Mississippi State football didn't expect a bowl game. How Bulldogs got in Duke's Mayo Bowl
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STARKVILLE — The odds of Mississippi State football playing in a 2025 bowl game seemed very slim when the regular season ended.
The Bulldogs (5-7) were dropped 38-19 by Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28. They needed a sixth win to clinch bowl eligibility, but lost three straight games to end the season.
However, MSU will play in a bowl after all when it accepted an invitation to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl on Dec. 7. The Bulldogs will play Wake Forest (8-4) on Jan. 2 (7 p.m. CT, ESPN) in Charlotte, North Carolina, at Bank of America Stadium.
Here’s how Mississippi State was able to get into a bowl.
How 5-7 Mississippi State football made bowl game
Occasionally, 5-7 teams are invited to bowl games. It happens when not all of the 82 spots are filled by teams with six or more wins.
Tiebreakers are determined by Academic Progress Rate (APR). Mississippi State’s APR is 979, which is tied for 45th among FBS teams.
So even entering Dec. 7, when all of the bowl game selections were announced, including the College Football Playoff, Mississippi State was not projected to make a bowl game. MSU was on the cusp, but outside the field. That was until opt outs started coming in.
Kansas State and Iowa State both declined bowl invitations because they are both undergoing coaching changes. Iowa State’s Matt Campbell was hired by Penn State and replaced by Washington State’s Jimmy Rogers. Kansas State coach Chris Klieman retired, and he’s being replaced by Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein.
Notre Dame also declined to play in a bowl game after not making the College Football Playoff.
That opened up three spots, giving Mississippi State an opportunity to play based on its APR ranking among 5-7 teams.
Rice, also 5-7, accepted the other invitation to play Texas State in the Armed Forces Bowl, according to a report from On3.
Kansas State and Iowa State were both fined $500,000 by the Big 12 Conference for declining their bowl invitations. Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor also cited “several uncertainties regarding player availability” in a statement.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State making Duke’s Mayo Bowl with only 5 wins explained
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