Since the New Year’s Six bowls were established with the College Football Playoff in 2014, five different Group of Five teams from three different conferences have earned a bid into the non-playoff rotation of six premier bowl games. Could there be a sixth team from a fourth different conference in 2020?
As of Thursday, Aug. 20, after conference cancellations by the MAC and Mountain West and team cancellations by UConn, UMass, and Old Dominion, 38 Group of Five teams are moving forward with a fall college football season and will compete for one guaranteed spot in a New Year’s Six bowl. In 2020, the non-playoff rotation includes the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Peach Bowl.
As all eyes are on Cincinnati’s chance of running the table for their first-ever undefeated season and UCF to reach a third New Year’s Six bowl, there are a few dark horse teams that could jump into contention. During the Group of Five preview episode of the High Motor podcast, we discussed the chances of Louisiana and other dark horse teams to claim the bid.
Listen below (or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and everywhere else):
