Believe it or not, the Hilltoppers can still go bowling

It’s not even really out of the question right now. If the Hilltoppers get to six wins next week by defeating UTSA, I’d be willing to bet good money that they, after all the ups and downs (let’s be real, mostly downs) they’ve had, Western Kentucky will get to a bowl game. That’s just unbelievable.

Now, I know you’re sitting there thinking “But Fletcher…” well, let me just stop you right there. As it currently stands, there are four teams who are bowl eligible from Conference USA:

Yeah. That’s it.

Having said that, there are three remaining teams who can become bowl eligible with a win in each of their final two games:

Now, I bet you’re saying something along the lines of “but Fletcher. Not only do both of those teams have a better conference record, but they both beat WKU.” And, while that is true, take a gander at the opponent each team finds themselves playing next week.

Without trying to jinx anything, let’s assume Marshall has no problem with UAB. Let’s also assume the Hilltoppers have no problem with UTSA. FAU and MTSU is a toss-up, but if we assume the first to scenarios it wont matter much, because the Tops will have six wins, the Blazers will still have five wins, and they’ll both sit at 3-4 in conference play. Weird, eh? Also, that win against UTEP is looking awfully good for the Brohm Squad, dontcha think?

Conference USA has five bowl tie-ins with the possibility of a sixth. If the Hilltoppers can win this week and become the fifth or sixth (them and UAB both have 11 a.m. games. MTSU and FAU are a 6:00 p.m. start time), that’ll give the athletics department the slightest of edges over teams not already bowl eligible to begin presenting their case. A lot has to fall in the right direction for it to be a guarantee that the Tops go bowling, but crazier things have happened, and this is one of the big reasons the move to C-USA was made right?