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gbruin's avatar

Why wouldn't Utah get the Rose Bowl, Lisa? They would be the conference 2nd place team if *$c wins and goes to the CFP (please, no...please, no). Why the attraction for the Alamo Bowl for Utah?

I would guess that UCLA would be more attractive to the LV Bowl that Oregon State due to proximity and DTR coming home. Granted, UCLA's fan base is comatose right now, but it's still better than OSU's, isn't it?

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Lisa Horne's avatar

Washington is 10-2 overall. Utah is 9-3 overall. Yes, Utah is second place when it comes to conference tie-breakers in determining who plays in the Pac-12 championship BUT... Washington has the better record.

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gbruin's avatar

Ah, got it. Many thanks!

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Evan's avatar

Rose Bowl would pick Utah. It has no obligation to look at records or tie breakers. They get first choice so they would obviously go with the Pac 12 runner up.

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Lisa Horne's avatar

I disagree. If Utah loses in the Pac-12 Championship to USC, the Utes will have had 4 losses. There is NO way the Rose Bowl committee picks a 4-loss Utah over a 2- loss Washington.

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Evan's avatar

you are just looking at numbers. Utah will be the conference runner up -- i.e. #2 -- and they are not going to be penalized for their 4th loss coming in the added championship game (in which UW would get SMOKED by USC) against a CFP team. The Rose Bowl is supposed to be the Pac 12 champion vs. the Big 12 champion....no way in hell they are going to water down the game by letting a third place team sneak in. They are already going to be pissed off enough if OSU and Michigan both go to the playoff (although that would almost guarantee the Pac 12 champion going to the Rose Bowl).

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Dimitri Dorlis's avatar

Washington is technically tied for second place, Utah just gets the placement in the conference championship game due to tiebreaker rules.

And the Rose Bowl would absolutely take Washington for that slot. No repeat from the year prior and Washington is a more traditional power compared to Utah. Them versus Ohio State or Penn State is a big money match for the Rose Bowl and ABC.

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Clio 98's avatar

Not to mention, Washington is currently #9 making it a "Top 10 Matchup" as opposed to Utah who is currently #12 and would likely drop at least a bit lower if they lost to $outhern Cal in that scenario...

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Lisa Horne's avatar

But that's how the RB Committee selects their teams. The highest-ranked team. A bowl committee member told me that. The only time they consider other factors is if there is a cluster of teams together w/ same record etc. Then they would consider who played most recently in their bowl, who already had head-to-head, etc.

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BigB88's avatar

I would agree a 4-loss team would be a hard choice for the Rose Bowl, but just like Ohio St and Michigan, it depends on how Utah does against USC. If they lose a very close game or OT game to SC (which is possible), the Rose Bowl still may select them. If they are blown out, then I'd go with Washington.

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Lisa Horne's avatar

As far as OSU v UCLA in the LV Bowl.... which fan base, based on attendance figures, would executives on a Bowl committee think would bring more fans? Oregon State or UCLA? I don't have TY's attendance figures yet.

LY's attendance was 71% for OSU, 50% for UCLA. This year UCLA's looks worse and OSU's looks better. If you're on a bowl committee, those empty Rose Bowl stadium shots may play a part in the decision.

Also, a committee is not going to base a decision on a player's family/friends being there. This is a financial decision. Not a good-feels decision.

Here's another (Yahoo!) analysis:

OREGON STATE

Oregon State’s nonconference results are better than UCLA’s, but UCLA beat Utah and Washington, and OSU went 0-2 against those teams.

UCLA

UCLA lost to Oregon, which offsets UCLA beating Washington and Oregon losing to the Huskies. Both teams beat Utah.

The ultimate difference: UCLA lost at home to Arizona.

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Evan's avatar

I would think that they would look at how we travel a lot more than our Rose Bowl attendance. I live in LA and frankly I'm a lot more likely to go to an away game than to a game at the Rose Bowl. I agree that the Bowl not basing this on DTR. He's not a Heisman contender. He's just a pretty good QB who might be a late round pick.

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BigB88's avatar

DTR is an average QB and will not be drafted. He is not, nor has he ever been NFL caliber (that's why he's a 5th year senior). If he does get drafted, he will go the way of Josh Rosen. As far as UCLA's "bowl chances", who cares, it's a low-level bowl, which, if matched with anyone decent, they will lose.

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Steve's avatar

I disagree on your assessment of DTR. He’s better than average. I think he’s got a shot at someone taking a flyer in the 6th round or so. But his dreary position does not really matter. Draft or no draft I think he’s in an NFL camp and probably put on a practice squad.

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BigB88's avatar

Not sure how you disagreed and then said he would end up on a practice squad somewhere just like Josh Rosen. So, I guess you disagreed and then agreed?

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gbruin's avatar

I guess, also, UCLA is ranked ahead of Oregon State in the latest CFP rankings, but we are a spot behind them in the AP Poll (nice consistency, guys), so I suppose it'll come down to the whims of the LV Bowl Committee and what they are feeling next weekend.

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