Arizona’s resurgence could be rewarded with Las Vegas Bowl berth
Bowl season is beginning to take shape as the calendar flips to November. Three teams from the Big Ten West are still in contention for the Las Vegas Bowl bid, while the Pac-12 gained more clarity heading into Week 11.
Projection: No. 23 Arizona vs. Nebraska
The Wildcats continued their remarkable resurgence in Week 10. Arizona picked up a 27-10 win against then-ranked UCLA at home to reach bowl eligibility for the first time since 2017.
Arizona is on the road this week to face coach Deion Sanders and Colorado, which is in desperate need of a win to keep its bowl dreams alive.
Other games to watch include No. 5 Washington hosting No. 13 Utah and No. 6 Oregon welcoming Southern California. The Las Vegas Bowl seems likely to get either Arizona, Utah or USC because No. 12 Oregon State played in the 2022 game.
Seven Pac-12 teams are bowl eligible, but only five teams in the Big Ten have reached six wins. Week 10 was devastating for the Big Ten West. Nebraska, Minnesota and Wisconsin — all stuck at five wins — lost to Michigan State, Illinois and Indiana, respectively. Those three teams had one conference win combined entering the week.
Iowa remains the only bowl eligible team in the Big Ten West, but Minnesota and Nebraska are also appealing options for the Las Vegas Bowl as long as they reach six wins.
Minnesota travels to two-win Purdue this week, and Nebraska hosts Maryland. Wisconsin is unlikely to be selected, as it was the most recent Big Ten Las Vegas Bowl participant.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.