 of them.

Fike also made it to the playoffs with the Browns for five consecutive seasons (1985-89) and also played in three AFC Championship games.