2024 Big 12 Football Bowl Projections Following Week 14

SALT LAKE CITY – The 2024 college football regular season came to a close last night and at its conclusion, nine Big 12 teams are bowl eligible. The two teams that were playing for their post-season lives yesterday, Kansas and Cincinnati, both suffered season-ending losses, coming up just one win short of eligibility.

The Big 12 Championship game matchup was also solidified as we will see Arizona State and Iowa State battle for a spot in the College Football Playoff in Arlington, Texas on Saturday.

With records final, our Big 12 insiders Mitch Harper and Steve Bartle make their final bowl predictions of the season, projecting what December will look like for teams across the conference.

Sun Devils. Cyclones.

🏆
📍 Arlington, Texas.
📅 12.7.24
📺 ABC

🎟️🔗: https://t.co/O7OY7wQRck pic.twitter.com/K5FENUTn1U

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) December 1, 2024

Big 12 Bowl Projections

Kansas entered the final week of the regular season as the hottest team in the Big 12. They became the first unranked team in college football history to beat a top-25 team in three consecutive weeks. Their finale was against the Baylor Bears in Waco. The Jayhawks were unable to maintain their breakneck pace to close out the season and suffered a 45-17 blowout loss.

Cincinnati had a forgettable last month of the season as they closed their 2024 campaign with five losses in a row. The Bearcats have been a win away from clinching a bowl berth since October 19 but were unable to get the job done down the stretch. Cincinnati’s loss to TCU was a low-scoring affair and the Bearcats only fell short by a touchdown.

The BYU Cougars were eliminated from Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff contention, barring a miraculous selection from the committee. BYU’s hopes were dashed when Iowa State Closed out Kansas State in the Farmageddon rivalry game and tiebreakers gave the Cyclones the final spot.

Previous Big 12 Bowl Projections: Preseason | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13

Both of our Big 12 insiders give their picks for bowl games in 2024. If the selections are the same, there will only be one matchup.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Thursday, December 26
5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Matchup 1: Kansas State vs. Minnesota
Matchup 2: Baylor vs Rutgers

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Friday, December 27
12:00 or 3:30, ESPN
Amon G Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, TX
Matchup 1: Texas Tech vs. Navy
Matchup 2: TCU vs East Carolina

AutoZone Liberty Bowl 

Friday, December 27
7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, TN
Matchup 1: Baylor vs. LSU
Matchup 2: Kansas State vs Vanderbilt

Pop-Tarts Bowl

Saturday, December 28
3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Matchup 1: Iowa State vs. Syracuse
Matchup 2: Iowa State vs Miami

Valero Alamo Bowl

Saturday, December 28
7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Matchup 1: BYU vs. Colorado

Texas Bowl

Tuesday, December 31
3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
Matchup 1: TCU vs. Arkansas
Matchup 2: Arkansas vs Texas Tech

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Saturday, December 28
9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Independence Stadium, Shreveport, LA
Matchup 1: West Virginia vs Army

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl

Friday, January 3
4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX
Matchup 1: West Virginia vs. East Carolina

College Football Playoff

Arizona State and Iowa State both took care of business in their respective final games to both punch their ticket to Arlington. The winner between the Sun Devils and Cyclones will represent the Big 12 in the College Football Playoff, likely as the 12 seed.

The Big 12’s best chance of clinching a first-round bye will be for UNLV to beat Boise State in the Mountain West Championship game so that the two-loss Rebels would represent the G5 in the playoff, opening the door for the winner of the Big 12 Championship Game to slide past in the College Football Playoff rankings.

The final Saturday was a wild one across college football with several devastating losses across the top 12. The madness began with No. 7 Georgia narrowly escaping Georgia Tech in eight overtimes. Michigan shocked No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus to beat the Buckeyes for the fourth year in a row, losing their spot in the Big Ten Championship Game in the process, leaving their playoff fate up to the committee. No. 6 Miami also let a Championship Game appearance slip through their fingers in the ACC with a brutal loss to Syracuse. No. 12 Clemson was beaten by South Carolina but still clings to hope, clinching a spot in the ACC Championship Game thanks to Miami’s loss.

Oregon and Penn State will play for the Big Ten Championship and Georgia and Texas will play for the SEC Championship. All four of those teams will almost certainly be in the playoff regardless of championship game results, it will just be a matter of who gets the bye and who will play a first-round game. SMU and Clemson will meet in the ACC Championship Game where the loser will still have an outside shot of an at-large bid.

Quarterfinal Games

No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8/9 Winner

No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7/10 Winner

No. 3 SMU vs. No. 6/11 Winner

No. 4 Boise State vs. No. 5/12 Winner

Opening Round Games at campus sites

No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Penn State

No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Notre Dame

No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Georgia

No. 9 Ohio State at No. 8 Tennesse

First Four out: South Carolina, Miami, Ole Miss, Iowa State

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