Pac-12 Bowl Projections: Experts Put USC in College Football Playoff

Most college football experts expect USC to be one of the four teams to participate in the College Football Playoff. At least that's the way they see it this week.

Nine of the 12 reputable bowl-projection sites we cited this week predicted that the Trojans will be one of the four teams that will play for the national championship. One site named Michigan as the fourth team in the CFP and one other had Clemson in that slot.

The most interesting prediction is that of Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News, who probably knows the Pac-12 better than anyone. He does not think USC will get to the CFP because he expects the Trojans to lose to Notre Dame this week. He then expects USC to win the Pac-12 championship game and play in the Rose Bowl against Penn State, because both Michigan and Ohio State will earn CFP berths.

USC must beat Notre Dame this weekend and also win the Pac-12 championship game against another quality opponent on Friday, December 2, to have a shot at an CFP invitation.

All but three of the 12 experts project Oregon to be the Pac-12’s representative in the Rose Bowl.

The Pac-12 bowl tie-ins, dates and sites are listed at the end of this story.

Here are the Pac-12 bowl projections of the 12 sites:

Sports Illustrated (Richard Johnson)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. TCU

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Ohio State

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Tulane vs. LSU

Alamo Bowl – UCLA vs. Oklahoma State

Holiday Bowl – Washington vs. North Carolina

Las Vegas Bowl – Washington State vs. Miami

Sun Bowl – Utah vs. Florida State

LA Bowl – Oregon State vs. Wyoming

San Jose Mercury-News (Jon Wilner)

(Pac-12 representatives only)

Rose Bowl: USC

Comment: Our latest projections call for the Trojans to lose to Notre Dame but win the conference championship. Their opponent in Pasadena isn’t Michigan or Ohio State — both make the playoff — but Penn State.

Alamo Bowl -- Oregon

Holiday Bowl -- Washington

Las Vegas Bowl -- Utah

Sun Bowl -- UCLA

LA Bowl -- Oregon State

ESPN Bowl -- Washington State

Comment: Based on our current projections, the Cougars will land in either the Gasparilla, First Responders or Armed Forces bowls. (ESPN arranges the pairings from a pool of candidates.)

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura)

Peach (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Team that helped itself the most: Bonagura: USC. It took a thrilling effort to escape the Rose Bowl with a win against rival UCLA and take a significant step forward in the CFP race. The Trojans' playoff odds improved more than any team in the country after that win was coupled with Tennessee's loss.

Rose Bowl – Washington vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Alabama vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Florida State

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Missouri

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Duke

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Boise State

Matchup I'd be most excited to see. Bonagura: Give me USC-Georgia in the Peach Bowl. It's been a long time since the Pac-12 has been relevant on the national stage, and while the Trojans would be a decisive underdog in that matchup, it would be a compelling storyline with USC on its way out of the conference.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Tennessee vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Notre Dame

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Mississippi State

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Louisville

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Boise State

CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Tennessee vs. Cincinnati

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Wake Forest

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Florida

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Louisville

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Boise State

College Football News

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Clemson

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Ohio State

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – TCU vs. Cincinnati

Alamo Bowl – Washington State vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Notre Dame

Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. South Carolina

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Duke

LA Bowl – Washington vs. Boise State

Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – TCU vs. Ohio State

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Cincinnati vs. Tennessee

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Florida State

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Mississippi State

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Louisville

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Boise State

USA Today (Erick Smith)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Clemson

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Smith: At this point, we'll stick with Clemson at No. 4, but acknowledge that USC has gained significant ground in its last true road game. However, that was one stop of a three-part journey. Let's see how the rest of it goes.

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Cincinnati

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Oklahoma State

Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Notre Dame

Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Arkansas

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. North Carolina State

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Fresno State

Action Network (Brett McMurphy)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Tennessee vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Florida State

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Mississippi State

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Wake Forest

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Boise State

The Sporting News (Bill Bender)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Tennessee vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – UCLA vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Washington vs. Pittsburgh

Las Vegas Bowl – Washington State vs. Missouri

Sun Bowl – Utah vs. Louisville

LA Bowl – Boise State vs. Houston

First Responder Bowl – Oregon State vs. Duke

247 Sports (Brad Crawford)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Crawford: Things are set up well for USC, who beat UCLA on Saturday and now have a chance to win out against nationally ranked Notre Dame and Oregon to potentially make the final four. We moved USC into the playoff last week given the opportunity ahead for Lincoln Riley's team, and Tennessee's loss to South Carolina propped the door wide open. Georgia will grab the No. 1 seed if the Bulldogs win out and take the SEC.

Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan

Cotton Bowl – Tennessee vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – UCLA vs. Oklahoma State

Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. North Carolina

Las Vegas Bowl – Washington State vs. Florida

Sun Bowl – Washington vs. Wake Forest

LA Bowl – Oregon State vs. Boise State

Liberty Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma

Pro Football Network (Oliver Hodgkinson)

Peach Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. TCU

Fiesta Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Michigan

Rose Bowl – USC vs. Penn State

Cotton Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. Tennessee

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl – Oregon vs. Florida State

Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Vanderbilt

Sun Bowl – UCLA vs. Duke

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Boise State

Gasparilla Bowl – Oregon State vs. Cincinnati

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. Holiday Bowl: Dec. 28, 5 p.m. Pacific time, San Diego, FOX/FS1 – Pac-12 vs. ACC

4. Las Vegas Bowl: Dec. 17, 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Las Vegas, ABC – Pac-12 vs. SEC

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 by more than one game in the conference standings. The Sun Bowl and LA Bowl do not have that option and must make their selections based on order of finish in the Pac-12 standings.

Cover photo of USC coach Lincoln Riley by Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports

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