Charting the bowl-pocalpyse

This bowl-pocalypse idea isn't looking so far-fetched now.

While the ranks of bowl-eligible teams swelled to 44 this week (from 31 at this time a week ago), there are now only 71 teams with .500 or better records in major-college football.

Which is to say, the margin of error for the 68 teams needed to fill up all 34 bowls is fast dwindling.

The look of this chart will change in the next couple weeks, with the teams with undetermined eligibility getting listed with their remaining schedules and the ineligible teams dropping off the list based on their irrelevance for this postseason.

But for now, here's the rundown of who's in and who's not --- with the acknowledgment that it's the other 59 schools that will really determine whether or not the bloated bowl system winds up with egg on its face in another month.

ELIGIBLE (44)

Air Force
Alabama
Arizona
Auburn
Boise State
Boston College
Brigham Young
California
Central Michigan
Cincinnati
Clemson
Florida
Fresno State
Georgia Tech
Houston
Idaho
Iowa
Louisiana State
Miami (Fla.)
Middle Tennessee
Navy
Nebraska
Northern Illinois
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Ohio
Ohio State
Oklahoma State
Oregon
Oregon State
Penn State
Pittsburgh
South Carolina
Southern California
Stanford
Temple
Texas
Texas Christian
Texas Tech
Troy
Utah
Virginia Tech
West Virginia
Wisconsin

INELIGIBLE (15)

Akron
Ball State
Colorado State
Eastern Michigan
Florida International
Maryland
Memphis
Miami (Ohio)
New Mexico
North Texas
Rice
Utah State
Vanderbilt
Washington State
Western Kentucky

UNDETERMINED (61)

--- Patrick Stevens