The unlucky 51, in alphabetical order: Akron, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Army, Auburn, Baylor, Bowling Green, Colorado, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Florida International, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, Ohio, Purdue, SMU, San Diego State, San Jose State, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Toledo, Tulane, UAB, UCF, UCLA, UNLV, UTEP, Utah State, Virginia, Washington, Washington State and Wyoming.
The festivities begin Dec. 20 with four games, including a pair of newcomers: Navy and Wake Forest meet in the EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium in Washington, then South Florida and Memphis play in the St. Petersburg Bowl at Tropicana Field.
Even with so many spots, four bowl-eligible teams were left out. Arkansas State, Bowling Green, Louisiana-Lafayette and San Jose State all went 6-6 and got passed over. Bring back the Bacardi Bowl and the Raisin Bowl, and there would be a place for them, too.
And for those woebegone teams in need of one more chance, consider Bowling Green’s postseason history. In 1961, the school ended in a most appropriate place: the Mercy Bowl, which they lost.
The unlucky 51 again, in alphabetical order: Akron, Arizona State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Army, Auburn, Baylor, Bowling Green, Colorado, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Florida International, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Texas, Ohio, Purdue, SMU, San Diego State, San Jose State, Stanford, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Toledo, Tulane, UAB, UCF, UCLA, UNLV, UTEP, Utah State, Virginia, Washington, Washington State and Wyoming.
*****from Cecil Carr and volsxtra.com*****