Pac-12 Bowl Projections: Not Everyone Thinks Oregon Is a Rose Bowl Team
Oregon's loss to Stanford two weeks ago knocked the Ducks out of the College Football Playoff, according to all the experts we cited a week ago, and this week, one expert did not even have the Ducks in the Rose Bowl.
Seven of the eight respected experts who made bowl projections this week still had Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but USA Today's Erick Smith put Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, pushing Oregon to the Alamo Bowl.
That was not the only intriguing bowl prediction this week. While most of the sites had seven or eight Pac-12 teams making bowls, CBS Sports' Jerry Palm projected that only five Pac-12 teams will be in the postseason. He did not put Utah in any bowl, a stark contrast to two other experts who put the Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl, which is the Pac-12's No. 3 bowl. Utah's game on Saturday against Arizona State will tell us a lot about the Utes.
One final note: College Football News put two Pac-12 teams in New Year's Six bowls -- Arizona State in the Fiesta Bowl and Oregon in the Rose Bowl. That seems like a long shot, but anything is still possible.
Cal, Arizona and Colorado are the only three Pac-12 teams that were not projected to reach a bowl by any of the eight sites.
As far as the College Football Playoff contenders, Alabama's loss to Texas Tech shook things up a bit. Georgia is the only team that all the experts put in the final four, and ESPN offers its CFP Predictor, which provides the chances of 15 teams to reach the CFP.
Georgia is an overwhelming favorite to reach the College Football Playoff with a 91 percent chance to get to the national semifinals. Oregon is the only Pac-12 team with a greater than 3 percent chance to get there, and the Ducks barely made he list at 4 percent.
Here are the Pac-12 bowl projections of the eight sites we cited:
Rose Bowl (vs. Big Ten) -- Oregon
Alamo Bowl (vs. Big 12) -- Arizona State
Las Vegas Bowl (vs. Big Ten) -- Utah
Holiday Bowl (vs. ACC) – Oregon State
Sun Bowl (vs. ACC) – UCLA
LA Bowl (vs. Mountain West) – Stanford .
ESPN Bowl (Gasparilla, Armed Forces or First Responder) – USC
At-Large Bowl -- Washington
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Action Network (Brett McMurphy)
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Michigan
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Iowa State
Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon State vs. Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Pittsburgh
Sun Bowl – Utah vs. Boston College
LA Bowl – Stanford vs. San Diego State
First Responder Bowl – USC vs. Texas Tech
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Penn State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Indiana
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. North Carolina State
Sun Bowl – Stanford vs. Virginia
LA Bowl – Fresno State vs. Central Michigan
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Iowa
Fiesta Bowl – Arizona State vs. Cincinnati
Alamo Bowl – UCLA vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Michigan State
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Virginia Tech
Sun Bowl – Stanford vs. Virginia
LA Bowl – USC vs. Nevada
Gasparilla Bowl – Washington vs. Miami-Fla.
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Rose Bowl – Arizona State vs. Iowa
Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – USC vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Virginia Tech
Sun Bowl – Washington State vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Nevada
First Responder Bowl – Oregon State vs. Kansas State
Armed Forces Bowl – Stanford vs. Army
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Nebraska
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. North Carolina
Sun Bowl – Utah vs. Pittsburgh
LA Bowl – USC vs. Fresno State
First Responder Bowl – Stanford vs. Texas Tech
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Iowa
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Baylor
Las Vegas Bowl – Stanford vs. Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl – USC vs. Louisville
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Miami-Fla.
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. San Diego State
Gasparilla Bowl – Washington State vs. UAB
Military Bowl – Utah vs. North Carolina
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Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller)
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Texas
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Pittsburgh
Sun Bowl – Stanford vs. Virginia Tech
LA Bowl – USC vs. San Diego State
Gasparilla Bowl – Oregon State vs. Liberty
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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): Cotton Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time or 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium), ESPN, and Orange Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time or 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Hard Rock Stadium), ESPN.
1. Rose Bowl: Jan. 1, 2 p.m. Pacific time, Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl Stadium), ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big Ten.
2. Alamo Bowl: Dec. 29, 6:15 p.m. Pacific time, San Antonio (Alamodome), ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big 12.
3. Las Vegas Bowl: Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. Pacific time, Las Vegas (Allegiant Stadium), ESPN – Pac-12 s. Big Ten
4. Holiday Bowl: Dec. 28, 5:30 p.m. Pacific time, San Diego (Petco Park), FOX/FS1 – Pac-12 vs. ACC
5. Sun Bowl: Dec. 31, 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl Stadium), CBS – Pac-12 vs. ACC
6. LA Bowl: Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi Stadium), ABC – Pac-12 vs. Mountain West.
First Responder Bowl -- The Pac-12 might occupy a spot in this bowl against a team from the ACC, American Athletic or Big 12.
Gasparilla Bowl -- The Pac-12 might fill an opening in this bowl against a team from the Big 12, ACC or SEC.
Armed Forces Bowl -- The Pac-12 could get a berth in this bowl
The Redbox Bowl (also known as the San Francisco Bowl) would have been No. 7 in the pecking order of Pac-12 bowls and was to match a Pac-12 team against a Big Ten team, but it has been canceled for the second straight year.
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Cover photo of Utah running back Tavion Thomas is by Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports
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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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