There are no bowl eligibility requirements this year. So, a .500 record is not a necessity. Penn State could go 0-8 and still get a bowl invite. However, when teams are selected for bowls, having the best record possible can only help to: a) secure a bowl invite; b) play in the best possible game. Also, COVID will play a role. Not sure what a Bowl will do if 7 days before the game, a team has to shutdown. Do they invite another team on short notice? Do they scrap the game even though the opponent is ready to go? Will be interesting to see how it plays out. Logically, if COVID numbers continue to spike, it might make the most sense to just play the BCS semis and finals, scrapping the other bowls, but ESPN makes (and pays) a ton of cash for bowl programming when everyone is hanging out at home during the holidays, and even more people will be stuck at home this year.