The college football regular season is beginning to wind down, which means the bowl picture is beginning to be painted as teams either become eligible for postseason play or fail to clear the bar. So far, 48 teams around the country have managed to put together enough wins in order to start thinking about the bowl season coming up. This weekend, 18 teams from power conferences will look to join them in getting their sixth wins of the year. Some will even be trying to get that sixth win against another team looking to beat them to it.
Here is a quick rundown of the power conferences and what teams could become bowl eligible this weekend.
ACC
Pittsburgh, Miami, Georgia Tech
Pittsburgh is playing for a chance to gain full control of the ACC Coastal Division this weekend with a home game against Virginia Tech. A win would do that and make the Panthers eligible for a bowl game. Elsewhere in the division, the winner of the Georgia Tech-Miami game can start scouting bowl destinations.
Big 12
Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas Tech
As many as three Big 12 teams can become eligible for a bowl game this weekend. Iowa State is hosting Baylor with both teams needing a win to clinch bowl eligibility. Texas Tech gets a game at home against Texas, while Oklahoma State is on the road at Oklahoma.
On the flip side, the loser of the Kansas State-Kansas game will officially become ineligible for the bowl season with a seventh loss.
Big Ten
Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue
As many as three teams from the Big Ten can become bowl eligible this weekend, including Big Ten West frontrunner Northwestern. A Wildcats win at Iowa not only moves the Wildcats one giant step closer to the Big Ten championship game but will clinch a fourth-straight bowl trip for the program for the second time under Pat Fitzgerald.
Maryland (at Indiana) and Purdue (at Minnesota) will also try punching their ticket to a bowl game on the road this week.
Pac-12
Arizona State, Colorado, Stanford, California, USC
The Pac-12 is guaranteed to add one bowl-eligible team this weekend with USC hosting Cal, but the Pac-12 could see as many as four teams become bowl eligible this weekend. A win by Arizona State at home against UCLA would be critical to the Pac-12 South outlook, but Stanford getting Oregon State at home looks to be the most favorable game for a team trying to become eligible for the postseason.
SEC
South Carolina, Missouri, Texas A&M
The SEC can add three bowl-eligible teams to the mix this weekend. Texas A&M (vs Ole Miss) and Missouri (vs Vanderbilt) each get their chances at home this weekend, and South Carolina must give it a shot on the road against Florida.
