Bowl Projections 2015: WSU In Las Vegas Bowl, Iowa In Rose Bowl

Bowl projections for 2015 have been updated with some interesting predictions. Among the bowl projections that could surprise some college football fans is a Washington State Cougars vs. San Diego State match-up in the Las Vegas Bowl and Iowa vs. Stanford in the Rose Bowl. CBS Sports reveals the new bowl projections following an exciting weekend of college football. What the experts from CBS are stating, is that Iowa will lose the Big Ten Championship Game, but still get ranked higher than Ohio State in the polls.

As for WSU, these bowl projections suggest the school is getting punished harshly for losing to the Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup. The Royal Purple Bowl in Las Vegas is designed to be the sixth best bowl game for the Pac-12 Conference. It means that five other schools would be selected by bowl committees ahead of WSU this year. With earlier rumors that the Holiday Bowl committee was interested in having WSU play in San Diego this year, it would be a big fall for the Cougars.

The rest of the top Pac-12 bowl projections from CBS Sports are Oregon vs. TCU in the Alamo Bowl, Utah vs. Wisconsin in the Holiday Bowl, USC vs. Indiana in the Foster Farms Bowl, and UCLA vs. Louisville in the Sun Bowl. Four additional schools are also expected to receive invites in these new bowl projections and the games include California vs. West Virginia in the Cactus Bowl, Arizona State vs. Western Kentucky in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, Arizona vs. Connecticut in the Cure Bowl, and Washington vs. New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl.

SB Nation disagrees with the bowl projections from CBS Sports and has the match-ups a bit different in the middle. SB Nation has Stanford vs. Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, USC vs. Illinois in the Foster Farms Bowl, Washington State vs. Miami in the Sun Bowl, California vs. BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, and UCLA vs. West Virginia in the Cactus Bowl. In that scenario, WSU gets bumped ahead of UCLA in the bowl invites. They also place Washington in the Heart of Dallas Bowl, Arizona in the Poinsettia Bowl, and Arizona State in the Armed Forces Bowl.

That’s a lot of shifting for the Pac-12 bowl projections and it underscores how tough it is to predict the selection process. After the Rose Bowl takes the Pac-12 Championship Game winner, everything else comes down to an invitation process. Working in order from the Alamo Bowl, the committees take turns picking a Pac-12 school to fill the required spots. A bowl could hypothetically choose any school that has become bowl eligible, but bigger schools with fans that like to travel typically make the cut earlier.

What the latest Pac-12 bowl projections also showcase is how good the conference has been this year. The Pac-12 will send 10 of its 12 teams to the postseason, making it the conference with the highest percentage of qualifying schools. The SEC will likely also send 10 schools to bowl games, but that is out of 14 that are in the conference. Unfortunately, for fans of the Pac-12, the conference may get locked out of the College Football Playoff by having too many games within the conference.

If Stanford can win the Pac-12 Championship Game and an upset takes place among Clemson or Alabama, there is a slight chance the voters could bump the school up. With the Big Ten champion already guaranteed a spot and Oklahoma likely receiving one as well, it would be tough for the Pac-12 champion to move up. Likewise, if USC wins the Pac-12, it could bump Oregon and Utah down in the current bowl projections.