Will both FIU and FAU finish 2025 with bowl eligibility?

Will both Florida International and Florida Atlantic finish the 2025 season bowl eligible? The final two weeks of the season will answer this regionally profound question.

FBS teams need to win six games (.500 on the season) to be eligible to participate in a bowl game. Both FIU and FAU have spent two decades at the nation’s highest level and have each played in five bowl games, with the Owls (4-1) having seen more postseason success than the Panthers (2-3).

This season, the Panthers (5-5) are ahead of the Owls (4-6) in the race for bowl No. 6. By defeating Liberty in overtime last week, FIU enters its final home game of 2025 with a 5-5 record entering a crucial matchup with Jacksonville State, which leads the C-USA standings with a perfect 6-0 conference record. If the Panthers lose that game, they will finish the season on the road against Sam Houston State, which is currently riding a two-game winning streak after starting the season 0-8.

It seems as though a win in either of the next two games is in the cards for FIU, which CBS Sports projects to take on Southern Miss in the 68 Ventures Bowl. The Panthers reinvented their offense with the appointment of quarterback Joe Pesansky. The fifth-year senior has started the past two games and led FIU to two straight wins. He scored five touchdowns against Middle Tennessee and scored two touchdowns with 206 yards passing against Liberty.

Despite their six-game winning streak, the Gamecocks play every game close has been close for the Gamecocks and they are led by a powerful rushing attack which averages 260.2 rushing yards per game, the fifth highest in the nation. Junior running back Cam Cook’s 1,313 yards is behind only Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy for the FBS lead.

If nothing else, the Panthers are expected to make it an entertaining game.

As for the Owls, these next two games are do-or-die. At 4-6, FAU can’t afford to lose either of the next two games if it wants to remain in play for bowl eligibility. The Owls (3-1 at home) are at their best when playing on their turf but will face a UConn team looking for its second straight 9-win season and East Carolina, which is currently contending for a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game.

The Owls’ defense will face a tough task against the Huskies and their quarterback Joe Fagnano, who in his sixth season in college, has thrown 25 touchdown passes against one interception. The independent Huskies sport a top-20 offense in the FBS, averaging 36 points per game.

The Owls have a formidable offense of their own. With the addition of the transfer duo from Western Kentucky, quarterback Caden Veltkamp (2,971 yards, 22 TD, 14 INT) and receiver Easton Messer (847 yards, 5 TD), FAU averages 329 passing yards per game, which leads the FBS.

If the Owls’ passing prevails and they upset UConn, their season finale against ECU will be set up as the biggest game of 2025. Win or stay home.