{"id":86247,"date":"2023-10-03T21:05:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T21:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritytidings.com\/?p=86247"},"modified":"2023-10-03T21:05:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T21:05:53","slug":"pac-12-bowl-projections-oregon-to-cfp-washington-to-the-fiesta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritytidings.com\/sport\/pac-12-bowl-projections-oregon-to-cfp-washington-to-the-fiesta\/","title":{"rendered":"Pac-12 bowl projections: Oregon to CFP, Washington to the Fiesta"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few helpful reminders on the postseason selection process before we plunge into the latest Pac-12 bowl forecast:<\/p>\n

— The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host the College Football Playoff semifinals, leaving the Pac-12 champion to participate in the Fiesta, Peach or Cotton bowls\u00a0unless it qualifies for the CFP.<\/p>\n

— The Pac-12 is contractually tied to seven games: the New Year\u2019s Six, Alamo, Las Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA and Independence bowls.<\/p>\n

— The Alamo, Las Vegas and Holiday bowls can jump one team in favor of another as long as there is no more than a one-game difference in conference record. The second-tier bowls (Sun, LA and Independence) must select teams in order of conference record.<\/p>\n

The bowl projections will be published in this space each Tuesday.<\/p>\n

College Football Playoff\/Sugar Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team:<\/strong> Oregon (5-0)
\nHome games remaining (four):<\/strong> WSU, Cal, USC, OSU
\nRoad games remaining (three):<\/strong> Washington, Utah, ASU
\nComment:<\/strong> The Ducks will face six ranked opponents in the second half — five on the schedule, plus the opponent in the conference championship \u2014 and cannot lose more than once. So if it comes to fruition, Oregon\u2019s first playoff berth in nine years will have been exceedingly well earned. Could the conference send a second team to the CFP? Doubtful, but we\u2019ll address that topic if circumstances dictate.<\/p>\n

New Year\u2019s Six\/Fiesta Bowl<\/strong><\/p>\n

Team:<\/strong> Washington (5-0)
\nHome games (four):<\/strong> Oregon, ASU, Utah, WSU
\nRoad games (three):<\/strong> Stanford, USC, OSU
\nComment:<\/strong> UW\u2019s schedule is comparable to Oregon\u2019s gauntlet with the in-state rivalry game at home and the presence of both USC and Utah. (If the Ducks survive in Seattle on Oct. 14, the balance tilts heavily in their favor.) A key for both: Utah\u2019s status. If quarterback Cam Rising returns, the degree of difficulty increases substantially — especially for Oregon, since the Ducks visit Salt Lake City. But no team has a tougher November than the Huskies, who face USC, Utah, OSU and WSU in succession.<\/p>\n

Alamo Bowl<\/h3>\n

Team:<\/strong> USC (5-0)
\nHome games (four):<\/strong> Arizona, Utah, Washington, UCLA
\nRoad games (three):<\/strong> Notre Dame, Cal, Oregon
\nComment:<\/strong> Arizona\u2019s visit this week marks the last time USC can win with less than its best effort. (Trust us: The final scheduled trip to Berkeley will be challenging.) The conference office purposely gave the Trojans a home game before they head to South Bend and extended them the same comfort level following the trip. USC couldn\u2019t have asked for more given the wrench the Notre Dame series tosses into the master schedule.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas Bowl<\/h3>\n

Team:<\/strong> Washington State (4-0)
\nHome games (three):<\/strong> Arizona, Stanford, Colorado
\nRoad games (five):<\/strong> UCLA, Oregon, ASU, Cal, Washington
\nComment:<\/strong> The road-heavy nature of the remaining schedule (in particular, the trips to both Seattle and Eugene) is the primary issue for a team that has played as well as anyone in the conference and owns two victories over ranked opponents (Wisconsin and Oregon State). If we assume a sweep of the home games — the Colorado affair is on a Friday, a huge advantage for the Cougars \u2014 then WSU should win at least eight for the first time since 2018.<\/p>\n

Holiday Bowl<\/h3>\n

Team:<\/strong> Oregon State (4-1)
\nHome games (three):<\/strong> UCLA, Stanford, Washington
\nRoad games (four):<\/strong> Cal, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon
\nComment:<\/strong> All options remain viable for the Beavers, but with one loss on the ledger, they have slightly less margin for error than the teams listed above. That said, they have played Utah and WSU and don\u2019t face USC, so their stretch-run schedule is the most manageable of the contenders. Unless the Las Vegas Bowl has no choice, it will likely pass on OSU to avoid a back-to-back participant.<\/p>\n

Sun Bowl<\/h3>\n

Team:<\/strong> Utah (4-1)
\nHome games (four):<\/strong> Cal, Oregon, ASU, Colorado
\nRoad games (three):<\/strong> USC, Washington, Arizona
\nComment:<\/strong> The Utes haven\u2019t shown enough offense to be considered a candidate for the CFP or New Year\u2019s Six. That could change if Cam Rising returns with little to zero rust. But the schedule features three trap games: Cal prior to USC; Arizona State between Oregon and Washington; and Arizona between Washington and Colorado. Bowl officials could worry that Utah fans will view anything below the New Year\u2019s Six as a letdown after back-to-back Rose Bowls.<\/p>\n

LA Bowl<\/h3>\n

Team:<\/strong> Colorado (3-2)
\nHome games (three):<\/strong> Stanford, OSU, Arizona
\nRoad games (four):<\/strong> ASU, UCLA, WSU, Utah
\nComment:<\/strong> Two things, equally true: Any bowl that can get the Buffaloes (based on the selection process) will grab them without hesitation; CU will take every opponent\u2019s best shot but doesn\u2019t have the roster, especially on the lines of scrimmage, to properly deal with being a weekly target. Combine those factors and we foresee a team with at least five conference losses, putting CU out of range for the top-shelf bowls.<\/p>\n

At-large bowl<\/h3>\n

Team:<\/strong> UCLA (3-1)
\nHome games (four):<\/strong> WSU, Colorado, ASU, Cal
\nRoad games (four):<\/strong> OSU, Stanford, Arizona, USC
\nComment:<\/strong> With three cupcake opponents and a bye thus far, the Bruins have provided little evidence from which to project a likely postseason trajectory. (On more than one occasion, we have forgotten they exist.) However, they will benefit from a schedule based on the old division format, which offers dates with both Arizona schools but allows UCLA to miss Oregon and Washington.<\/p>\n

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