Here is my take on the Bowl Scenarios. If I made a mistake, or the logic is wrong please correct me.
(1) If Stanford beats USC in the PAC-12 Championship game then we are shopping among the two Dallas/Ft Worth area Bowls or are in the Independence Bowl vs. Virginia Tech.
The PAC-12 has 7 contractual bowls. The top six slots go to the top 6 teams. Team #7 would be Cal at 4-5 in conference play. ASU and Washington are also 4-5, but Cal beat both in head to head competition. Cal would go to the Cactus Bowl. ASU beat Washington and is #8 in the pecking order, Washington is #9, and UA at 3-6 is #10.
This assumes Stanford goes to the Rose Bowl per contractual agreements. No 9-win PAC-12 team would be selected for any of the other 12 slots decided by the Bowl Selection Committee IMHO. By my count, the 5 power conferences have 13 teams with 10 or more wins, and a team like Houston 11-1 will also be selected ahead of a 9-win PAC-12 team.
(2) If USC upsets Stanford, then USC goes to the Rose Bowl. Under this scenario, Stanford is available as a 10 win team, and could very well go into one of the 12 Bowl Selection Committee slots. If that happened, then ASU would go the Cactus Bowl, possibly playing Kansas State if K-State beats West Virginia Saturday. The opponent would not be determined until Saturday/Sunday.
(1) If Stanford beats USC in the PAC-12 Championship game then we are shopping among the two Dallas/Ft Worth area Bowls or are in the Independence Bowl vs. Virginia Tech.
The PAC-12 has 7 contractual bowls. The top six slots go to the top 6 teams. Team #7 would be Cal at 4-5 in conference play. ASU and Washington are also 4-5, but Cal beat both in head to head competition. Cal would go to the Cactus Bowl. ASU beat Washington and is #8 in the pecking order, Washington is #9, and UA at 3-6 is #10.
This assumes Stanford goes to the Rose Bowl per contractual agreements. No 9-win PAC-12 team would be selected for any of the other 12 slots decided by the Bowl Selection Committee IMHO. By my count, the 5 power conferences have 13 teams with 10 or more wins, and a team like Houston 11-1 will also be selected ahead of a 9-win PAC-12 team.
(2) If USC upsets Stanford, then USC goes to the Rose Bowl. Under this scenario, Stanford is available as a 10 win team, and could very well go into one of the 12 Bowl Selection Committee slots. If that happened, then ASU would go the Cactus Bowl, possibly playing Kansas State if K-State beats West Virginia Saturday. The opponent would not be determined until Saturday/Sunday.
