Michigan State football: Bowl hopes may not be dead yet

After going 5-7 for a second time in three years and missing a bowl game for a third straight season, Michigan State football went into the offseason knowing it had to live in the transfer portal.

But Jonathan Smith and Co. could be called into action in the near future.

The Spartans were not eligible for a bowl game, but there are rare instances when 5-7 teams get called to play in a bowl game when a team drops out. That hasn’t happened regularly since COVID-19, but Marshall did just that on Saturday, opting out of the Independence Bowl against Army because it didn’t have enough bodies to play the game. The Thundering Herd have lost at least 20 guys to the transfer portal since the end of the season as well as their head coach.

Marshall has notified officials that it is opting out of the Independence Bowl vs. Army, sources tell @YahooSports.

Absent of 6-6 teams, officials are working to determine a replacement thru a ranking of NCAA APR scores of 5-7 teams. Marshall has lost 25+ players in the portal.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 14, 2024

That means a 5-7 team will be called to play Army this month in the Independence Bowl and it goes by APR ranking.

Academic Performance Rating is the qualifier for 5-7 teams who have a chance to play in a bowl game. Whichever team that finishes 5-7 has the highest APR will get the first call. Then, it is ordered by APR ranking followed by No. 1.

So Michigan State’s hopes are not quite dead yet, folks.

In this case, Cincinnati has the highest APR rank among 5-7 teams, followed by Wisconsin, Auburn, Virginia, and Oregon State. So if all of those teams say “thanks, but no thanks” to a last-second bowl invite, Smith and Co. could opt to play Army on Dec. 28 in Shreveport, La.

I doubt that five teams will decline a bowl invite, but given the fact that a lot of students and players are already home for the holiday break, it would be hard to wrangle everyone back for practices and preparation for just two weeks before the game.

Hey, crazier things have happened.