College Football Playoff
Team: Utah (Big 12 champions)
Comment: With their win at Oklahoma State, the Utes took an enormous step toward securing the current (a spot within the Big 12 championship game) and the longer term (through the play of freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson). A fairly good result for 3 and a half hours of labor in 90-degree heat.
College Football Playoff
Team: Oregon (Big Ten overall)
Comment: Two-loss Big Ten and SEC teams will make the CFP—there's little doubt about that. But would a three-loss loser within the Big Ten or SEC championship games make it? Could rely on the circumstances.
Alamo Bowl Bowl
Team: USC
Comment: Speaking of two-loss Big Ten teams, we imagine the Trojans have too many difficult games ahead of them to beat that hurdle, and by the primary weekend of December, they could be regretting the loss in Ann Arbor even greater than they already do.
Holiday Bowl
Team: State of Washington
Comment: With no less than eight wins – and that shouldn't be an issue – the Cougars could be one of the vital coveted teams around due to their history of success and their passionate fan base. But we're not convinced they'd be more coveted than USC.
Las Vegas Bowl
Team: Colorado
Comment: Pac-12 bowl selection policy reminder: A team cannot overtake one other if there’s no less than a two-game difference in overall record. We imagine CU has the sting over all contenders if it has only one win.
Sun Bowl
Team: Arizona
Comment: It's hard to imagine that the Wildcats, whose campus is just 300 miles from El Paso, haven't participated within the Sun Bowl since 1992. In the past 32 years, ASU has made the trip five times.
LA Bowl
Team: Washington
Comment: The Huskies are good candidates to fall down the pecking order if bowl officials as an entire feel that UW fans aren't exactly enthusiastic about a season that may't come near matching 2023's.
Independence Bowl
Team: State of Oregon
Comment: Given the difficult home stretch, the Beavers have two crucial weeks ahead of them to set their bowl slate (Colorado State at home, Nevada away).
ESPN Bowl
Team: Cal
Comment: ESPN's pool of games for at-large teams includes the Armed Forces and First Responders Bowls, that are held within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, a location that may provide the Bears with more precious recruiting opportunities than among the Pac-12's traditional bowls.
Non-qualifier
Team: State of Arizona
Comment: We love the beginning (3-1), but we're not thrilled with the center of the schedule and are downright skeptical concerning the end. And that combination results in a bleak outlook for the Sun Devils.
Non-qualifier
Team: Stanford
Comment: The Cardinals' bowl math got incrementally easier with the win at Syracuse, however the upcoming home games against SMU and Louisville look significantly tougher. Those dynamics balance out, so we come to the identical conclusion as last week and the week before.
Non-qualifier
Team: University of California
Comment: If we're being honest about their personnel and schedule, the Bruins have a greater probability of winning three games than six. The former is subpar, the latter is insane.
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