WSU Bowl Predictions: Washington State Cougars Can Clinch Pac-12 North On Saturday


WSU bowl predictions continue to come up “roses.” The Washington State Cougars can clinch the Pac-12 North on Saturday (Nov. 19), putting the team into the conference championship game to close out the season. Winning the Pac-12 title game would then send WSU straight to the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Pac-12 schedule for the weekend has WSU vs. Colorado and Arizona State vs. Washington as two really big games for the conference.

If WSU beats Colorado and Washington loses to Arizona State, then the Washington State Cougars will clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game. WSU is the only team undefeated in conference play this season, with the Cougars sitting at 7-0 coming into the weekend. That’s one game ahead of the second-place Washington Huskies, potentially setting up an Apple Cup that would put everything on the line. A Cougars victory coupled with a Huskies loss on Saturday would make the rivalry game almost meaningless.

UW is favored by nearly every college football analyst to handle the Arizona State Sun Devils, but anything can happen in conference games. ASU needs to win one of its final two games just to be bowl eligible for the season, giving the Sun Devils every incentive to play for an upset on Saturday evening. Likewise, the Colorado Buffaloes need this win over WSU to remain in first place in the South Division. Colorado also has sights set on making it to the Rose Bowl this year.

[Image by William Mancebo/Getty Images]

As for the WSU bowl predictions, an updated report by ESPN gives the Week 12 projections. College football analysts Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy have weighed in with their latest thoughts on how the bowl committees will make their decisions. Schlabach has the Washington Huskies making it to the College Football Playoff and getting a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Peach Bowl. McMurphy has Washington vs. West Virginia in the Alamo Bowl.

McMurphy has Washington State vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl, while Schlabach has Washington State vs. Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl. Both WSU bowl predictions are very flattering to the school, suggesting that the experts feel good things are in store for the Cougars. As for the other games, they have Utah vs. Nebraska or USC vs. Penn State in the Holiday Bowl, Utah vs. Indiana or Colorado vs. Northwestern in the Foster Farms Bowl, and both experts say Arizona State will be in the Las Vegas Bowl and that Stanford will play in the Sun Bowl.

The latest CBS Sports bowl projections have been updated as well. They have Washington vs. Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, Utah vs. Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, Colorado vs. West Virginia in the Alamo Bowl, Washington State vs. Minnesota In the Holiday Bowl, USC vs. Indiana in the Foster Farms bowl, Stanford vs. Wake Forest in the Sun Bowl, and Arizona State vs. Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl. CBS Sports has California failing to make it to the postseason, leaving just seven Pac-12 schools receiving bowl invites this year.

[Image by William Mancebo/Getty Images]

There are still two very important games left for the Washington State Cougars during the regular season, with both having an important impact on which bowl game will want to invite the team to play in. It begins with a Week 12 game against the Colorado Buffaloes at 12:30 p.m. PT on November 19 and continues against the Washington Huskies in Week 13, with a 12:30 p.m. PT start time on November 25 in Pullman. Winning both games would clinch the Pac-12 North for the school, making any further WSU bowl projections even more flattering to one of the best teams the school has ever seen.

[Featured Image by William Mancebo/Getty Images]

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