Bowl projections: All eight projectors have Jacksonville State in a bowl, and the ceiling keeps rising

You're going bowling again, Gamecock Nation — and the postseason might not stop there.

Diehard Sports Network projects Jacksonville State to play Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 23 in New Orleans. All eight projectors have the Gamecocks in a bowl game for the third consecutive week. Five of eight project the New Orleans Bowl: Diehard, CBS Sports' Brad Crawford, SI.com's Bryan Fischer, ESPN's Kyle Bonagura and ESPN's Mark Schlabach. Jacksonville State is 6-2 overall, 4-0 in CUSA and already bowl-eligible with four games remaining. The Gamecocks are four for four in making bowl games since moving to FBS.

The question now is not whether Jacksonville State reaches a bowl. The question is how high the ceiling goes. The Gamecocks share the CUSA lead with Liberty (7-1, 4-0), and the two teams do not play each other in the regular season — meaning the path is there to potentially face Liberty, or even host the Flames, in the Conference USA Championship game.

Where the bowl projections have Jacksonville State

Projector | Bowl | Date | TV | Matchup

Brett McMurphy (On3) | Frisco Classic | Dec. 15 | ESPN | Jax State vs. South Alabama

Brad Crawford (CBS Sports) | New Orleans | Dec. 23 | ESPN | Jax State vs. App State

Bryan Fischer (SI.com) | New Orleans | Dec. 23 | ESPN | Jax State vs. Louisiana Tech

Steven Lassan (Athlon Sports) | Cure | Dec. 22 | ESPN | Jax State vs. Western Michigan

Kyle Bonagura (ESPN) | New Orleans | Dec. 23 | ESPN | Jax State vs. App State

Mark Schlabach (ESPN) | New Orleans | Dec. 23 | ESPN | Jax State vs. James Madison

Pete Fiutak (CFN) | Myrtle Beach | Dec. 21 | ESPN | Jax State vs. Louisiana

Tim Stephens (Diehard) | New Orleans | Dec. 23 | ESPN | Jax State vs. Louisiana Tech

The New Orleans Bowl carries a CUSA vs. Sun Belt tie-in, and five of eight projectors have Jacksonville State as the CUSA representative. The variation is on the Sun Belt side — CBS Sports' Brad Crawford and ESPN's Kyle Bonagura have App State, ESPN's Mark Schlabach has James Madison, and both SI.com's Bryan Fischer and Diehard have Louisiana Tech. On3's Brett McMurphy is the outlier on the bowl itself, projecting the Frisco Classic on Dec. 15 against South Alabama. Athlon Sports' Steven Lassan has the Cure Bowl in Orlando against Western Michigan. College Football News' Pete Fiutak has the Myrtle Beach Bowl against Louisiana.

Where they stand

Jacksonville State is 4-0 in CUSA, tied with Liberty (4-0) atop the conference standings. The two programs have separated themselves from the field — the next-closest teams are Delaware, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Western Kentucky and Missouri State, all at 2-2. The Gamecocks have won five straight and are on a collision course with Liberty for the conference title.

Remaining schedule

Jacksonville State is already bowl-eligible. The remaining schedule is about conference positioning and the CUSA Championship.

• Nov. 7 — Sam Houston (1-7, 0-4 CUSA)
• Nov. 14 — at WKU (3-5, 2-2 CUSA)
• Nov. 21 — Missouri State (3-5, 2-2 CUSA)
• Nov. 28 — at Delaware (4-4, 2-2 CUSA)

Sam Houston at home is the most favorable matchup — the Bearkats are 1-7 and 0-4 in league play. The final three opponents are all .500 or below but all are fighting for bowl eligibility: WKU (3-5) on the road Nov. 14, Missouri State (3-5) at home Nov. 21 and Delaware (4-4) on the road to close the regular season Nov. 28.