Possible 2023 Utah Football Bowl Destinations

SALT LAKE CITY – The 2023 college football regular season has wrapped up, and now Utah football awaits their bowl destination which will be determined this coming Sunday.

However, before bowl games are divvied up, Conference Championship games have to be played.

While we have to wait a week before officially knowing where the Utes are headed, it doesn’t mean we can’t take some educated guesses as to possible post-season landing spots.

UTAH MAN AM I pic.twitter.com/wOXeoiu3q7

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 25, 2023

How The Pac-12 Conference Shook Out In 2023

• Washington Huskies (12-0, 9-0) play in Pac-12 Title Game this weekend.
• Oregon Ducks (11-1, 8-1) play in Pac-12 Title Game this weekend.
• Arizona Wildcats (9-3, 7-2)
• Oregon State Beavers (8-4, 5-4)
• Utah Utes (8-4, 5-4)
• USC Trojans (7-5, 5-4)
• UCLA Bruins (7-5, 4-5)
• Cal Golden Bears (6-6, 4-5)
• Washington State Cougars (5-7, 2-7)
• Arizona State Sun Devils (3-9, 2-7)
• Stanford Cardinal (3-9, 2-7)
• Colorado Buffalo (4-8, 1-8)

Eight out of 12 Pac-12 teams are bowl eligible in 2023.

Looking at the Pac-12 Championship Game there is some speculation that regardless of who wins between the Ducks and Huskies that there will be a Playoff Berth for the Pac-12 and a New Years Six invite for the runner up. This opens up the rest of the Pac-12’s bowl tie-ins for the other six bowl eligible teams.

The stage is set 🍿 pic.twitter.com/SKAm4vvJOJ

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) November 25, 2023

Pac-12 2023 Bowl Tie-Ins

• Valero Alamo Bowl vs. Big 12 opponent (December 28)
• Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl vs. ACC opponent (December 29)
• SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl vs. Big Ten (December 23)
• San Diego Country Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. ACC (December 27)
• Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl vs. Big 12 (December 16)
• Rob Gronkowski L.A. Bowl vs. MWC (December 16)

Other Bowl Tie-Ins If Needed

• Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl vs. Big 12 or C-USA (December 23)
• Servepro First-Responder Bowl vs. ACC, American Athletic or Big 12 (December 26)
• Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl vs. Big 12, ACC, or SEC (December 22)

Which Bowl Game Is Utah Likely To Play In?

It seems likely Arizona with the next best record behind Washington and Oregon will be selected for the Alamo Bowl.

Oregon State, Utah, and USC are tied for the next best in-conference records, with Oregon State and Utah pulling slightly ahead with a better overall record. The Las Vegas Bowl, Sun Bowl and Holiday Bowls are next in line.

The Beavs were just in Las Vegas last year, so it seems unlikely they will head there again.

There seems to currently be a lot of confidence the Utes will be selected for Las Vegas, but there is also a possibility they could be sent to the Sun Bowl too. As of now, the Holiday Bowl seems the least likely of the three possible destinations.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michelle Bodkin (@bodkinkslsports)

With USC just up the road from San Diego, the speculation has been the Trojans are most likely to be heading there.

That leaves UCLA and Cal to go between the Independence Bowl and L.A. Bowl.

Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for KSLsports.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports

Are you on Threads yet? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports. 

Download the new & improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. You can stream live radio, video and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams.

 

Follow @bodkinkslsports