Bowl Projections: Up to 9 Pac-12 Teams May Land Postseason Berths

Seven of the eight experts cited expect Cal to play in a bowl game this season

ESPN’s two college football experts posted their bowl projections for the 2021 season on Thursday, prompting us to present bowl predictions from a variety of sources.

Seven of the eight sources we cited expect Cal to play in a bowl game, although that includes two projections that the Bears will be in the Redbox Bowl, the Bay Area bowl that does not yet have a date or a venue, suggesting the game may not be played at all this season.  Two of the experts did not include the Redbox Bowl in their projections.

Two sources have Cal in the First Responder Bowl, two have the Bears in the LA Bowl, and one has them in the Hawaii Bowl. Three of the experts expect eight Pac-12 teams to earn bowl berths, and two have nine Pac-12 teams getting postseason bids. None projects a Pac-12 team to get into the four-team College Football Playoff for a chance at a national championship.

We looked at projections from ESPN’s Kyle Bunagura, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach, college football expert Brett McMurphy, CBS Sports, College Football News, Pac-12 expert Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, Athlon and 247Sports. 

The pecking order of bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins is listed below the bowl projections.

Here are the projections as they pertain to Pac-12 schools.:

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ESPN’s Kyle Bunagura

Redbox Bowl, TBD – Cal vs. Minnesota

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 – Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1 – USC vs. Ohio State

LA Bowl, Dec. 18 -- Colorado vs. San Jose State

Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24 – Stanford vs. Nevada

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – Arizona State vs. Pittsburgh

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – Washington vs. Texas

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30  – Utah vs. Indiana

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31  – UCLA vs. Wake Forest

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ESPN’s Mark Schlabach

Hawaii Bowl, Dec. 24 – Cal vs. Fresno State (The Hawaii Bowl has tie-ins with the American Athletic Conference and Mountain West, but if the AAC does not have enough bowl-eligible teams, the Hawaii Bowl can look elsewhere.)

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 – USC vs. Ohio State

Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1 – Oregon vs. Cincinnati

LA Bowl, Dec. 18 —UCLA vs. Boise State

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – Stanford vs. North Carolina State

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – Washington vs. Texas

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 – Arizona Stat vs. Michigan

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 – Utah vs. Boston College

Redbox Bowl, TBD – Colorado vs. Nebraska

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Brett McMurphy

LA Bowl, Dec. 18 – Cal vs. Boise State

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 () – Utah vs. Wisconsin

Peach Bowl, Dec. 30 – Oregon vs. Clemson

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 – UCLA vs. Louisville

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 – Washington vs. Iowa

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – USC vs. Oklahoma State

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – Arizona State vs. North Carolina State

Redbox Bowl, TBD – Washington State vs. Nebraska

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CBS Sports (no Redbox Bowl projection)

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 – Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 – Utah vs. Virginia Tech

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 – Arizona State vs. Indiana

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – USC vs. Texas

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – Washington vs. Boston College

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College Football News

First Responder Bowl, Dec. 28 – Cal vs. Kansas State

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 – Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – USC vs. North Carolina

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – Utah vs. Oklahoma State

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 – Washington vs. Iowa

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 – Arizona State vs. Virginia Tech

Redbox Bowl, TBD – Stanford vs. Purdue

LA Bowl, Dec. 18 – UCLA vs. Boise State

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Jon Wilner, San Jose Mercury News (no Redbox Bowl projection)

LA Bowl, Dec. 19 -- Cal vs. Boise State

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 -- Oregon (Pac-12) vs. Wisconsin (Big Ten)

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 -- Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 -- Washington vs. Iowa

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 -- Utah vs. Virginia

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 -- USC vs. North Carolina State

First Responder Bowl, Dec. 28 -- UCLA vs. Wake Forest

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247 Sports

First Responder Bowl, Dec. 28 – Cal vs. Kansas State

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 -- Oregon vs. Wisconsin

LA Bowl, Dec. 18 – UCLA vs. Boise State

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – USC vs. North Carolina

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – Utah vs. West Virginia

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 – Arizona State vs. Virginia Tech

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 – Washington vs. Iowa

Redbox Bowl, TBD – Stanford vs. Minnesota

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Athlon

Redbox Bowl, TBD – Cal vs. Northwestern

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 – Oregon vs. Wisconsin

LA Bowl, Dec. 18 – UCLA vs. Boise State

Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 30 – USC vs. Indiana

Holiday Bowl, Dec. 28 – Washington vs. Florida State

Alamo Bowl, Dec. 29 – Arizona State vs. Oklahoma State

Sun Bowl, Dec. 31 – Utah vs. Virginia Tech

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Here are the bowls with Pac-12 tie-ins, listed in their pecking order:

College Football Playoff semifinals (if a Pac-12 team finishes among the top four teams in the final College Football Playoff rankings): Cotton Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time or 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium), ESPN, and Orange Bowl, Dec. 31, 12:30 p.m. Pacific time or 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Hard Rock Stadium), ESPN.

1. Rose Bowl: Jan. 1, 2 p.m. Pacific time, Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl Stadium), ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big Ten.

2. Alamo Bowl: Dec. 29, 6:15 p.m. Pacific time, San Antonio (Alamodome), ESPN – Pac-12 vs. Big 12.

3. Las Vegas Bowl: Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. Pacific time, Las Vegas (Allegiant Stadium), ESPN – Pac-12 s. Big Ten

4. Holiday Bowl: Date to be determined, time to be determined, San Diego (venue to be determined), FOX/FS1 – Pac-12 vs. ACC

5. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: Dec. 31, 9:30 a.m. Pacific time, El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl Stadium), CBS – Pac-12 vs. ACC

6. LA Bowl: Dec. 18, 4:30 p.m. Pacific time, Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi Stadium), ABC – Pac-12 vs. Mountain West.

*7. Redbox Bowl (if it is played): Date to be determined, time to be determined, San Francisco Bay Area (venue to be determined), TV to be determined – Pac-12 vs. Big Ten. It's unclear where the Redbox Bowl would fall in the pecking order if it is played.

First Responder Bowl -- The Pac-12 might occupy a spot in this bowl against a team from the ACC, American Athletic or Big 12.

Gasparilla Bowl -- The Pac-12 might fill an opening in this bowl against a team from the Big 12, ACC or SEC.

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Cover photo of Cal football by Kelley L. Cox, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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