Will Utah make the College Football Playoff? Can BYU reach the postseason? Bowl projections for the new Big 12

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham and Utah Utes QB Cameron Rising (7) listen to a official as Utah and Penn State play in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Last year, the Big 12 had nine teams qualify for the postseason.

With four new teams — Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado — joining the league as Texas and Oklahoma head to the SEC, how does the postseason outlook shape up for the conference heading into the 2024 season?

Could the Big 12 hit double-digits in terms of the number of bowl eligible-teams this season? And how will the Big 12 factor into the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff?

Here’s a look at three bowl projections from national outlets released in the past month, as well as a fourth from The Athletic that projects the field for the new 12-team playoff.

Sporting News

Big 12 bowl projections

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: West Virginia vs. Rutgers

Armed Forces Bowl: UCF vs. UTSA

Liberty Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Kentucky

Las Vegas Bowl: TCU vs. Florida

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Arizona vs. Virginia Tech

Alamo Bowl: Kansas State vs. USC

Independence Bowl: Iowa State vs. Washington State

Sun Bowl: Colorado vs. NC State

Texas Bowl: Kansas vs. Missouri

First Responder Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Navy

College Football Playoff quarterfinals, Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 Notre Dame

Bill Bender has 11 of the Big 12′s 16 teams making the postseason in this scenario, though BYU isn’t among them. Three of the league’s newcomers — Utah, Arizona and Colorado — all are projected to play in the bowl season.

12-team playoff predictions

Georgia

Ohio State

Utah

Florida State

Texas

Notre Dame

Oregon

Alabama

Clemson

Ole Miss

Michigan

Memphis

Bender has Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon and Alabama winning first-round playoff matchups, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and Notre Dame…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/utah-college-football-playoff-byu-000007558.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-07-22 00:00:07

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