CBS Sports Week 1 Bowl Projection Places Mississippi State in Las Vegas Bowl
The college football season may have just started, but experts are already working to predict where potential bowl-eligible teams will play in the postseason.
CBS Sports Bowl Expert Jerry Palm has predicted that Mississippi State will face Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl for a big showdown between the Pac-12 and the SEC. The Bulldogs looked sharp in last weekend's 49-23 victory over the Memphis Tigers, leading many to believe that they will pick up at least six wins on the year and reach the postseason, but it's not a guarantee. If MSU reaches a bowl game, this particular bowl will be quite different for the Bulldogs for a few reasons.
MSU has never attended the Las Vegas Bowl in its 25 seasons with bowl eligibility. In fact, the team has never traveled farther west than Texas in the postseason. The game is also one of the earliest bowls to occur, with kickoff already set for 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17. The earliest date that the Bulldogs have ever played a bowl game on was Dec. 20, 1963. In most cases, State has played in the postseason within a week of New Year's Day.
Plenty of things are expected to change by the time that bowl season arrives. Mississippi State could easily be better or worse than expected, and it's most likely that the Las Vegas Bowl will not remain where the Bulldogs are projected to land in the postseason as the year goes on.
Here are the rest of the SEC's very early bowl projections after the first weekend of college football action.
Peach Bowl, CFP Semifinal
Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl, CFP Semifinal
Ohio State vs. Georgia
Sugar Bowl
Texas A&M vs. Baylor
Citrus Bowl
Penn State vs. Tennessee
ReliaQuest Bowl
Wisconsin vs. Florida
Music City Bowl
Michigan State vs. Kentucky
Gator Bowl
Miami vs. Arkansas
Texas Bowl
Iowa State vs. Ole Miss
Liberty Bowl
Kansas State vs. South Carolina
