SALT LAKE CITY – This year’s college football bowl season will look much different and better than in years past.
There is a brand new 12-team playoff that incorporates the games formerly known as the “New Year’s Six” for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
Additionally, the Pac-12 is no longer an official FBS conference, but there are contracts that must be honored. This means that former Pac-12 schools in Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado would play in these affiliated bowl games through Big 12 affiliations.
5️⃣ days until #Big12FB returns… pic.twitter.com/dR0Xoyn9Sv
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) 24 August 2024
Also, consider that the first round of the playoffs will be played on home campuses and there will be open-assignment bowl games, so some Big 12 teams could be assigned there, especially if there are more bowl-eligible teams than available spots.
Every week here at KSL Sports we predict the Big 12 playoff results as well as the College Football Playoff roster.
The first predictions will rely heavily on the preseason polls at the conference media days and the first releases of the Survey of LBM trainers in the USA And Top 25 Associated Press Polls.
And if we’re being honest, these early bowl predictions are really just bowl guesses. It’s going to take some time before we get a real sense of how good or not so good these teams are. The odds of some of these preseason predictions coming anywhere close to the final outcome are – hopefully – the lower the probability for me, the better.
What bowl affiliations are there?
These projections must take into account six Big 12 Bowl affiliations, two affiliate affiliations, four options for former Pac-12 schools and the College Football Playoff.
Big 12 Bowl Tie-Ins
- Valero Alamo Bowl against Pac-12
- Pop-Tarts Bowl against ACC/Notre Dame
- TaxAct Texas Bowl against SEC
- AutoZone Liberty Bowl against SEC
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl against Big Ten
- Radiance Technologies Independence Shell Against army or Pac-12
Alternative affiliations, if available
- Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against American Athletic or C-USA
- SERVPRO First Responder Bowl against ACC or American Athletic
Pac-12 Bowl Connections
- DirecTV Holiday Bowl against ACC
- SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl against SEC
- Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against ACC
- LA Bowl against Mountain West
Will there be Big 12 Bowl teams with double-digit odds?
In the first row of bowl predictions, the number of Big 12 teams advancing to the postseason will be ten.
Eight of them will participate in the traditional bowl season, and it will be a bit of a surprise that two Big 12 teams will participate in the College Football Playoff. The Big Ten and SEC cannot fill all the spots.
Given the way some of the Big 12’s schedules are shaping up, it’s entirely possible that there won’t be any rematches in a conference championship game, which will be crucial for the two Big 12 teams to make the playoffs.
A look at the rankings of all Big 12 teams on @RJ_Young‘s ultimate 134 CFB rankings 📈👀
Did he assess your team correctly? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Gy1WNiYWfv
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) 16 August 2024
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Thursday, December 26
5:30 a.m., ESPN
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Comparison: Minnesota vs. TCU
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Friday, December 27
Time to be announced, ESPN
Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Comparison: UTSA vs. Texas Tech
AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Friday, December 27
7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, Tennessee
Comparison: Kentucky vs UCF
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Friday, December 27
10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Reliant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Comparison: Auburn against Arizona
Pop-Tarts Bowl
Saturday, December 28
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Comparison: Miami vs. Iowa State
Valero Alamo Bowl
Saturday, December 28
7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Comparison: USC vs. Kansas
Radiance Technologies Independence Shell
Saturday, December 28
9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Comparison: Oregon State vs. West Virginia
TaxAct Texas Bowl
Tuesday, December 31
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Comparison: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State
Predictions for the College Football Playoffs
As for the playoffs, these early projections have two Big 12 teams battling for the national title. Utah will automatically qualify for the Big 12 as the team is expected to win the conference and receive a bye as one of the top four teams.
The other Big 12 team that received a wildcard is Kansas State.
“I think in this new format, the Heisman will probably go to someone from a team that made the 12-team playoffs.”@slmandel @JeremiahJensen @AlexKirryKSL #UtahFootball https://t.co/Sn3KQugiI1
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) 14 August 2024
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8/9 winner
No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 7/10 Winner
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6/11 Winner
No. 4 Clemson vs. No. 5/12 Winner
Opening round games on campus
No. 12 Boise State at 5 Ohio State
No. 11 Kansas State at No. 6 Notre Dame
No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Alabama
No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 8 Texas
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