With the College Football Playoff set, the rest of the bowl matchups were finalized on Sunday. For a moment, it seemed like the 5-7 Baylor Bears might be a late addition to bowl season despite not being bowl eligible.
Georgia Southern is set to play in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 29, but the problem is it does not have an opponent to play against yet. Iowa State and Kansas State opted out of their bowl games due to coaching changes putting their respective programs in a state of flux. Notre Dame also opted out of bowl season after missing out on the CFP.
With these opt outs, the bowls have been dipping into the ranks of the 5-7 teams to fill the final couple of spots. According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, Florida State, Auburn, UCF, Baylor and Rutgers were among the teams invited to play in the game, in that order. When the invite got down to Baylor, the Bears declined.
“We have declined the opportunity to play in a Bowl, as we’ve already progressed deeply into the offseason timeline of preparation for the 2026 season,” Baylor said in a statement.
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The bowl still has not found an opponent for Georgia Southern, as Rutgers declined the invite it received after Baylor declined.
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