[Farm93]

The Pac-12 is currently 2-2 in bowl games with three bowl games remaining:

1. Washington (8-5) defeated #19 Boise State (12-2) 38-7 in the Las Vegas Bowl (bit of a comedown from last year's Rose Bowl appearance for UW).
2. Air Force (11-2) defeated Washington State (6-7) 31-21 in the Cheez-It Bowl.
3. Iowa defeated USC 49-24 in the Holiday Bowl.
4. Cal (7-5) defeated Illinois (6-6) 35-20 in the RedBox Bowl at Levi Stadium.

5. Florida State (6-6) plays Arizona State (7-5) on Tuesday in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
6. #11 Utah (11-2) plays Texas (7-5) in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
7.  on Wednesday, January 1, #6 Oregon (11-2) plays #8 Wisconsin (10-3) in the Rose Bowl.

The "problem" for the Pac-12 is that every other conference has more of their best teams in the CFP and NY6.    So inevitably each season the Pac-12s teams look like they should win a lot of their bowl games in the lower tier bowls.   However, these lower tier bowl games are often just toss-up, 50/50 type deals.   So the Pac-12 suffers a lot of upsets in addition to missing out on the big time bowl money.  

The conference should go 3-0, but 2-1 would be fine.    An Oregon win is rather important for the Pac-12 consideration for next year's CFP.  The bowl system remains geared towards the programs with the most fans and hotel reservations. 

As long as the FBS division rewards hotel reservations, the Pac-12 will be fighting an uphill battle each year.  In the absolute best case the Pac-12 gets two CFP/NY6 invitations.   In the worst cases to date the BigTen and SEC get three.  It is what it is, but the Pac-12 is losing ground every year and it won't change as long as filling seats and hotels in Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans and Miami are a major part of the deal.

I hope all three win their battles, but the hotel, restaurant and ticket realities mean the conference will continue to lose ground in the long-term war.

[Farm93]

The Pac-12 is currently 2-2 in bowl games with three bowl games remaining:

1. Washington (8-5) defeated #19 Boise State (12-2) 38-7 in the Las Vegas Bowl (bit of a comedown from last year's Rose Bowl appearance for UW).
2. Air Force (11-2) defeated Washington State (6-7) 31-21 in the Cheez-It Bowl.
3. Iowa defeated USC 49-24 in the Holiday Bowl.
4. Cal (7-5) defeated Illinois (6-6) 35-20 in the RedBox Bowl at Levi Stadium.

5. Florida State (6-6) plays Arizona State (7-5) on Tuesday in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
6. #11 Utah (11-2) plays Texas (7-5) in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.
7.  on Wednesday, January 1, #6 Oregon (11-2) plays #8 Wisconsin (10-3) in the Rose Bowl.

The "problem" for the Pac-12 is that every other conference has more of their best teams in the CFP and NY6.    So inevitably each season the Pac-12s teams look like they should win a lot of their bowl games in the lower tier bowls.   However, these lower tier bowl games are often just toss-up, 50/50 type deals.   So the Pac-12 suffers a lot of upsets in addition to missing out on the big time bowl money.  

The conference should go 3-0, but 2-1 would be fine.    An Oregon win is rather important for the Pac-12 consideration for next year's CFP.  The bowl system remains geared towards the programs with the most fans and hotel reservations. 

As long as the FBS division rewards hotel reservations, the Pac-12 will be fighting an uphill battle each year.  In the absolute best case the Pac-12 gets two CFP/NY6 invitations.   In the worst cases to date the BigTen and SEC get three.  It is what it is, but the Pac-12 is losing ground every year and it won't change as long as filling seats and hotels in Dallas, Atlanta, New Orleans and Miami are a major part of the deal.

I hope all three win their battles, but the hotel, restaurant and ticket realities mean the conference will continue to lose ground in the long-term war.