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Two bowl eligible teams will be barred from postseason consideration due to a silly NCAA rule. James Madison and Jacksonville State have already picked up their sixth wins of the year, but that likely won’t be good enough to participate in the bowl season.
One college football social media account tried to find a loophole should the programs ultimately be held out of postseason play, and fans are trying to speak it into existence.
The Dukes and Gamecocks recently made the move to the FBS after previously competing at the FCS level. The NCAA won’t allow teams transitioning to play in bowl games, even if eligible, for two seasons.
BREAKING: NCAA President Charlie Baker sent Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares a letter rejecting the AG’s request JMU receive a waiver for postseason eligibility in this, its second year of FBS transition.
— Shane Mettlen (@Shane_DNRSports) October 18, 2023
James Madison actually ran into this issue last year after posting an 8-3 overall record and winning the Sunbelt Conference. They even cracked the Top 25 at one point in the year.
This season, the Dukes have gone a perfect 6-0, picking up a win over Power Five foe Virginia.
Jacksonville State, in its second year under head coach Rich Rodriguez, is 6-2 and currently in second place in the Conference USA standings.
The Gamecocks landed that sixth win on Tuesday with a come-from-behind win over Western Kentucky.
Despite the successful seasons, they will be held out of bowl contention unless there are not enough teams to fill the 82 slots.
Social media tries to speak the bowl game into existence.
There might just be a way to have the two teams square off against one another at the end of the year. One college football account on social media broke it down for followers.
The scenario involves playing on the final season of the week, which is typically reserved for Army-Navy. While the armed forces showdown is usually the only game being played in Week 15, others are technically allowed to join in on the fun.
JMU and Jax State have both hit 6 wins in mid-October, but neither can play in a bowl this season: they’ve recently transitioned from FCS and bad NCAA rules say they can’t.
There’s a way for them to play after all other regular season games that the NCAA cannot stop. pic.twitter.com/pGkc3k5k8S
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 18, 2023
This scenario calls for the two teams to match up the day after the Army-Navy game, which is “the last permissible ‘regular season’ day allowed by the NCAA. No waivers are needed to schedule a game on this day.”
This can only happen if the game is played in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico, according to the account.
Unfortunately, the proposed scenario might be null even as college football fans try to speak it into existence. That’s due to the legislation cited in the post.
Bylaw 17.11.6.2.1(g) In bowl subdivision football, the maximum number of football contests shall exclude the following:
Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico. Any football games played in Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico, respectively, either against or under the sponsorship of an active member institution located in Hawaii, Alaska or Puerto Rico, by a Division I member institution located outside the areas in question.
That reads as though a school in Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico must be a participant in the game.
While the matchup isn’t likely to happen, it doesn’t take away from the fact that the rule shouldn’t bar programs from bowl eligibility.