Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include ESPN’s bowl projections.
Forget Week 0, let’s talk bowl season.
The 2023 college football season will kick off this weekend with a handful of Week 0 matchups, before the rest of the sport catches up the next week with a full slate of Week 1 games — that includes season openers for BYU, Utah and Utah State.
Of course, it’s never too early to look further into the future — specifically the postseason, in this case.
This week, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach, Action Network’s Brett McMurphy, 247 Sports’ Brad Crawford and College Football News released their preseason bowl projections for the 2023 season, after CBS Sports did that earlier this month.
Before the season begins, here’s what these media outlets have predicted will happen for the three Utah FBS schools in the postseason.
What are the preseason bowl projections for Utah football in 2023?
- Kyle Bonagura, ESPN: Fiesta Bowl, Utah vs. Penn State.
- Mark Schlabach, ESPN: Alamo Bowl, Utah vs. Texas Tech.
- Brett McMurphy, Action Network: Las Vegas Bowl, Utah vs. Nebraska.
- Brad Crawford, 247 Sports: Alamo Bowl, Utah vs. TCU.
- College Football News: Fiesta Bowl, Utah vs. Boise State.
- Jerry Palm, CBS Sports: Holiday Bowl, Utah vs. Pittsburgh.
One year after the Utes were a popular preseason pick for the Rose Bowl in 2022 (and ultimately played in the storied bowl game for the second straight season), two prognosticators — Bonagura and College Football News — pegged Utah for a New Year’s Six bowl in 2023.
The destination is the same in both: the Fiesta Bowl. Either projected opponent would also give Utah with a chance for postseason redemption.
Bonagura predicted the Utes will play Penn State, who beat the Utes in the Rose Bowl last year. College Football News, meanwhile, projected that Boise State will face Utah — the Broncos beat the Utes in 2010 Las Vegas Bowl.
What are the preseason bowl projections for BYU football in 2023?
- Kyle Bonagura, ESPN: No bowl projection.
- Mark Schlabach, ESPN: Hawaii Bowl, BYU vs. UNLV.
- Brett McMurphy, Action Network: Gasparilla Bowl, BYU vs. South Carolina.
- Brad Crawford, 247 Sports: Gasparilla Bowl, BYU vs. Mississippi State.
- College Football News: Independence Bowl, BYU vs. North Carolina.
- Jerry Palm, CBS Sports: No bowl projection.
Welcome to Power Five football: heading into its first season in the Big 12, the Cougars are projected to play another P5 team in three of the projections, miss the postseason entirely two others and fill an open Group of Five spot in another.
Of note: the Gasparilla Bowl is an ESPN owned and operated bowl — it uses a pool of conferences to fill the two slots. The Gasparilla Bowl has regularly featured a Power Five team, and the past two seasons the SEC has sent a team to the bowl. Last year was the first time it featured two Power Five schools: Wake Forest of the ACC vs. Missouri of the SEC.
What are the preseason bowl projections for Utah State football in 2023?
- Kyle Bonagura, ESPN: No bowl projection.
- Mark Schlabach, ESPN: No bowl projection.
- Brett McMurphy, Action Network: No bowl projection.
- Brad Crawford, 247 Sports: Hawaii Bowl, Utah State vs. UTSA.
- College Football News: Arizona Bowl, Utah State vs. Eastern Michigan.
- Jerry Palm, CBS Sports: No bowl projection.
Utah State has only missed the postseason twice since 2011, but at this juncture, the Aggies are given an under-50% shot of making their third straight bowl by this group of writers.
In both scenarios where Utah State is projected to make the postseason, it’s in a bowl game the Aggies have played in during recent seasons. UTSA in the Hawaii Bowl could be intriguing, as the Roadrunners are seen as one of the top Group of Five schools this season.
What stands out about the Pac-12 bowl projections?
Only two of the six projections used in this roundup have a Pac-12 team making the College Football Playoff, and it’s the same matchup in both. Schlabach and College Football News both have USC playing Michigan in the Rose Bowl, one of this year’s CFP semifinals.
The Trojans were also projected as New Year’s Six participants by Bonagura (vs. Kansas State in Cotton Bowl), Crawford (vs. LSU in Cotton Bowl) and Palm (vs. Boise State in Fiesta Bowl), while Oregon was predicted for a NY6 bowl by McMurphy (vs. Tulane in Beach Bowl), Crawford (vs. Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl) and College Football News (vs. Texas in Cotton Bowl).
Washington also received two NY6 projections, from McMurphy (vs. Alabama in Fiesta Bowl) and Schlabach (vs. Tulana in Fiesta Bowl).
Another interesting bowl pairing is McMurphy’s Alamo Bowl pick: Texas vs. USC, in a matchup of two blue blood programs before they head to the SEC and Big Ten, respectively.
What stands out about the Big 12 bowl projections?
Only one of the four projections had a Big 12 team reaching the playoff: Crawford has Texas playing Ohio State in the playoff semifinals in the Rose Bowl.
The Longhorns were the runaway league favorite in terms of making a New Year’s Six bowl: Schlabach has them facing LSU in the Cotton Bowl, College Football News has Texas playing Oregon in the Cotton Bowl, while Palm has the Longhorns facing Clemson in the Peach Bowl.
Two other Big 12 programs are projected to play in the Cotton Bowl: Palm predicted Kansas State will take on Penn State in that game and Bonagura tabbed USC as the Wildcats’ opponent, while McMurphy has Texas Tech facing LSU in the NY6 contest.
What stands out about the Mountain West bowl projections?
Boise State is seen as the favorite to win the MWC this season, and two bowl projections have the Broncos making the New Year’s Six, including the aforementioned matchup with Utah in the Fiesta Bowl from College Football News.
CBS Sports, though, has perhaps an even more intriguing matchup: Boise State vs. USC in the Fiesta Bowl.
Both ESPN writers and Action Network also have Boise State winning the MWC and representing the league in the Los Angeles Bowl against UCLA. 247 Sports, meanwhile, has San Diego State earning the conference’s top spot in the LA Bowl and playing Arizona.