Pac-12 Bowl Projections: USC, Utah, Oregon Picked for Rose Bowl
A scrum at the top of the Pac-12 standings involving USC, UCLA, Utah, UCLA and Oregon leaves experts guessing which team will represent the conference in the Rose Bowl.
We cited 10 reputable sites that posted bowl projections this week, and five of them picked USC as the Pac-12's Rose Bowl team, four selected Utah for that spot and one chose Oregon.
UCLA (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) was not chosen by any of the 10 sites to play its postseason game at its home stadium in Pasadena, but if the Bruins beat Utah on Saturday, they will no doubt jump up to that spot in some bowl projections.
Michigan is selected as the Rose Bowl opponent by eight of the nine college football experts who selected a Big Ten team for that berth, so there is consensus on that side of the Rose Bowl equation.
But the next three weeks will tell us a lot about the Pac-12 pecking order.
The UCLA-Utah game this week will provide an initial assumption about Rose Bowl contenders, and after a bye on Oct. 15 the Bruins face Oregon on Oct. 22. .
USC's Rose Bowl bid will depend on how it does against Washington State (4-1) this week and against Utah the following week. If USC (5-0, 3-0 Pac-12) wins both games, it will become the Rose Bowl front-runner and move back into the College Football Playoff discussion.
If Utah beats both UCLA and USC over the next two weeks, the Utes (4-1, 2-0) will be the Pac-12's Rose Bowl favorite and will remain in contention for a CFP berth.
Oregon (4-1, 2-0) won't prove much if it beats Arizona this weekend, but after a bye on Oct. 15, the Ducks face UCLA on Oct. 22, and that meeting may determine Oregon's Rose Bowl fate.
Six of the 10 experts have Cal in a bowl game, and one (USA Today) places the Golden Bears in the Birmingham Bowl, a game that typically pairs an SEC team with an American conference team if both have enough bowl-eligible teams.
The sites and dates of bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins are listed at the end of the story.
Here are the bowl projections of our nine experts:
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Rose Bowl – USC vs. Michigan
Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Kansas
Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon vs. Texas A&M
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. North Carolina State
Sun Bowl – Washington State vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – Washington vs. Air Force
First Responder Bowl – Cal vs. BYU
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Rose Bowl – USC vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – Oregon vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Baylor
Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Arkansas
Holiday Bowl – Washington State vs. Florida State
Sun Bowl – Washington vs. Pittsburgh
LA Bowl – Cal vs. Air Force
Independence Bowl – Oregon State vs. Iowa State
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Action Network (Brett McMurphy)
Rose Bowl – USC vs. Penn State
Cotton Bowl – Utah vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. TCU
Las Vegas Bowl – Washington vs. LSU
Holiday Bowl – Washington State vs. Wake Forest
Sun Bowl – UCLA vs. Syracuse
LA Bowl – Arizona vs. Air Force
Frisco Bowl – Oregon State vs. Houston
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Rose Bowl – Utah vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – Oregon vs. Coastal Carolina
Alamo Bowl – USC vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Washington vs. Mississippi State
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Florida State
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Duke
LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Fresno State
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Rose Bowl -- Utah v. Michigan
Cotton Bowl -- USC vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl -- UCLA vs. Kansas State
Las Vegas Bowl -- Washington vs. Florida
Holiday Bowl -- Oregon vs. Notre Dame
Sun Bowl -- Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
LA Bowl -- Washington State vs. Air Force
First Responder Bowl -- Washington State vs. Kansas
Birmingham Bowl -- Cal vs. Central Florida
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Rose Bowl – USC vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – Utah vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. Baylor
Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Mississippi State
Holiday Bowl – Washington vs. Syracuse
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Florida State
LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Fresno State
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The Sporting News (Bill Bender)
Rose Bowl – USC vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – Utah vs. Coastal Carolina
Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. TCU
Las Vegas Bowl – Washington vs. Texas A&M
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Syracuse
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Florida State
LA Bowl – Arizona vs. UNLV
First Responder Bowl – Washington State vs. Kansas State
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College Football News (via Yahoo)
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl – UCLA vs. Texas
Las Vegas Bowl – Washington vs. Mississippi State
Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Notre Dame
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
LA Bowl – Washington State vs. San Jose State
First Responder Bowl – Cal vs. Iowa State
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Rose Bowl – Utah vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl – UCLA vs. Kansas State
Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon vs. LSU
Holiday Bowl – Washington vs. North Carolina
Sun Bowl – Washington State vs. Pittsburgh
LA Bowl – Oregon State vs. Air Force
First Responder Bowl – Cal vs. TCU
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San Jose Mercury News (Jon Wilner)
(Pac-12 representative only)
Rose Bowl -- Utah
Alamo Bowl -- USC
Holiday Bowl -- Oregon
Las Vega Bowl -- UCLA
Sun Bowl -- Washington
LA Bowl -- Washington State
First Responder Bowl or Armed Forces Bowl or Gasparilla Bowl -- Cal
At-Large Bowl -- Oregon State
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Here are the bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins, listed in their pecking order:
College Football Playoff semifinals (if a Pac-12 team finishes among the top four teams in the final College Football Playoff rankings): Peach Bowl, Dec. 31, 1 p.m. Pacific time or 5 p.m. Pacific time, Atlanta Ga., ESPN, and Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31, 1 p.m. Pacific time or 5 p.m. Pacific time, Glendale, Ariz., ESPN.
1. Rose Bowl: Jan. 2, 2 p.m. Pacific time, Pasadena, Calif., ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big Ten.
1A. New Year's Six Bowls -- A Pac-12 team could qualify for one of the other three New Year's Six Bowls -- Orange Bowl on Dec. 30, Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2, Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31.
2. Alamo Bowl: Dec. 29, 6 p.m. Pacific time, San Antonio, Texas, ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big 12.
3. Las Vegas Bowl: Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Las Vegas, ABC – Pac-12 vs. SEC
4. Holiday Bowl: Dec. 28, 5 p.m. Pacific time, San Diego, FOX/FS1 – Pac-12 vs. ACC
5. Sun Bowl: Dec. 30, 11 a.m. Pacific time, El Paso, Texas, CBS – Pac-12 vs. Notre Dame/ACC
6. LA Bowl: Dec. 17, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, Inglewood, Calif., ABC – Pac-12 vs. Mountain West.
First Responder Bowl -- The Pac-12 might occupy a spot in this Dec. 27 bowl in University Park, Texas, against a team from the ACC, American Athletic or Big 12.
Gasparilla Bowl -- The Pac-12 might fill an opening in this Dec. 23 bowl in Tampa, Fla., against a team from the Big 12, ACC or SEC.
Armed Forces Bowl -- The Pac-12 could get a berth in this Dec. 22 bowl in Fort Worth Texas.
NOTE: The Rose Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl and Las Vegas Bowl have the option of passing over one team in the Pac-12 standings for another team if those teams are not separated more than one game in the conference standings. The Sun Bowl and LA Bowl have no such option and must make their selection based on order of finish in the conference standings.
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Cover photo of Utah's Jaylen Dixon is by Rob Gray, USA TODAY Sports
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