Utes May get 6 wins...but will it matter?...Wasatch Swagger Bowl projections

The Utes beat California and they should feel good about that.  They have four games left and they should win three of those four.  Ute fans should feel good abou that.  So Utah will be going bowling, right?  Not so fast.

The PAC-12 suffered a couple of big upsets on Saturday.  Sometimes parity is good, and sometimes it stings.  With USC and Oregon State both losing on Saturday, it looks like the PAC-12 will be lucky to get 2 teams in bowls games..  That may leave the Utes home for the holidays, even with 6 wins.

As it stands after the latest BCS standing, the PAC-12 might have 2 BCS bowl teams.  Here is what it means for the Utes.

BCS Championship--Alabama vs. Kansas State
Rose Bowl--Oregon vs. Nebraska
Sugar Bowl--Notre Dame vs. LSU
Orange Bowl--Florida State vs. Louisville
Fiesta Bowl--Oregon State vs. Clemson


But even if the PAC-12 gets 2 teams into the BCS, as it currently stands, there may not be enough room for the Utes.  Here is who the PAC-12 bowls look.

Oregon--Rose
Oregon State--Fiesta
Stanford--Alamo
USC--Holiday
UCLA--Sun
Arizona State--Las Vegas
Washington--Kraft Fight Hunger
Arizona--New Mexico

Utah--??

But what about the Utes?  

1.  Army will not be bowl eligible this year.  Their Military Bowl slot will be available.
2.  The ACC will not fill out their bowl slots, their Military Bowl slot will be available.  But will go to the MAC.
3.  Conference USA will not be able to fill all of their bowl slots.  They have 5 bowl slots, but will probably only have 4 bowl eligible teams.
4.  The Big 10 will not be able to fill all of their bowl spots, leaving the Ticket City Bowl open.
5.  The Big East will not fill all of their bowl projections.  This will leave the Pinstripe Bowl open.

There are options for Utah if they take care of business.  They shouldn't worry about not having a bowl to go to.

CBS has the Utes projected to the Pinstripe bowl.  If it were me, however, I would consider ticket sales.  I would invite Washington to the Hawaii Bowl to replace the Conference USA team.  I would put Utah in either the Las Vegas Bowl or the New Mexico Bowl.