Pac-10 Bowl Update

In a dog eat dog conference, earning 6 wins is proving to be a tough task for everyone except Oregon, Stanford, and Arizona. USC is of course out of bowl discussion, as is Washington State and Arizona State. That leaves California (5-5), Oregon State (4-5), UCLA (4-5), and Washington (3-6) fighting to earn 6 wins. As it stands nows, the Pac-10 bowl picture looks like this:

Tostitos BCS National Championship Game: Oregon vs. BCS team

Rose Bowl Game: Stanford vs. Big Ten

Valero Alamo: Arizona vs. Big 12

Bridgepoint Education Holiday: California vs. Big 12

Hyundai Sun: No team

MAACO Las Vegas: No team

Kraft Fight Hunger: No team

Remaining Schedules:
California: vs. Stanford, vs. UW
Oregon State: vs. USC, @Stanford, vs. Oregon
UCLA: @UW, @ASU, vs. USC
Washington: vs. UCLA, @WSU, @Cal

Oregon State is all but dead in this discussion, as is UCLA. The Beavers would need to win 2 of 3 against the top 3 teams in the conference. UCLA could very well get 2 more wins in their final 3, and sneak into the Sun Bowl, however, a loss to Cal earlier makes a Holiday Bowl bid impossible assuming Cal wins 1 more game. If Cal loses to Stanford and beats UW, which is the most likely scenario, they will play in the Holiday Bowl assuming Stanford goes to the Rose Bowl. Ironically, if Cal beats Stanford and UW, they will most likely end up in the Sun Bowl, rather than the Holiday because Stanford would be knocked out of Rose Bowl contention. Finally, Washington has the most simple route to a bowl game. They must win all 3 of their final games to be bowl eligible. And the reward for doing so would be terrific. Here’s why…
If UW beats UCLA and Cal, and Oregon and Stanford handle their remaining games, the Huskies will be playing for a Holiday Bowl bid in the Apple Cup on 12/4. Believe big!

-Dan