PAC-12
The Pac-12 still looks as dominant as ever reaching this point in the college football season. The conference still has six teams in the AP Top 25 rankings (#7 Washington, #8 Oregon, #9 USC, #13 Washington State, #15 Oregon State, and #18 Utah) with five of those teams being in the top fifteen. Michael Penix Jr. , last year’s Valero Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP, continues to dominate and is one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. While other quarterbacks continue to top headlines include reigning Heisman Award winner and Alamo Bowl alum Caleb Williams, Oregon Duck’s Bo Nix, and Washington State standout Cameron Ward, a UIW transfer. There is no doubt that it will take every game left in this season to determine who will come out on top with the amount of top-tier competition that the Pac-12 holds.
Big 12
The Big 12 continues to be dominated by the likes of #3 Texas and #12 Oklahoma. With a dominant win over Kansas and CFP aspirations, Texas looks to set themselves apart even further as they head up to Dallas for the annual Red River Rivalry against the Sooners this Saturday. Oklahoma, while 5-0 headed into this rivalry matchup, is a popular selection by the media to be playing in the Valero Alamo Bowl this year for just the second time ever. Another team that looks to be in serious competition for a Valero Alamo Bowl bid are the Kansas State Wildcats, who sit at 3-1 and just outside the Top 25. The Wildcats, led by Senior Quarterback Will Howard, will travel to Stillwater this weekend to take on Oklahoma State before coming home to face TCU and Houston. West Virginia, Kansas, and BYU are all teams that look hungry and still are fighting for a chance to make this year’s game.
Bowl Projections: We’re now reaching the halfway point of the season, which means there are some teams that are separating themselves from the rest and now emerging as favorites to be playing in this year’s Valero Alamo Bowl. But as we know, there is a lot of football to be played and a lot can happen in the next couple of months:
Action Network: USC vs Oklahoma
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura): Washington State vs Kansas State
ESPN (Mark Schlabach): USC vs Kansas State
Athlon Sports: Oregon vs Kansas
College Football News: Oregon vs Oklahoma
CBS Sports: Oregon vs Kansas State
Valero Alamo Bowl team selection will take place Sunday, Dec. 3rd.