Regarded authorities in the field of college football are almost unanimous in their belief that the winner of the Pac-12 championship game that will take place on Friday between Washington and Oregon will be awarded a berth in the College Football Playoff, which is comprised of four teams.
Out of the ten websites that we consulted, five of them forecast that Oregon will be participating in the College Football Playoff, and four of them forecast that Washington will be participating in a national semifinal game, either the Rose Bowl or the Sugar Bowl. A single website, College Football News, was the only one to forecast that neither of the Pac-12 teams would make it to the College Football Playoff.
After defeating UCLA by a score of 33-7, the California Bears (6-6) were eligible for bowl games. Seven of the ten experts feel that the Bears will play in the Independence Bowl on December 16 in Shreveport, Louisiana, and five of those seven experts believe that Texas Tech will be the team that they face when they compete. Iowa State was identified as Cal’s opponent in the Independence Bowl by one person, while another person predicted that UCF would be Cal’s opponent.
According to reports that surfaced over the weekend, Cal could end up playing in the Los Angeles Bowl versus the team that emerges victorious from the Mountain West championship game between Boise State and UNLV. In spite of this, just one of our ten experts, Bill Bender of The Sporting News, believes that Cal will be selected for the Los Angeles Bowl tournament.
One expert, Bryan Fischer of Fox Sports, forecasts that Cal will play Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. Another expert, Brad Crawford of 247 Sports, forecasts that Cal will play Georgia Tech in the First Responder Bowl. Both of these predictions are based on the fact that both experts are experts in their respective fields.
Listed below are the projections for the Pac-12 and CFP bowls for the ten locations that we cited:
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Washington vs. Michigan
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State
Fiesta Bowl – Oregon vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Virginia Tech
Sun Bowl – USC vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. UCF
Comment:
All of the games that Georgia, Michigan, Washington, and Florida State play for the championship of their respective conferences should be very straightforward: It’s a win-win situation. If an unbeaten Power 5 champion were to be excluded from the playoffs, the playoffs would be a joke and would lose all of their significance. No, that is not going to take place.
However, if one or more of those teams were to suffer a loss, things would begin to take an intriguing turn, particularly if Texas were to win the Big 12 championship. In contrast to the previous year, when TCU was able to qualify for the playoffs despite losing the Big 12 championship game, no team is certain to make it. Despite the fact that it would require a chaotic championship weekend, it is feasible for a team like Georgia or Michigan to lose and yet be able to continue in the tournament.
ESPN (Mark Schlabach)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Oregon vs. Michigan
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Texas
Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Penn State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – USC vs. Duke
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Texas Tech
Comment:
After beating foe Oregon State 31–7 on Friday night, I have Oregon as my No. 3 seed. It’s been six games since the Ducks lost to the Wizards 36–33 on October 14. Oregon will have a chance to get back at that team in the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas on Friday (8 p.m. ET, ABC). There’s no question that the winner of the Pac-12 title game will be in the CFP. I think the Ducks will win.
CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Florida State
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Oregon vs. Georgia
Cotton Bowl – Washington vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – USC vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – Utah vs. Miami-Fla.
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Texas Tech.
The Sporting News (Bill Bender)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Washington vs. Michigan
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State
Fiesta Bowl – Oregon vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma State
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Northwestern
Holiday Bowl – UCLA vs. Miami-Fla.
Sun Bowl – Oregon State vs. North Carolina
LA Bowl – Cal vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – USC vs. UCF
Comment:
No. 5 Oregon was a 9.5-point favourite over Washington to win the Pac-12 title game. Do you remember how the Huskies beat the Ducks 36–33 on October 14? If the Huskies lost, it’s possible that the Ducks would just move up and take their place.
As of now, Jim Harbaugh hasn’t coached the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl. That could happen against the Pac-12 winner, which could be either Washington or Oregon. The different styles here would look great, and they have a past. These two teams have tied four times in the Rose Bowl.
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Florida State
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Oregon vs. Georgia
Cotton Bowl – Washington vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – USC vs. Miami-Fla.
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Iowa State.
247 Sports (Brad Crawford)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Washington vs. Michigan
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State
Fiesta Bowl – Oregon vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – USC vs. Virginia Tech
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
First Responder Bowl – Cal vs. Louisiana.
College Football News
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Michigan vs. Texas
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Florida State vs. Alabama
Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Penn State
Peach Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio State
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – UCLA vs. Minnesota
Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – USC vs. Duke
LA Bowl – Oregon State vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Texas Tech.
College Football Network (Oliver Hodgkinson)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Washington vs. Michigan
Cotton Bowl – Oregon vs. Texas
Alamo Bowl – Oregon State vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Northwestern
Holiday Bowl – Arizona vs. Notre Dame
Sun Bowl – USC vs. North Carolina State
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Texas Tech.
Action Network (Brett McMurphy)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Oregon vs. Michigan
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Florida State
Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – Utah vs. Northwestern
Holiday Bowl – Oregon State vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – USC vs. Miami-Fla.
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Cal vs. Texas Tech.
Fox Sports (Bryan Fischer)
Rose Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Oregon vs. Michigan
Sugar Bowl (national CFP semifinals) – Georgia vs. Texas
Fiesta Bowl – Washington vs. Alabama
Alamo Bowl – Arizona vs. Oklahoma
Las Vegas Bowl – USC vs. Maryland
Holiday Bowl – Utah vs. Clemson
Sun Bowl – Cal vs. Georgia Tech
LA Bowl – UCLA vs. UNLV
Independence Bowl – Oregon State vs. Iowa State.
Pac-12 bowl affiliations:
If chosen, the Fiesta Bowl (Jan. 1, Glendale, Ariz.), the Orange Bowl (Dec. 30, Miami Gardens, Fla.), the Cotton Bowl (Dec. 29, Arlington, Texas), or the Peach Bowl (Dec. 30, Atlanta) will play. The Rose Bowl will be held in Pasadena, California, on January 1, or the Sugar Bowl will be held in New Orleans on January 1.
Alamo Bowl (December 28, San Antonio): vs. Big 12
Las Vegas Bowl (December 23): vs. SEC
Holiday Bowl (December 27, San Diego): vs. ACC
Sun Bowl (December 29, El Paso, Texas): vs. ACC
LA Bowl (December 16): vs. Mountain West
Independence Bowl (December 16, Shreveport, La.): vs. Big 12
A Pac-12 team could also be selected for one of three ESPN-operated bowl games: Armed Forces Bowl (Dec. 23, Fort Worth, Texas), First Responder Bowl (Dec. 26, Dallas) and Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 22, Tampa, Fla.)
The Birmingham Bowl could also pick a team from the Pac-12. The bowl can take teams from two of the eight leagues that are affiliated with it. It will take place in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 23.
