ACC

Florida State, Maryland, NC State, and Virginia Tech have all reached 6 wins to become bowl eligible this season. Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and Miami all sit on the edge with 5 wins and each should be able to pick up at least two more by the end of the season. Clemson and Virginia both have a 4-4 record, which happens to be quite disappointing for Dabo Swinney’s ball club. The road figures to get no easier for the Tigers as they face NC State, Florida State, and South Carolina in the upcoming weeks.  After starting 0-2 this season, Virginia Tech leads the Coastal Division of the ACC.  Despite the inconsistency in the ACC this season, as many as 9 teams could be bowl eligible by the conclusion of the season.  Here’s a reminder, this was a conference that didn’t have enough teams to fill their designated bowl slots a year ago.

Big 12

Whoever thought Texas wouldn’t be in the run for Big 12 title contention? Currently the Longhorns have a two-game losing streak, both losses coming at home against Iowa State and Baylor.  Baylor appears to have the hot hand, with a three-game winning streak before they meet Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.  Oklahoma, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Missouri all are neck in neck this season.  All of which have stunning upsets over one another as well. Don’t be surprised if the Big 12 officials have a hard time deciding who will represent the North and South in the Big 12 Championship game.

Big 10

Michigan State was in the driver’s seat until they suffered an embarrassing loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes last Saturday.  While Michigan State’s next three opponents have a combined record of 10-14, Ohio State has to battle Iowa and Michigan to close out their season and have a shot at the conference title. Beware of Iowa and Wisconsin, two of the biggest heartbreaking teams in the country. Michigan State and Ohio State each have conference losses, creating a potential four team controversy for the Big 10 title.  Michigan, Illinois, Northwestern, and Penn State should all be playing in bowl games during December.

Big East

This has been a disappointing season in the Big East.  No one expected for the Cincinnati Bearcats to be at the bottom of the conference.  No one expected for West Virginia to fall out of the top 25.  No one expected Syracuse to be the closest team to becoming bowl eligible. Syracuse came into the season ranked last in the Big East by the majority of preseason publications, but have found themselves coming up with back-to-back wins over former Big East title defenders West Virginia and Cincinnati.  After a disappointing start, Pitt has regained its' form to push for a Big East championship. They are currently ranked #1 in the conference, but they still have UConn, West Virginia, and South Florida remaining on their schedule.  West Virginia has dropped its last two games because of turnovers on its' final possessions.  This is a team that has the talent, but doesn’t deserve to win it all.  Rutgers, Louisville, and UConn all come into November with four wins.  Sad to say, only two of the three have a chance to become bowl eligible this season.

C-USA

7 of the 12 teams in this conference have 5 or more wins.  The West Division is bound to heat up this month as UTEP, Tulsa, Houston, and SMU all are stationary with 5 wins.  Tulsa and UTEP should have the easiest road, but expect for Houston’s air attack to prevail.  UCF is currently in the driver's seat, but a trip to Houston this weekend could put them in a three-way tie with Southern Miss and East Carolina.

MAC

Temple, Ohio, Toledo, and Northern Illinois all are bowl eligible with 6 or more wins prior to November. Now the question is, where each team will end up when the smoke clears from the other conferences around the country?  The only two teams that have a shot at making it in are Miami, OH (5-3) and Kent State (4-4).

Mountain West

One team in this conference has emerged as a national title contender and that is the TCU Horned Frogs. Under the direction of Gary Patterson, the Horned Frogs are off to a 9-0 start and ranked in the top 10 for the 2^nd consecutive year. However, this week’s matchup could pose a big test as they travel to the 6^th ranked Utah Utes.  Utah is also undefeated and a win could catapult them into the top 5 and a trip to a BCS bowl appearance.  San Diego State has been making quite a roar this season at 6-2 and should finish with no less than 7 wins.  Coach Calhoun has had his Air Force Falcons in the mile high club at times this season, but they still need one more win to become bowl eligible.  BYU has been the only disappointing team in the conference thus far.

