Pac-12 Bowl Projections: Colorado Rises to Postseason Contention

Two of our eight experts have Cal in a bowl game. Three put a Pac-12 team in the College Football Playoff

It's still too early to make definitive conclusions about bowl-game participants, but it's obvious that a lot of Pac-12 schools are in contention for postseason berths.

Ten of the 12 schools are placed in a bowl by at least two of the eight experts we cite, with Stanford and Arizona State being the only conference schools left out. 

All eight sites predict that Colorado will be in a bowl, and two experts put Cal in a bowl game -- ESPN's Kyle Bonagura puts the Golden Bears in the Sun Bowl, and ESPN's Mark Schlabach places Cal in the Independence Bowl.

Three of the experts have a Pac-12 team in the College Football Playoff. Mark Schlabach of ESPN predicts USC will be in one national semifinal game (the Rose Bowl), while Brett McMurphy of Action Network and Oliver Hodgkinson of College Football Network predict that Washington will be in a national semifinal game.

Here are the eight projections:

ESPN (Kyle Bonagura)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Florida State vs. Alabama

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

Fiesta Bowl – Utah vs. Penn State

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Kansas State

Alamo Bowl – Washington vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson

Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon vs. Illinois

Sun Bowl – Cal vs. Pittsburgh

LA Bowl – Colorado vs. Fresno State

Independence Bowl – UCLA vs. BYU

First Responder Bowl – Washington State vs. TCU

.

ESPN (Mark Schlabach)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – USC vs. Michigan

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State

Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson

Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon vs. Iowa

Sun Bowl – Colorado vs. Louisville

LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Boise State

Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Iowa State

First Responder Bowl – Washington State vs. Oklahoma State

.

CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Florida State

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Alabama

Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Tulane

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Texas

Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. Kansas State

Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Louisville

Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Iowa

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Syracuse

LA Bowl – Colorado vs. Fresno State

Independence Bowl – Washington State vs. Baylor

.

247 Sports (Brad Crawford)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Texas

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Alabama vs. Michigan

Fiesta Bowl – Oregon vs. Notre Dame

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Penn State

Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Kansas State

Holiday Bowl – Washington vs. North Carolina State

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Nebraska

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Miami-Fla.

LA Bowl – Arizona vs. San Diego State

Independence Bowl – Washington State vs. UCF

First Responder Bowl – Colorado vs. Illinois

.

Action Network (Brett McMurphy)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Florida State

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Washington vs. Georgia

Fiesta Bowl – USC vs. Alabama

Cotton Bowl – Oregon vs. Texas

Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh

Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Iowa

Sun Bowl – Colorado vs. Duke

LA Bowl – Arizona vs. Fresno State

Independence Bowl – Washington State vs. Iowa State

.

College Football News

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Florida State

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Ohio State vs. Georgia

Peach Bowl – USC vs. Alabama

Orange Bowl – Oregon vs. Tulane

Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl – Washington vs. North Carolina State

Las Vegas Bowl – Washington State vs. Minnesota

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Duke

LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Boise State

Independence Bowl – Arizona vs. Kansas

First Responder Bowl – Colorado vs. Virginia Tech

.

Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Alabama

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State

Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Tulane

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Texas

Alamo Bowl – Oregon vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Duke

Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Iowa

Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. Louisville

LA Bowl – Colorado vs. Boise State

Independence Bowl – Washington State vs. UCF

.

College Football Network (Oliver Hodgkinson)

Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Washington vs. Georgia

Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Florida State

Fiesta Bowl – USC vs. Alabama

Alamo Bowl – Utah vs. Oklahoma

Holiday Bowl – Oregon vs. North Carolina

Las Vegas Bowl – Colorado vs. Maryland

Sun Bowl – UCLA vs. Duke

LA Bowl – Washington State vs. Fresno State

Independence Bowl – Arizona vs. Texas Tech

..

Pac-12 bowl affiliations:

Football Playoff Semifinal (January 1): If Selected

Fiesta, Orange, Cotton or Peach: If Selected

Alamo Bowl (December 28): vs. Big 12

Holiday Bowl (December 27): vs. ACC

Las Vegas Bowl (December 23): vs. SEC

Sun Bowl (December 29): vs. ACC

LA Bowl (December 16): vs. Mountain West

Independence Bowl (December 16): vs. Big 12

A Pac-12 team could also be selected for one of three ESPN-operated bowl games: Armed Forces Bowl, First Responder Bow and Gasparilla Bowl

Cover photo of Deion Sanders by Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports

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