Top 5 Non-Cotton Bowl Games Featuring Group of Five Teams

Western Michigan claimed the Access Bowl spot in the Cotton Bowl, but there are plenty of other great bowl matchups featuring Group of Five programs.

For Group of Five schools, the biggest goal of the year in the College Football Playoff era is to sew up the automatic bid into a New Year’s Six bowl game. That lucrative spot, granted to the highest-rated champion of a mid-major conference, is an improvement on BCS access. But whereas a team like Ohio State can make the playoff without a leauge title, a Group of Five hopeful must win its conference to remain in the running.

That meant that some great teams such as Boise State and Houston weren’t even considered for the Cotton Bowl. While Western Michigan ran the table and did exactly what it had to do to earn the showdown against Wisconsin, the rules meant that teams with multiple wins over Power Five opponents were not eligible for consideration.

But while there might be some issues with the conflicting attitude toward conference championships among the CFP committee, there are still plenty of great games besides the Cotton Bowl that feature Group of Five teams this season. Click through to see our selection of the five best of the 2016-2017 postseason.

NOTE: All rankings are from the final College Football Playoff rankings released December 4.