Upsets by North Texas, others push bowl-eligible teams to 83
By NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer
North Texas needed to win its final five regular-season games to become bowl eligible. The Mean Green did it — and the last victory was the most noteworthy of the bunch. North Texas knocked No. 15 UTSA from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 45-23 blowout Saturday. The Mean Green improved their own record to 6-6, becoming one of 83 teams to reach bowl eligibility this season. With enough slots for 82 bowl teams, one eligible team will be left out. For a while, it looked like there might not be enough six-win teams to fill the spots, but upset victories by North Texas, Virginia Tech, Tulsa and LSU pushed the number higher.