Even though we are ten weeks into the college football season, that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to the future. There is still a month left ahead of us, but it is never too early to start thinking about the postseason.
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm recently released his latest college football bowl projections. It is always interesting to see how things change from week to week, but here is what he has listed for the Big 12.
Fiesta Bowl (CFP Quarterfinals)
Iowa State vs First-Round Winner (CFP)
There is a very slim chance that Iowa State will end up with a first-round bye and a top-four seed in the College Football Playoffs rankings after their loss to Texas Tech. In fact, I would have Iowa State on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff.
College Football Playoff (First Round)
BYU vs. Notre Dame
I am shocked to see BYU in this spot and not in the first-round bye because the Cougars are sitting at the top of the Big 12 standings with a perfect 8-0 record and are currently ninth in the latest playoff ranking.
Texas Bowl
TCU vs LSU
The battle of the purple in Houston? Sign me up. I know this is where neither team would probably like to go but anytime we have a Big 12/SEC matchup, I am all for it.
Alamo Bowl
Kansas State vs Washington State
No matter what happens to Kansas State, they remain steady in the Alamo Bowl. In fact, they have been projected to play Washington State for the third week in a row.
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Texas Tech vs SMU
The Red Raiders slide into the Pop-Tarts Bowl against a very interesting opponent in SMU. The Mustangs were just outside the top 12 in the latest college football playoff rankings, so I’m not surprised to see them possibly get bumped up.
Las Vegas Bowl
Colorado vs South Carolina
Colorado has a serious chance to move up this bowl list because it is in the top three in the Big 12 standings. But hey, Vegas would be a great consolation prize, too.
Holiday Bowl
Arizona State vs Pitt
For the first time this season, we see the Arizona State Sun Devils make the bowl projections. Nobody and I mean nobody had this team going bowling this season which just goes to show the job Kenny Dillingham has done this year.
Liberty Bowl
Baylor vs Vanderbilt
Say hello to the Baylor Bears. Prior to last week, I felt like it’d been years since I saw them on the bowl list, and it appears that they are climbing up this bowl list, which is good.
Armed Forces Bowl
Cincinnati vs Charlotte
Charlotte wouldn’t be an ideal opponent in a bowl game but getting to a bowl game would be a step in the right direction for head coach Scott Satterfield.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
West Virginia vs Michigan
Normally, I would be excited for a team like West Virginia to play Michigan, but not so much when it’s in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. I wonder how many opt-outs the Wolverines would have in a game like this.
Cure Bowl
UCF vs East Carolina
The Knights still have some work to do to become bowl eligible but simply getting to a bowl game would be huge to help cool off Gus Malzahn’s seat heading into 2025.
