Pac-12 bowl projections 10/2: Oregon in College Football Playoff

College Football Playoff Rose Bowl - Oregon vs. Florida State

Both of these teams look flawed early on in the season, but doesn't everybody? Oklahoma is the only team I see running the table right now because I think the Big 12 is strong, but not at the very top with them just having to beat Baylor. Back to the point though. I think Oregon will lose a game, but can recover with rest of the nation dropping a game as well, including Florida State. I am not very confident about this, but in what has been one of the most confusing early seasons I can ever remember, it makes sense to me for now.

Fiesta Bowl - UCLA vs. BYU

UCLA finally looked like the team we all thought they would be against Arizona State and to me that is a South champion that will drop a couple of games and be a very appealing option for a BCSey bowl like the Fiesta Bowl. BYU has a very comfortable schedule the rest of the way so I wouldn't expect them to lose more than one game the rest of the way, turning them into a very attractive option to a nearby bowl that can pit them against a fellow Western foe.

Alamo Bowl - USC vs. Oklahoma State

The Trojans loss to Boston College will be an afterthought by the end of the season and already beating Stanford and avoiding Oregon means that they should end the season with a very good in-conference record. The Big 12 looks strong after Oklahoma and Baylor but also impossibly even so I will go with the Cowboys since they generally tend to be more reliable than some of the other programs in their pack.

Holiday Bowl - Stanford vs. Nebraska

Stanford is Stanford and after watching them slog it out with a pretty good, but nothing special Washington team yet again, I think they will lose a few games this season, especially with their tough schedule. Still, an excellent option for the Holiday Bowl. The Big Ten is garbage and tough to call after Michigan State and Wisconsin, so I think Ohio State slides behind them with Nebraska pushing in behind the Buckeyes.

San Francisco Bowl - Arizona vs. Penn State

Like the Big 12 and Big Ten, the Pac-12 falls off a wall after their top few teams so after the LA schools and Oregon and Stanford I really don't know how it is going to play out. I will give this spot to Arizona for now since I think they have a favorable schedule. Back to what I was saying about the Big Ten, Penn State looked bad last week, but they seem to be a rare consistent Big Ten team.

Sun Bowl - Washington vs. Miami

Washington is hard to read. The front of their defense is excellent, but the rest of team couldn't be more questionable. I still think they will have a decent season and end up in an okay bowl. Similar theme, hard to pick a random team out of the ACC pack for this one.

Las Vegas Bowl - Arizona State vs. Nevada

Arizona State is good, but they need Taylor Kelly back as soon as possible and need to survive a tough stretch in their Schedule. I think they can do this to an extent. I think Nevada is going to sneak up on everyone and win a weak Mountain West.

Cactus Bowl - Washington State vs. Texas

Despite looking like the conference's worst team in non-conference, I am really starting to like the Cougars and I think they get the conference's last automatic bowl slot over Cal and Oregon State. Texas isn't very good, but will crawl to bowl eligibility.