Colorado was clearly locked into the task at hand Monday: preparing for Friday’s Pac-12 championship game against No. 4 Washington at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Buffs fans, though, are already pricing plane flights as they look ahead to where CU will land in the bowl picture.
The good news: CU is destined for a prime bowl berth regardless of how things shake out Friday. Here are possible bowl destinations for the Buffs based on hypothetical outcomes of Friday’s game, as predicted by Denver Post college football reporter Nick Kosmider:
If the Buffs win …
The Rose Bowl: Jan. 2, Pasadena, Calif.
A victory over the Huskies would make this the most likely scenario. CU would be the undisputed champion of the Pac-12 and there would be no argument against its worthiness for a spot against a top-flight team from the Big Ten.
The Peach Bowl: Dec. 31, Atlanta
This would be one of two national semifinal games, and it would probably be a matchup against No. 1 Alabama. The Buffs are longshots to earn a spot in the national championship tournament. First, they would need a loss by Clemson in the ACC title game against Virginia Tech that would probably drop the Tigers out of the picture. With Alabama and Ohio State believed to be in regardless of what happens this weekend, that would leave two spots. The candidates in this scenario: the winner of the Big Ten title game between Penn State and Wisconsin; two-loss Michigan; the winner of the Big 12’s Bedlam game between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State; and Pac-12 champion Colorado. All of those teams except Oklahoma State are currently ranked ahead of CU in the College Football Playoff rankings, with new rankings due out Tuesday.
If the Buffs lose …
Alamo Bowl: Dec. 29, San Antonio
In this scenario, Washington earns the aforementioned playoff spot and the Rose Bowl committee chooses USC to represent the Pac-12. CU would be 10-3 and USC would be 9-3, but the Trojans beat the Buffs earlier this season and could jump them in the rankings.
Rose Bowl: Jan 2, Pasadena, Calif.
The bowl committee could choose not to punish CU for playing an extra game and losing to a top five team. And the CFP rankings committee could leave the Buffs as the higher-ranked team over USC, choosing to place value on CU’s division championship, among other factors.
Cotton Bowl: Jan. 2, Dallas
This is one of the “New Year’s Six” bowls that pits an at-large team against the top-ranked team in the Group of Five conferences, which is likely to be Western Michigan. If the Buffs weren’t to fall far in the rankings after a loss to the Huskies, they could be eligible to be that at-large team.
Holiday Bowl: Dec. 27, San Diego
This is probably the most unlikely of the scenarios. It would rely on Washington getting locked out of the playoffs even after finishing 12-1 and winning the Pac-12 title game. The Huskies would then land in the Rose Bowl and, in this scenario, the Alamo Bowl would choose USC.