Pac-12 Bowl Projections: Will Washington Get Shut Out?
None of the eight college football experts we cited have a Pac-12 team in the College Football Playoff, but they all agree Oregon is headed to the Rose Bowl after dropping down from its national semifinal spot of a week ago.
The rest is a jumble. Most predict that Arizona State will be in the Pac-12’s No. 2 bowl, the Alamo Bowl, but USC and Oregon State were pegged as Alamo participants by one site each.
Only three of the eight experts project Washington to land a postseason berth, and they provide three unlikely destinations for the Huskies – the Independence Bowl, the Gasparilla Bowl and an unspecified at-large bowl. With the exception of last season, when the Huskies opted not to play in a bowl game despite being eligible, Washington has been to bowls 10 consecutive years. The Huskies are 2-3 this season, and with games against UCLA, Stanford, Arizona State and Oregon remaining, they will have trouble winning four of their final seven games to become bowl-eligible.
All eight experts project Oregon, USC, Arizona State, Oregon State, Stanford and UCLA to land in some bowl, although the specific bowl varies. All but one predict that Utah will go bowling, although they have a variety of suggested bowl berths for the Utes -- First Responder or Armed Forces or Military or Holiday or no bowl at all. Oregon State's bowl destination is all over the map too.
Cal, Colorado, Arizona and Washington State are left out of the postseason by all eight sites, and we are still wondering what will happen with Washington State coach Nick Rolovich and the vaccine mandate.
All eight sites have Alabama and Georgia in the College Football Playoff, but the other two national semifinal spots are a mix of Iowa, Oklahoma, Penn State and Cincinnati.
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San Jose Mercury News (Jon Wilner)
Rose Bowl (vs. Big Ten) – Oregon
Alamo Bowl (vs. Big 12) -- Arizona State
Las Vegas Bowl (vs. Big Ten) -- Oregon State
Holiday Bowl (vs. ACC) – UCLA
Sun Bowl (vs. ACC) -- Stanford
LA Bowl (vs. Mountain West) – USC
ESPN Bowl (Gasparilla, Armed Forces, First Responder) -- Utah
At-large bowl – Washington
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Penn State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Nebraska
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. North Carolina State
Sun Bowl – Stanford vs. Pittsburgh
LA Bowl – USC vs. Fresno State
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Action Network (Brett McMurphy)
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Iowa
Alamo Bowl – Oregon State vs. Iowa State
Las Vegas Bowl – Arizona State vs. Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl – Stanford vs. Wake Forest
Sun Bowl – USC vs. Virginia Tech
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. San Diego State
First Responder Bowl – Utah vs. TCU
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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. Virginia Tech
Sun Bowl – Stanford vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – USC vs. Fresno State
First Responder Bowl – Utah vs. Texas Tech
Independence Bowl – Washington vs. Louisiana Tech
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The Sporting News (Bill Bender)
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Iowa
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Baylor
Las Vegas Bowl – Stanford vs. Minnesota
Holiday Bowl – USC vs. Miami (Fla.)
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. San Diego State
Military Bowl – Utah vs. Louisville
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Penn State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – Stanford vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Virginia Tech
Sun Bowl – UCLA vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – USC vs. Nevada
First Responder Bowl – Oregon State vs. Baylor
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 – USC vs. Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Nebraska
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Virginia Tech
LA Bowl – Stanford vs. Fresno State
First Responder Bowl – Utah vs. San Jose State
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Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Iowa
Alamo Bowl – USC vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon State vs. Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl – Arizona State vs. Virginia Tech
Sun Bowl – Stanford vs. Virginia
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Nevada
Armed Forces Bowl – Utah vs. Army
Gasparilla Bowl – Washington vs. Miami
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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 Washington's Kamari Pleasant is by Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports
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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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