BYU Football: Current Bowl Projections after 8-0 Start
Nobody knows exactly what the bowl season will look like in 2020, but that hasn't stopped national analysts from projecting bowl matchups. After an 8-0 start and a #8 ranking in the AP poll, BYU has caught the attention of national analysts. Here are BYU's current bowl projections from national sites:
Kyle Bonagura
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Opponent: Oregon
ESPN's Kyle Bonagura likes BYU's chances to make a NY6 bowl game. I would love to see this BYU offense go up against a very talented but inexperienced Oregon defense.
Mark Schlabach
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Opponent: Oregon
What's better than a Fiesta bowl projection against Oregon? Two Fiesta bowl projections against Oregon.
Bowl: Armed Forces
Opponent: SMU
A 'Miracle Bowl' rematch would be fun, but this matchup would be disappointing if BYU goes undefeated in 2020. Relative to other projections, this would not be ideal. Palm explained why he didn't put BYU in a NY6 game:
"What to make of BYU or Liberty? Those two teams picked up their best wins of the season so far this past weekend. The Cougars went to Boise State and demolished the Broncos on the Smurf Turf, 51-17. Liberty got a last-second field goal to win at Virginia Tech, 38-35.
The problem for each team when it comes to landing a New Year's Six game is that, as independents, neither BYU nor Liberty can count on automatic entry. They have to end up ranked among the top six potential at-large teams. However, I do not see where either team will be perceived to have played a strong enough schedule to merit consideration for one of those games."
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Opponent: USC
BYU beat a ranked USC team in overtime last season. A rematch in a NY6 bowl would be about as good as it gets for BYU fans.
Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Opponent: USC
247 included the following commentary:
"Even if BYU finishes unbeaten, the path to the Playoff narrowed this weekend despite the blowout victory over Boise State. Why? Clemson's loss to Notre Dame was devastating. The Cougars needed the Irish to lose to the Tigers and lose once more before the ACC final to fall out of Top 10. Kirk Herbstreit is one of BYU's loudest supporters and points to margin of victory. But peeking at the schedule, it's simply not good enough to get to the final four."
Bowl: Orange Bowl
Opponent: Miami
I have a hunch that there would be a lot of scoring in this game. The bowl and the opponent would be fun, but BYU has never won a college football game in the state of Florida.
Bleacher Report also included the following regarding BYU and Cincinnati's path to the College Football Playoff:
"BYU and Cincinnati both need to win out, have Clemson lose a second time to Notre Dame and Alabama beat Florida to create a path to the No. 4 seed.The pair of Group of Five teams looked dominant again in Week 10 and could remain undefeated. If the results fall in their favor, one of them could be the No. 4 seed. But for now, they are on the outside looking in."