Certain sectors of college football, including the ACC, continue to push forward for what’s shaping up to be the most bizarre season in the sport’s history — due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Assuming that a 2020 fall season takes place, there are still plenty of questions up in the air. If a full season is able to be played — with the current number of teams still active — it will create some interesting bowl game math, too.
As Brett McMurphy points out, there are a total of 41 bowl games, which equates to 82 bids. However, only 77 FBS teams are currently set to play. Given travel and differences between local and state health guidelines, it’s a mystery as to how this will play out.
Fun times for the bowls: 41 bowls & 82 bowl bids will be available but only 77 teams currently scheduled to play FBS this fall. Also, one industry source questions if there can still be a @CFBPlayoff: "Hard to have a national championship without a bunch of teams"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 12, 2020
Regardless, if anything close to a full bowl game schedule takes place, ACC teams with losing records will receive invites. (Every ACC team could be invited to play in a bowl game, I suppose.)
Plenty is left to sort through for the hypothetical bowl season: start dates, length of competition, end points and more.
If two Power Five leagues have already called off their fall seasons — the Big Ten and Pac-12 — then will the CFP even take place? There’s a lot of money at stake; it seems (weirdly) logical that some sort of final/championship event would take place. (Again, this assumes the season not only gets off the ground, but also finishes without major hiccups.)