Cal, CFP Bowl Projections: ACC's Miami Stays in Top Four Despite Narrow Escape
Cal is not a unanimous pick to get into a bowl, but if the Bears do make it to the postseason, the destination seems set, at least for now. Three of the seven experts we cited this week predict Cal will not get a bowl berth, but the other four sites all project the Golden Bears (3-2) to be in the LA Bowl, with UNLV as their opponent.
Cal's disappointing 39-38 loss to Miami on Saturday apparently makes the Bears' postseason uncertain heading into Saturday's game at Pitt. But the fact that Miami pulled that game out, despite trailing Cal 35-10 in the third quarter, did not adversely affect the Hurricanes' standing.
All seven of the sites we cited project that Miami will make the 12-team College Football Playoff, and six of them place the Hurricaes among the four teams that will get first-round byes, assigning them the No. 3 seed.
Miami is one of two ACC teams projected by most experts to make the College Football Playoff, with surging Clemson predicted to qualify for the 12-team field in five of the seven sites. One site even projected Clemson to be one of the four teams with a first-round bye.
(For Cal's bowl possibilities, remember that teams that were members of the Pac-12 in 2023 will be assigned to Pac-12-affiliated bowls this year. The pecking order of Pac-12 bowls is listed at the end of this story.)
Here are the bowl projections for Cal and the CFP from the seven experts we cited:
Cal Bowl
LA Bowl – Cal vs. UNLV
College Football Playoff
First Round Byes
No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Ohio State
No. 3 – Miami
No. 4 – BYU
First Round
No. 5 – Oregon
No. 6 – Penn State
No. 7 – Alabama
No. 8 – Georgia
No. 9 – Clemson
No. 10 – Iowa State
No. 11 – Boise State
No. 12 – Notre Dame
.
Cal Bowl
LA Bowl – Cal vs. UNLV
College Football Playoff
First Round Byes
No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Ohio State
No. 3 – Miami
No. 4 – Iowa State
First Round
No. 5 – Oregon
No. 6 – Georgia
No. 7 – Penn State
No. 8 – Alabama
No. 9 – Clemson
No. 10 – Tennessee
No. 11 – Notre Dame
No. 12 – Boise State
.
Cal Bowl
No Cal bowl (No Pac-12 team in Independence Bowl, Oregon State in LA Bowl)
College Football Playoff
First-Round Byes
No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Ohio State
No. 3 – Miami
No. 4 -- Utah
First Round
No. 5 – Oregon
No. 6 – Alabama
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – Iowa State
No. 9 – Penn State
No. 10 – Clemson
No. 11 – Texas A&M
No. 12 – Boise State
.
Cal Bowl
LA Bowl – Cal vs. UNLV
College Football Playoff
First Round Byes
No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Ohio State
No. 3 – Miami
No. 4 -- Kansas State
First Round
No. 5 – Georgia
No. 6 – Oregon
No. 7 – Alabama
No. 8 – Penn State
No. 9 – Tennessee
No. 10 -- Mississippi
No. 11 – Notre Dame
No. 12 – Boise State
.
Action Network (Brett McMurphy)
Cal Bowl
No Cal bowl (Oregon State in Independence Bowl, Colorado in LA Bowl)
College Football Playoff
First Round Byes
No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Ohio State
No. 3 – Miami
No. 4 – Iowa State
First Round
No. 5 – Georgia
No. 6 – Penn State
No. 7 – Oregon
No. 8 – Clemson
No. 9 – Mississippi
No. 10 – Alabama
No. 11 – LSU
No. 12 -- Army
.
Cal Bowl
LA Bowl – Cal vs. UNLV
College Football Playoff
First Round Byes
No. 1 – Ohio State
No. 2 – Texas
No. 3 – Clemson
No. 4 -- BYU
First Round
No. 5 – Georgia
No. 6 – Oregon
No. 7 – Tennessee
No. 8 – Penn State
No. 9 – Miami
No. 10 – Iowa State
No. 11 – Alabama
No. 12 – Boise State
.
College Football Network (Oliver Hodgkinson)
Cal Bowl
No Cal bowl (Washington State in Independence Bowl, Colorado in LA Bowl)
College Football Playoff
First-Round Byes
No. 1 -- Texas
No. 2 -- Ohio State
No. 3 – Miami
No. 4 – Boise State
First Round
No. 5 – Oregon
No. 6 – Penn State
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – LSU
No. 9 – Mississippi
No. 10 – Notre Dame
No. 11 – Alabama
No. 12 – BYU
.
2024 pecking order of Pac-12-affliated bowls, which applies to teams that were in the Pac-12 in 2023
College Football Playoff
Alamo Bowl (December 28, San Antonio)
Holiday Bowl (December 27, San Diego)
Las Vegas Bowl (December 27, Allegiant Stadium)
Sun Bowl (December 31, El Paso, Texas)
LA Bowl (December 18, SoFi Stadium)
Independence Bowl (December 28, Shreveport, Louisiana)
ESPN bowl pool
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