Tracking the EagleBank Bowl tie-ins

A bit of a blow for the EagleBank Bowl yesterday, as Army lost 27-13 at Temple to fall back below .500.

The Black Knights must win three of their last five to make it to the Dec. 29 game at RFK Stadium. With Rutgers and a trip to Air Force coming up, it’s not unfathomable that Army would need to capture its final three games.

SEE RELATED:

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Is it doable? Yes. But anyone who has watched Navy drub Army the last few years certainly isn’t going to say that rivalry will easily swing the other way in December.

2009 Opponent	Result	2008 Equivalent	Result
at Eastern Michigan	W, 27-14	Eastern Michigan	W, 17-13
Duke	L, 35-19	at Rice	L, 38-31
Ball State	W, 24-17	Akron	L, 22-3
at Iowa State	L, 31-10	at Texas A&M	L, 21-17
Tulane	L, 17-16	at Tulane	W, 44-13
Vanderbilt	W, 16-13	at Buffalo	L, 27-24
at Temple	L, 27-13	Temple	L, 35-7
Rutgers		at Rutgers	L, 30-3
at Air Force		Air Force	L, 16-7
VMI		New Hampshire	L, 28-10
at North Texas		Louisiana Tech	W, 14-3
vs. Navy		vs. Navy	L, 34-0

The ACC’s situation got a little brighter, with Clemson and Virginia both climbing back to .500, while Florida State and North Carolina didn’t do any more damage to themselves during a bye week.

Virginia is an interesting possibility for the folks in D.C. —- assuming the Cavaliers fade from their current three-game winning streak and don’t march to the ACC title game.

ACC teams with 3+ victories: 9
ACC teams with .500+ records: 9
Bowl-eligible ACC teams: Georgia Tech
Current projected teams on the board for the EagleBank Bowl: Duke and Wake Forest

Not much changed with the bowl’s backup plan, Conference USA’s Eastern Division. Marshall, an appealing possibility considering geographic proximity, lost to West Virginia. Still, there’s three 4-3 teams in that division, creating plenty of scenarios for a relatively nearby team (East Carolina or Marshall) to potentially wind up in D.C.

Conference USA East teams with 3+ victories: 4 (Southern Mississippi, Marshall, Central Florida, East Carolina)
Conference USA East teams with .500+ records: 4 (Southern Mississippi, Marshall, Central Florida, East Carolina)

—- Patrick Stevens