Pac 10

The #1 ranked Oregon Ducks have been nothing less than impressive this season. RB LaMichael James is arguably one of the most electrifying players in college football and he will try to keep the Ducks afloat in their final four contests of the season.  Jim Harbaugh has his team at 7-1 overall, with one of the top rated QB’s in the nation leading the charge.  This Saturday’s matchup against Arizona will determine who finishes 2^nd in the conference, as the Wildcats have a 7-1 record as well. With USC being out of the mix because of probation, Oregon State needs to win 2 of their next 5 games to become a 3^rd seed and represent the PAC 10. Cal and Arizona State both are at .500 this season, but Cal is the only team that will be favored in at least 2 games over the next couple of weeks.

SEC

The SEC East has no true leader this season.  Despite Georgia’s horrific start, they actually had a chance to get back into the hunt last week until they ran into the Florida Gators. The Gators are struggling to find their identity, but still have their eyes on returning to the SEC Championship game.  However, South Carolina is standing in the way and they believe they can win the SEC this season even with rematches against Auburn and Alabama.  Auburn, who is ranked as high as #2 nationally in the BCS polls; remains undefeated in what has been the biggest surprise of the college football.  Although they may get wins over Georgia and Tennessee-Chattanooga the next two games, their biggest showdown will come against the defending National Champions the last week of the season.  Since Alabama’s loss to South Carolina, Nick Saban’s crew has held each of its last two opponents to 10 points. This week they will go head to head with the LSU Tigers. This is a game that will place the winner in 2^nd place for weeks to come. Arkansas and Mississippi State are both having good seasons and will match up against each other on November 20^th for another critical SEC West showdown. The SEC title game in Atlanta is sure to be a good one, but the month of November will determine a lot in both divisions.

Sun Belt

Every team in this conference has taken a taxi turn for the worse this season. No team has more than four wins and only one team is above .500. The Troy Trojans will have a chance to win 4 of its next 5 games to lock up the conference and clinch a bowl birth. Arkansas State is 4-2 in conference play with a two-game winning streak going into next week’s game against Western Kentucky. Unfortunately, they face Navy and travel to an athletic Florida International team that can surprise you on any given Saturday.  Louisiana-Monroe has a 4-4 record and should be favored against FIU, North Texas, and Louisiana-Lafeyette. If Troy is the only team to represent the Sun Belt, other bowl eligible teams from different conferences would fill their spots during the bowl season.

WAC

Why not Boise State as the #1 team in the land?  Well, it’s obviously because of the strength of schedule they play week in and week out.  Any team who gets Boise State in a bowl game better watch out.  Coach Chris Peterson has proven time after time, if you give his team too much time to prepare, they will beat you.  Now with that said, Boise State can’t have any slip ups and it could come as early this week with a paid visit from Hawaii. Hawaii and its' 7-2 record are favored in each of its' next contests, except for Boise State.  Fresno State could be the team to watch for in this conference.  They are the only 2-0 team in the conference next to Hawaii and Boise State.  However, they are just one game away from becoming bowl eligible. Nevada is led by QB Colin Kaepernick but perhaps disappointingly, even with a potential 9 win season, they will finish no higher than 3^rd in the conference.

Independents

Not quite the season Notre Dame was expecting to have under new head Brian Kelly. Notre Dame has spent much of its season battling a gruesome schedule and injuries like the one suffered by QB Dayne Christ this past Saturday. Going into the next three games, the Fighting Irish will need the luck of the leprechaun if they want to beat #6 Utah and Southern Cal. They need at least two games to become bowl eligible.  Army needs just one more game to become clinch a bowl game this season, but their two biggest games before they close out the regular season will come against both academy schools (Air Force & Navy). Navy isn’t as strong as they usually are this time of the season, but has lost 3 games by an average of 6 points or less.  Expect for the triple-option attack to come alive over the next four contests.