The No. 8 Cougars suffered their first loss last Saturday, falling 39-31 to UCF<\/a> in double overtime to drop to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 action. BYU, though, has its win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame to bolster its CFP r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n The Deseret News took a look at seven bowl projections released this week, and in each of them, both Utah and BYU are included in the CFP field.<\/p>\n If the Utes and Cougars finish the season strong, there is a solid chance that both of these rivals \u2014 who play each other on Nov. 7 \u2014 could end up representing the Big 12 in the playoff. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at the latest bowl projections for every Big 12 team following Week 8 of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Note: Bonagura has Utah beating Georgia and advancing to the CFP semifinals before losing to No. 1 seed Miami in the Sugar Bowl. He also has BYU beating Wake Forest and advancing to the CFP quarterfinals before losing to No. 2 seed Ohio State.<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Sun Bowl, vs. Virginia TechArizona State: Poinsettia Bowl, vs. Fresno StateBaylor: First Responder Bowl, vs. Florida AtlanticCincinnati: Cactus Bowl, vs. MichiganHouston: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. SMUKansas State: Armed Forces Bowl, vs. North TexasOklahoma State: Texas Bowl, vs. TennesseeTexas Tech: Alamo Bowl, vs. OregonUCF: Liberty Bowl, vs. MissouriWest Virginia: Independence Bowl, vs. UConnESPN, Mark Schlabach<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 9 seed playing at No. 8 seed UtahUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 8 seed hosting No. 9 seed BYU<\/p>\n Note: Schlabach has Utah beating BYU and advancing to the CFP quarterfinals before losing to No. 1 seed Miami.<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Las Vegas Bowl, vs. MissouriArizona State: Poinsettia Bowl, vs. Texas StateBaylor: Liberty Bowl, vs. Mississippi StateCincinnati: Cactus Bowl, vs. MichiganHouston: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. SMUKansas State: First Responder Bowl, vs. North TexasOklahoma State: Texas Bowl, vs. OklahomaTexas Tech: Alamo Bowl, vs. USCUCF: Armed Forces Bowl, vs. ArmyWest Virginia: Independence Bowl, vs. WashingtonThe Athletic, Scott Dochterman<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 10 seed playing at No. 7 seed AlabamaUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 5 seed hosting No. 12 seed Oregon State<\/p>\n Note: Dochterman has the winner of BYU-Alabama facing No. 2 seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals, and the winner of Utah-Oregon State facing No. 4 seed Miami in the Fiesta Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals.<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Las Vegas Bowl, vs. TexasArizona State: Poinsettia Bowl, vs. Boise StateCincinnati: Independence Bowl, vs. CaliforniaHouston: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. Virginia TechKansas State: Liberty Bowl, vs. OklahomaOklahoma State: Texas Bowl, vs. TennesseeTexas Tech: Alamo Bowl, vs. USCUCF: Boca Raton Bowl, vs. Miami (Ohio)West Virginia: Cactus Bowl, vs. WisconsinOn3, Brett McMurphy<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 11 seed playing at No. 6 seed KentuckyUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 5 seed hosting No. 12 seed Boise State<\/p>\n Note: McMurphy has Utah beating Boise State and advancing to the CFP quarterfinals before losing to No. 4 seed UCLA in the Fiesta Bowl.<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Alamo Bowl, vs. Oklahoma StateArizona State: Poinsettia Bowl, vs. Fresno StateCincinnati: Cactus Bowl, vs. MichiganHouston: Liberty Bowl, vs. AuburnKansas State: Birmingham Bowl, vs. Mississippi StateOklahoma State: Alamo Bowl, vs. ArizonaTexas Tech: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. SMUUCF: Texas Bowl, vs. MissouriWest Virginia: Independence Bowl, vs. PittsburghCBS Sports, Brad Crawford<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 8 seed hosting No. 9 seed LSUUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP quarterfinals, No. 3 seed facing No. 11 seed Notre Dame in Rose Bowl<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Las Vegas Bowl, vs. TennesseeBaylor: Poinsettia Bowl, vs. Oregon StateCincinnati: Cactus Bowl, vs. MichiganHouston: Alamo Bowl, vs. OregonIowa State: First Responder Bowl, vs. North TexasKansas State: Liberty Bowl, vs. Mississippi StateOklahoma State: Texas Bowl, vs. OklahomaTexas Tech: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. SMUUCF: Armed Forces Bowl, vs. ArmyWest Virginia: Independence Bowl, vs. CaliforniaCollege Football News, Pete Fiutak<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 6 seed hosting No. 11 seed TennesseeUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 8 seed hosting No. 9 seed LSU<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Sun Bowl, vs. Virginia TechArizona State: Holiday Bowl, vs. ClemsonCincinnati: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. Wake ForestHouston: Alamo Bowl, vs. OregonKansas State: Cactus Bowl, vs. NorthwesternOklahoma State: Liberty Bowl, vs. MissouriTexas Tech: Texas Bowl, vs. Ole MissUCF: Armed Forces Bowl, vs. ArmyWest Virginia: Independence Bowl, vs. Oregon StateAthlon Sports, Steve Lassan<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP quarterfinals, No. 4 seed facing No. 5 seed Indiana in Fiesta BowlUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 9 seed playing at No. 8 seed Kentucky<\/p>\n Other Big 12 bowl projections<\/p>\n Arizona: Sun Bowl, vs. ClemsonArizona State: New Mexico Bowl, vs. New MexicoCincinnati: Cactus Bowl, vs. MichiganHouston: Pop-Tarts Bowl, vs. SMUKansas State: First Responder Bowl, vs. IllinoisOklahoma State: Texas Bowl, vs. MissouriTexas Tech: Alamo Bowl, vs. USCUCF: Independence Bowl, vs. Texas A&MWest Virginia: Liberty Bowl, vs. South Carolina![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AE6IURKPNNGCFEUISBCGDWRZQE.jpg\")
BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier, center top, is sacked by Central Florida defensive lineman Thomas Collins, center bottom, during game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Orlando, Fla. | Phelan M. Ebenhack, Associated Press ESPN, Kyle Bonagura<\/a>BYU\u2019s bowl projection: CFP first round, No. 7 seed hosting No. 10 seed Wake ForestUtah\u2019s bowl projection: CFP quarterfinals, No. 4 seed facing No. 5 seed Georgia<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/EEBNPRLNV5GMTKBTF3HPEA4YHY.jpg\")
Cincinnati safety Mj Cannon (2) intercepts a pass during game against Texas Tech, Saturday, Oct. 24 2026, in Cincinnati. | Lydia Schembre, Associated Press <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Going into the final week of action in October, both BYU and Utah are viewed as College Football…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,8793,99],"class_list":["post-898761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-football","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-news-feed-national","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}