Syracuse Football: NCAA loosens up its rules for bowl eligibility in 2020

Who the heck knows if Syracuse football will even play this fall, but the NCAA has eased up its rules for teams to reach bowl eligibility in 2020.

Recent decisions by their respective conferences have eliminated Rutgers and Colgate from the Syracuse football non-conference calendar during the 2020 term.

Assuming an upcoming stanza actually occurs – and that’s a big if at this juncture – the Orange and some of its counterparts across the country could potentially benefit from the NCAA loosening up its rules for bowl eligibility as it relates to the 2020 season only.

The Division I Council has approved what it calls a “blanket waiver request” so that Football Bowl Subdivision (“FBS”) squads, such as the ‘Cuse, can count two contests versus Football Championship Subdivision (“FCS”) crews so long as these FCS groups meet minimum scholarship criteria. Under normal circumstances, an FBS team could count one encounter against an FCS foe toward bowl eligibility.

"More from the NCAA press release. “Current FBS rules require an FCS opponent to have averaged 90 percent of the maximum number of football scholarships during a rolling two-year period for that game to count for bowl selection and scheduling requirements for the FBS team. The waiver allows the games to count if the FCS opponents average at least 80 percent.”"

Okay, but how does this ruling by the Division I Council affect Syracuse football? That’s totally unclear. Rutgers and Colgate are off the schedule, leaving the Orange’s pair of non-conference clashes against Western Michigan and Liberty, which are both FBS squads.

So, in theory, I imagine that Syracuse football could then pick up two FCS foes to complete its full calendar. The Orange already owns one of the softest schedules in the Atlantic Coast Conference and nationally. Adding a duo of FCS opponents could make it easier for the ‘Cuse to reach a half-dozen conquests and garner a bowl bid.

However, things are so fluid right now in collegiate athletics due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. It’s iffy that a 2020 campaign will transpire. It’s also mid-July, and how realistic would it prove for Syracuse football officials to get two new FCS foes on the docket? This remains unclear.

The Big Ten Conference, where Rutgers is a member, and the Pac-12 Conference have both already said that they will play solely league tilts in 2020. The ACC and other Power Five conferences, many national pundits believe, will ultimately do the same, although ACC leaders are apparently not making a decision until late July.

Regardless of what the Orange does with its 2020 schedule, it would still need to amass a .500 record even if its overall number of games played diminishes to secure a post-season bowl berth.