When the bowl projections usually land in the preseason, nobody truly has a clue. Usually they peg the MAC for three bowls — and I'm always inclined to agree with them, because there's usually not more than three bowl-worthy teams. But with the proliferation of postseason dead-end games, coupled with a lack of actual teams to play them, those 6-6ers usually picked last in kickball are given a 13th game. And the bowl committee will hype up the matchup, talking about two great teams and lauding the competition, the national exposure and what's at stake. I guess.
But it's more football, and these 6-6 teams wouldn't otherwise be doing much else other than sulking.
For those who have poured out their bowl projections so far, here's where "they" think the MAC teams are going in December/January (note that ESPN has two bowl pickers, hence the two possibilities):
Northern Illinois Huskies (bowl eligible)
SBN: GoDaddy.com Bowl vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
CBS: GoDaddy.com Bowl vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
SI: GoDaddy.com Bowl vs. Arkansas State
ESPN: Little Caesars Bowl vs. Illinois or Purdue
Ohio Bobcats (bowl eligible)
SBN: Little Caesars Bowl vs. Purdue
CBS: Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Louisiana Tech
SI: Little Caesars Bowl vs. Purdue
ESPN: Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Louisiana Tech or Purdue
Temple Owls (bowl eligible)
SBN: Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Florida International
CBS: New Mexico Bowl vs. Air Force
SI: New Mexico Bowl vs. San Diego State
ESPN: New Mexico Bowl vs. San Diego State (or none)
Toledo Rockets (bowl eligible)
SBN: None
CBS: Little Caesars Bowl vs. Penn State
SI: Idaho Potato Bowl vs. Louisiana Tech
ESPN: GoDaddy.com Bowl vs. Western Kentucky or Louisiana-Lafayette
Ball St. Cardinals (bowl eligible)
SBN: None
CBS: None
SI: None
ESPN: Compass Bowl vs. Louisville or New Mexico Bowl vs. San Diego State
Eastern Michigan Eagles (need one more win to become bowl eligible)
SBN: None
CBS: None
SI: None
ESPN: New Orleans Bowl vs. Arkansas State (or none)
Can become bowl eligible: WMU (5-5), BGSU (4-6), Kent State (4-6), Miami (4-6)
Ineligible for bowl play: Akron, CMU, Buffalo