The Georgia Southern Eagles are 9-2 and 6-0 in the Sun Belt and are most likely not going to a bowl game after the season. One student is trying to change that.

Jeremy Mack is a political science major at Georgia Southern and he has begun a petition to the NCAA for the Eagles to receive a waiver to participate in postseason play.

“I think it’s worth mentioning that point number two in that petition is actually for the NCAA to consider revising the rule in general,” Mack said in an interview with Frank Sulkowski of WJCL. “I think it’s a poorly written rule as it stands right now.”

The rule in question puts schools in the second year of the two-year FBS transition low on the totem pole for bowl eligibility. Georgia Southern would only be eligible for a bowl bid if:

1.There are not enough “deserving” teams for bowl games (teams with a 6-6 or better record with no more than one win against an FCS team).

2. The next on the list are teams with a 6-6 or better record with two wins against FCS teams.

3. Following that are teams with a 6-7 record whose seventh loss came in a conference championship game.

4. Then we have teams with a 6-7 record who had 13 scheduled games.

5. Here we are – teams in the final year of the two-year transition to the FBS, with a record of 6-6 or better.

6. Last but not least, we have any team with a top-five APR (Academic Progress Rate) and a 5-7 record.

As you can see, Georgia Southern is pretty low on the pecking order. There are 38 bowl games scheduled for this season. Multiply that by two and you have 76 institutions that will participate in postseason play.

With a 7-2 record heading into the game against Texas State, the Eagles certainly have played the part of a bowl team, but will need a little help to reach bowl season – whether it comes from this petition (which has over 3,900 signatures) or a few losses from other teams.