Why Washington Huskies slipped in bowl game projections | Analysis
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (2) looks for an open receiver against Michigan during a game last month. (Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times)
Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. (2) looks for an open receiver against Michigan during a game last month. (Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times)
By Jon Wilner Bay Area News Group
The Pac-12 dissolved in 2024, but one vestige of the former conference remains relevant to the college football season unfolding this fall: the bowl lineup. The legacy teams are locked into the postseason arrangement that existed prior to collapse.
Each week, the Hotline will project and assess the postseason status for all 12 teams.
College Football Playoff
Team: Oregon
Comment: The Ducks (7-1) are building a resume that resembles Indiana’s profile in 2024, when the Hoosiers finished with one loss but no wins over ranked teams. They were seeded 10th in the CFP and played a road game in the opening round.
Alamo Bowl
Team: Utah
Comment: With three games left against middle-of-the-pack Big 12 opponents, the Utes (7-2) are tracking for 10 wins and would be attractive to the Alamo, especially because they have not participated since 2019.
Las Vegas Bowl
Team: Arizona State
Comment: Even without Sam Leavitt, the Sun Devils (6-3) will be favored in their final three games. They have a narrow path into the Big 12 championship and a possible return to the CFP. If it widens Saturday — because of results elsewhere — we’ll delve into the scenarios next week.
Holiday Bowl
Team: USC
Comment: The range of landing spots for USC (6-2) is considerable given the difficult finishing schedule. It could propel them into the CFP or produce a steep fall down the bowl lineup. The Holiday feels like a reasonable compromise at this point.
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Sun Bowl
Team: Washington
Comment: Our outlook for UW (6-2) hasn’t changed materially — the Hotline continues to project eight or nine wins. But the landscape has shifted following victories by Utah and Arizona State, which could easily finish with gaudier records than the Huskies and therefore be more attractive to the Alamo and Las Vegas Bowls.
LA Bowl
Team: Arizona
Comment: Thanks to the blowout win in Boulder, Arizona’s bowl math has turned exponentially easier as the Wildcats (5-3) enter a finishing stretch featuring a handful of toss-up games.
ESPN bowl
Team: Cal
Comment: Good chance the slumping Bears (5-4) will be dropped to the tier of non-qualifiers starting next week. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if Cal loses its last three and finishes below .500.
ESPN bowl
Team: Washington State
Comment: Yes, the offense was offensive in Corvallis. But the Cougars (4-5) built enough cushion to qualify for the postseason. Protect the home field against Louisiana Tech and Oregon State, and they will be bowling yet again.
Non-qualifier
Team: Colorado
Comment: Deion Sanders was roundly celebrated for his ability to quickly remake the roster and turn the Buffaloes into contenders in two years. Welp, he’s equally responsible for the second-rate depth chart CU is trotting out this season on a weekly basis.
Non-qualifier
Team: Oregon State
Comment: The competition for coaches at the sub-Power Four level could turn stiff — and costly — for the Beavers once the hiring process begins at the top of the sport and sparks a chain reaction that results in vacancies at schools with profiles similar to Oregon State.
Non-qualifier
Team: Stanford
Comment: If not for Notre Dame’s visit at the end of the regular season, the Cardinal (3-6) would have a navigable path into the postseason. But the Irish will be playing for a CFP bid and, well …
Non-qualifier
Team: UCLA
Comment: The Bruins might have the opportunity to play the spoiler role — not once but twice — thanks to their dates with Washington (home) and USC (road) on the final two Saturdays.
Jon Wilner: jwilner@bayareanewsgroup .com. Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.