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This is my last attempt at guessing the bowl slotting for the nine bowl-eligible Pac 12 teams. After today, we'll be dealing in fact and all of this speculation will be lain to waste. So, consider this both your last glimpse into my brilliance and your Bowl Sunday Open Thread.
And, in case you are interested, here are my projections from last week.
| Bowl | Matchup | Pac 12 Representative | Possible Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Bowl (Jan 1) |
Pac 12 #1 vs Big 10 #1 |
Stanford (accepted) |
Michigan St (accepted) |
| Alamo Bowl (Dec 30) |
Pac 12 #2 vs Big 12 #3 |
Oregon | Oklahoma Texas |
| Holiday Bowl (Dec 30) |
Pac 12 #3 vs Big 12 #5 |
Arizona State |
Texas Tech Kansas State |
| Sun Bowl (Dec 31) |
Pac 12 #4 vs ACC #4 |
UCLA | Virginia Tech Miami Georgia Tech |
| Las Vegas Bowl (Dec 21) |
Pac 12 #5 vs MWC #1 |
USC | Fresno State (accepted) |
| Fight Hunger Bowl (Dec 27) |
Pac 12 #6 vs BYU/ACC #9 |
Washington | BYU (accepted) |
| New Mexico Bowl (Dec 21) |
Pac 12 #7 vs MWC #4 |
Arizona | San Diego St Boise State |
| At-Large | --- | Washington State | ? |
| At-Large | --- | Oregon State | ? |
Rose Bowl: Stanford vs Michigan State
This one is set in stone as the Cardinal crushed Arizona State and, as I had predicted (go Gekko!), Michigan State upset Ohio State. This is going to be a classic, throw-back Rose Bowl.
Alamo Bowl: Oregon
The failure of either Oklahoma State or Texas to win their matchups along with the ousting of NIU from a BCS busting perch means Oregon could be a BCS school once again. A Sugar Bowl against 'Bama is actually possible. Just not probable.
Holiday Bowl: ASU
They are pretty much locked in here assuming that San Antonio takes the Ducks (which they will).
Sun Bowl: UCLA
UCLA is clearly locked here. Of much more interest is who their opponent will be from the ACC.
Las Vegas Bowl: USC vs Fresno State
Looks like Sark will be getting his second straight trip to Las Vegas. Trojans ... in Vegas ... what could go wrong?
Fight Hunger Bowl: Washington
There is some chatter that Arizona could surpass Washington in this spot. The coaching change would certainly be a good reason for organizers to pass over UW. Still, it seems more likely UW moves up with Oregon taking a BCS spot then getting passed by an Arizona team that lost its last game and got beat by UW earlier in the year.
New Mexico Bowl: Arizona
I still like Arizona here, but I think WSU will certainly get a long look.
At Large: Washington State, Oregon State
The guys at Coug Center did a good analysis on this. It does seem pretty clear that WSU is going to get a bowl game. The Heart of Dallas and the Texas Bowls both seem plausible. Oregon State also is showing up on most projections with the previous two plus the Independence Bowl looking possible. If both teams find spots, it would mean nine Pac 12 teams in the post season which, I'll have to check this, may be a record.
Either way, it should be fun. Use the comments in this article as your Open Thread for Bowl Selection Sunday.
WOOF!
