We’re just past the midway point of the 2023 college football season and one of the interesting questions that has emerged is which Group of Five program will receive a bid to a New Year’s Six bowl game. This year, the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, or Peach Bowl are all in play for the fortunate team who earns the bid, but the emerging team likely goes to the Fiesta Bowl.
Since 2014, a spot in one of the six prestigious New Year’s bowl games has been reserved for the highest ranked Group of Five conference champion in the final set of College Football Playoff rankings. In the nine seasons this system has been in place, the American Athletic Conference reigned supreme by claiming seven bids and its crowning achievement came in 2021 when Cincinnati actually made the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.
However, the race is wide open this year as a number of top programs from these conferences could be standing among the sport’s elite during New Year’s weekend. Each week moving forward, we’ll comb through each league and identify the programs who stand a chance at grabbing the bid.
AAC
No. 23 Tulane remains at the top of the AAC standings after surviving in a 35-28 victory over North Texas on Saturday. At 6-1, the Green Wave continues to roll through its conference schedule with the likes of SMU, UTSA, and Memphis lurking as potential challengers in the league title game.
Conference USA
Liberty improved to 7-0 with 42-35 victory over Middle Tennessee on Tuesday and remains the lone undefeated in CUSA. Jacksonville State also scored a 20-17 victory over Western Kentucky to improve to 6-2 and would be eligible for postseason play if not for NCAA transition rules.
MAC
In a potential MAC Championship Game preview, Toledo downed Miami-Ohio in a 21-17 victory to improve to 7-1 on the season. The Rockets own the best record in the entire MAC and we’ll see if they can garner some national recognition in the polls over the next few weeks.
Mountain West
No. 22 Air Force backed up its ranking in the AP poll by toppling Navy 17-6 on Saturday. The Falcons remain the lone undefeated team in the MWC and have a pretty manageable schedule the rest of the way. On the horizon, however, is UNLV, the surprise team of the conference who became bowl eligible with a win over Colorado State on Saturday.
Sun Belt
James Madison survived a tough, Thursday night road test in a 20-9 victory over Marshall. Even at 7-0, the Dukes are still ineligible for postseason play due to NCAA transition rules. Georgia State. Georgia Southern, Texas State, and Troy are all viable conference totle contenders in their own right.