Heading into Oregon Game, Bowl Possibilities Remain Numerous for UW

The Huskies can still end up in California, Nevada, Texas or Louisiana for the postseason.

Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (9) holds up the offensive MVP trophy at the 2022 Alamo Bowl after beating Texas 27-20. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

In some ways, facing No. 1-ranked Oregon to end the regular season is as good as appearing in a bowl game for the University of Washington football team, if not better. A crowd approaching 60,000 will be in attendance at Autzen Stadium, quite a bit more than what the Huskies might expect elsewhere. NBC will show this game, not cable.

Heading into Saturday's game in Eugene, the UW still remains all over the postseason map with the various prognosticators, showing up in five different bowl scenarios. No one is picking them for the LA Bowl after nearly everyone was early on.

An upset of the Ducks no doubt would elevate the Huskies to a better bowl, such the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, and give them a California game which otherwise won't happen for the UW for the first time with a full schedule since 1992.

"We're going to just try and control our own destiny by playing really well on Saturday and see what bowl game chooses us and try to go out and make that a championship game," Husky coach Jedd Fisch said.

In 10 bowl projections (listed below), nearly half like the UW turning up at the Las Vegas Bowl and facing an SEC team, with Mississippi, Missouri and Texas A&M among possible opponents. The Huskies have never faced Ole Miss or Mizzou in football.

"California, Vegas, all those areas are big recruiting hotbeds for us," Fisch said. "Those are great opportunities."

If the Huskies faced Memphis in the Independence Bowl, as suggested below, they would be reunited with Lee Marks, who was Kalen DeBoer's UW running backs coach the previous two seasons. If meeting Missouri in the postseason, they would run up against Derham Cato, who was Jimmy Lake's Husky tight-end coach and Kirby Moore, a graduate assistant for UW coach Chris Petersen and now the Tigers' offensive coordinator.

If Ole Miss becomes the bowl opponent, the UW would go up against its former starting guards Nate Kalepo and Julius Buelow from the CFP national championship game.

Selection Sunday is set for Dec. 8, with most of the bowls projected for the UW falling between Christmas and New Year's Day.

UW BOWL POSSIBILITIES
Sun Bowl: UW vs. Virginia Tech	College Football News
Las Vegas Bowl: UW vs. Ole Miss	247Sports
Alamo Bowl: UW vs. Iowa State	Sports Illustrated
Sun Bowl: UW vs. Duke	Bleacher Report
Las Vegas Bowl: UW vs. Ole Miss	Action Network
Holiday Bowl: UW vs. Pittsburgh	CBS
Las Vegas Bowl: UW vs. Texas A&M	Athletic
Sun Bowl: UW vs. North Carolina	USA Today
Las Vegas Bowl: UW vs. Missouri	Athlon
Independence Bowl: UW vs. Memphis	Sporting News

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