With only two games remaining, where might the Utes, Aggies, and Cougars be traveling for bowl season?
No. 22 Utah
Even though they lost the game last week, the shorthanded Utes gave No. 5 Washington all they could handle in a one-score game.
While the loss officially ends Utah’s hopes at reaching the Pac-12 title game, they still have a lot to play for with two games to go.
The Utes still have a shot to win 10 games and snap a six-year bowl winless run, but they’ll first have to take on the surprise of the Pac-12 this season.
Utah travels to Tucson for a Top 25 battle with No. 17 Arizona, a game many penciled in as a victory before the Wildcats had a breakout season.
The loss to Washington was disappointing, but the Utes have a great opportunity to notch an upset win before facing Colorado in the regular season finale.
Projection: Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Opponent: Duke
Date: Friday, December 29
Location: Sun Bowl Stadium – El Paso, TX
Time and channel: 12 p.m. MT, CBS
Utah State
Coming off a double overtime win against San Diego State, the Aggies needed a win against lowly Nevada to keep their bowl hopes alive.
While it wasn’t the team’s best performance, USU was able to beat the Wolf Pack to move its record to 5-5 with two games to play.
Utah State now has a pair of chances to clinch a bowl invite, and most are probably looking at the season finale against a 3-7 New Mexico team as the most likely path to a sixth win.
The Aggies first have the chance to get bowl eligible this week when they host Boise State, a team they have historically struggled against.
The Broncos are currently 5-5 and fired head coach Andy Avalos on Sunday. This is Utah State’s best chance to beat Boise State in quite some time, and a win against the perennial Mountain West contender would give Blake Anderson his first win in a rivalry game in his Aggie tenure.
Projection: Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl
Opponent: Ohio
Date: Saturday, December 30
Location: Arizona Stadium – Tucson, AZ
Time and channel: 2:30 p.m. MT, Barstool.tv
BYU
Following a blowout loss at West Virginia, the Cougars had to beat Iowa State at home to reach the required six wins for a bowl invitation.
Instead, BYU was hammered by the Cyclones, dropping the Cougars record to 5-5. BYU now faces No. 14 Oklahoma at home before traveling to No. 23 Oklahoma State.
It’s a tough final slate for a Cougars team that hasn’t been competitive against the mid-level teams in the Big 12, so there isn’t much hope that they will be able to muster an upset while playing back-to-back ranked opponents.
After starting 4-1, missing a bowl game will be disappointing. But one thing is sure; the Cougars have a lot of work to do in order to compete at the Power 5 level.
