Bowl Projections for No. 12 BYU After 5-0 Start

BYU defeated Houston on Friday night, moving to 5-0 on the season. The AP Top 25 poll rewarded them with a No. 12 ranking, the highest the Cougars have ranked since 2009. As such, the bowl hype is sky-high.

Armed Forces Bowl vs. TCU (College FB News)

Some sites have not quite bought into the hype of BYU as a NY6 team quite yet. This would pit the Cougars against former Mountain West rival TCU in a mid-tier bowl. TCU, now in the Big 12, has stumbled out of the gate to 1-2 but they have a big date with Oklahoma this weekend. If they beat the Sooners, this prediction will likely not come true, as they could be bound for a bigger bowl.

Armed Forces Bowl vs. Cincinnati (CBS)

CBS also has not drank the royal blue Kool-aid quite yet. However, Cincinnati is far from a boring opponent. The Bearcats have big goals of their own in 2020, starting off 3-0 and currently ranked ahead of BYU at No. 9. They had their game against Tulsa postponed and will face off against No. 16 SMU this weekend in a battle that could be an AAC championship game preview.

Fiesta Bowl vs. Wisconsin (USA TODAY)

This is where the fun begins. Three reputable sites have BYU in a New Year’s Six Bowl, including USA TODAY. Wisconsin would see this as an opportunity to avenge their upset loss to BYU in 2018, when the Cougars traveled to Madison and beat the 6th-ranked Badgers. BYU and Wisconsin have split their four total meetings and Wisconsin’s season kicks off this Friday against Illinois.

Cotton Bowl vs. Oklahoma State (ESPN)

This has been a steady prediction for several weeks now. The Cowboys are ranked No. 6 and may be the Big 12’s lone chance at the College Football Playoff. They still need to navigate through a schedule that contains Texas, Oklahoma and No. 20 ranked Kansas State. This would be a blast from the past as Oklahoma State played BYU in the Cougars’ first two ever bowls in 1974 and 1976, with OSU winning both matchups. The two schools have not played since.

Fiesta Bowl vs. USC (247 Sports) and my prediction

This has been my prediction for several weeks and I am standing pat with 247 Sports. The Trojans are the favored team in the PAC-12 South division and on paper, look to be playing second fiddle to Oregon for a chance at the College Football Playoff. In any case, the Trojans are looking to have a great season and they would jump at the chance to end their year attempting to exact revenge on the same Cougars who upset them in Provo last season. This would be a huge opportunity for BYU to play a national brand team in one of the biggest bowls of the season.