NCAA approves Georgia Tech to make bowl with losing mark

Despite new NCAA bowl guidelines, Georgia Tech will be able to play in a bowl game even if it finishes with a losing record this weekend.

Georgia Tech (6-6) plays in the ACC Championship Game against Florida State on Saturday. However, on Thursday the NCAA approved Georgia Tech's waiver under new rules that let a school go to a bowl game if it enters a conference title game with a .500 record.

ESPN reported that several conferences were against Georgia Tech receiving a waiver because it would take a bowl berth from a non-automatic qualifying school that had a .500 or better record.

The ACC has eight bowl berths, but only six teams are bowl-eligible, including Georgia Tech.

A Georgia Tech loss would mark the second consecutive year a team with a 6-7 record receive a bowl berth. UCLA qualified with that mark last year, prompting the NCAA to modify to the bowl rules.

There could be as many as 73 bowl-eligible teams after this weekend with 70 bowl spots available.