Sooners still outside of playoff in USA TODAY Sports latest Bowl Projections after Texas win
The Big 12 season has been wild to this point. It’s been filled with upsets galore and the Oklahoma Sooners have been the only team to avoid a letdown in the conference.
Their win over Texas was the most-watched game of the weekend and social media was buzzing after the win. The Sooners have seen their stock soar in the US LBM Coaches Poll, the AP Top 25, and Joel Klatt’s top 10. Additionally, they took over the top spot in our Big 12 power rankings after week six.
The team is playing good football and the coaching staff is hitting all the right notes as Oklahoma moved to 6-0 on the season.
But where did they land in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bowl projections? Let’s take a look.
Independence Bowl: Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Colorado Buffaloes
A pair of head coaches that will both speak freely with the media would make for an incredibly fun build-up to the Independence Bowl. This would be one of the highest-rated games outside of the New Year’s Six Bowls.
First Responder Bowl: Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Arizona Wildcats
Arizona’s offense put together a strong performance against USC and Texas Tech had a nice win over Baylor. This could be a fun matchup for bowl season.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: BYU Cougars vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers
BYU and Minnesota are two teams marked by physicality and toughness. This would be a slugfest. These two have never met on the gridiron. 2023 sounds like a great time to break the ice.
Texas Bowl: TCU Horned Frogs vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M leads the all-time series with a 56-29-7 record over their former Southwest Conference league mate. The Aggies and Horned Frogs came into the season with high expectations, but through the first six weeks of the season are struggling through 2023.
Pop Tarts Bowl: Kansas Jayhawks vs. Louisville Cardinals
Louisville picked up a big win over Notre Dame in week 6, and Kansas is off to a great start in 2023. No Jalon Daniels has put a damper on their season, but they’ve still found a way to win. Louisville holds a 3-0 record in the all-time series, but the two sides haven’t played since 1990.
Alamo Bowl: Kansas State Wildcats vs. Utah Utes
Like BYU-Minnesota, Kansas State vs. Utah would be a fun and physical matchup. The 2022 Big 12 and Pac-12 champions are still contenders in their respective conferences, but both have taken surprising losses in the first half of the schedule. The Wildcats and the Utes have never met on the football field.
Liberty Bowl: West Virginia Mounatineers vs. LSU Tigers
West Virginia took a hit when they lost to Houston in Hail Mary fashion. Still, they’re an intriguing team to watch for the rest of this season. With the way the Big 12 has gone, there’s no telling how the remainder of the Mountaineers schedule will go.
Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners vs. Ohio State Buckeyes
After a big win over Texas, one would think the Sooners would be thrust into the New Year’s Six bowl game picture. But they haven’t convinced everyone just yet. Given their strength of schedule, the Sooners don’t have much margin for error the rest of the way and probably have to win out to reach the College Football Playoff.
Fiesta Bowl: Texas Longhorns vs. Oregon Ducks
The Texas Longhorns College Football Playoff pursuit took a hit in their loss to Oklahoma. Still, the Longhorns find themselves in a New Year’s Six bowl game against the Ducks. In this projection, the assumption is the Horns win the Big 12 title. A matchup with the Ducks would be fun, but would be a disappointing finish for both contenders in 2023.
College Football Playoff
Rose Bowl: Michigan Wolverines vs. Florida State Seminoles
Sugar Bowl: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Washington Huskies
Texas’ loss to Oklahoma knocked them out of the playoff picture and welcomed the Washington Huskies back to the CFP for the first time since a 24-7 loss to Alabama in 2016. Michael Penix vs. Georgia’s defense would be a fantastic matchup.
As would Michigan vs. Florida State. Jordan Travis vs. J.J. McCarthy would create a lot of intrigue and set the stage for a big-time Rose Bowl.
CFP National Championship: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Michigan Wolverines
Kirby Smart vs. Jim Harbaugh would be a great coaching matchup between two teams that bring toughness and physicality to the field.
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