Bowl Projections: Postseason Once Again Seems Likely After OSU Win Over Texas

Not much changed in the bowl projections this week on a national level, but it does seem far more likely that a 5-3 OSU team with Baylor, OU, WVU and TCU still left on the schedule is far more likely to make a bowl game than 4-3 OSU coming off a bad game against Kansas State with those teams plus Texas on deck.

Here’s a look at the bowl projections from national outlets.

ESPN 1: Texas Bowl (Texas A&M)
ESPN 2: Armed Forces Bowl (Houston)
USA Today: Liberty Bowl (Missouri)
SI: Liberty Bowl (Mississippi State)
SB Nation: Liberty Bowl (Memphis)
CBS: Cheez-It Bowl (Cal)

The only ones that really changed are EPSN’s — which moved OSU from the Liberty Bowl to the Texas Bowl and Armed Forces Bowl — and CBS Sports, which moved OSU from no bowl to the Cheez-It Bowl (which might be the same thing).

I noted this earlier in the year, but a bowl game against Texas A&M would be fabulous and about 100x more intriguing than a bowl game against Memphis. The Jimbo-Gundy opening presser should count toward the score of the game.

Mississippi State, Mizzou and Cal would be good opponents, too, but wouldn’t have quite the same appeal or draw as A&M.

It’s going to be fascinating to see where OSU finishes in the Big 12. They’re currently tied for sixth with Baylor but have a chance to end up in the top half with both Baylor and 1-4 TCU still on the slate. Somewhat ironically, they hurt their bowl game chances by beating Texas last week, though Texas wasn’t really a serious CFP contender. If OU or West Virginia wins out and makes the CFP, that would bolster OSU’s slot in a potential postseason game.

Regardless, it looks like OSU’s bowl streak will probably reach 13 games, depending on whether they can get past one of the final four teams they play and reach six games. I know I’m not alone here, but I think it’s one of the more underrated aspects of the Gundy era in Stillwater. I mean, look at the teams that currently have double-digit bowl streaks going!