Each and every week the duo at ESPN of Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura release their updated bowl projections. This week’s edition has no Big 12 team making the cut for the College Football Playoffs. The usual suspects are at the top with Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State. The other team in the four-team playoff seems to fluctuate on a week to week basis.
College Football Playoffs projection
Both Bonagura and Schlabach agree on the National Championship game featuring Alabama and Clemson. Currently they are the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country. Here is how they believe the playoff breaks down.
| CFP Projections | Sugar Bowl | Rose Bowl | Title Game |
| Bonagura | Clemson vs Georgia | Alabama vs Ohio State | Clemson vs Alabama |
| Schlabach | Clemson vs Oregon | Alabama vs Ohio State | Clemson vs Alabama |
Texas Longhorns Bowl Projections
For the Longhorns, both have them in the Cactus Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona. They do not agree on who the Longhorns will match up with.
| Bonagura | Texas Longhorns | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Schlabach | Texas Longhorns | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
A matchup against Nebraska would mean these two teams would meet on the field for the first time since 2010. Texas owns the all-time series 10-4 and have won the last six games. These two teams met in the first ever Big 12 Championship game in 1996, the Longhorns upset the Cornhuskers. This would bring up plenty of memories given these two teams were in the same conference for 16 years before Nebraska left for the Big Ten Conference.
A matchup with Purdue would mean these two would meet for the third time in their history. The Longhorns have won both matchups in this series. However, they haven’t met on the field in 69 years.
Big 12 Bowl Game Projections
| Bowl Game | Bonagura | Schlabach |
| Cotton Bowl | Oklahoma State vs BYU | Oklahoma State vs BYU |
| Alamo Bowl | Iowa State vs USC | Iowa State vs Washington |
| Cheez-It Bowl | Kansas State vs NC State | Kansas State vs Miami (Fl) |
| Texas Bowl | Oklahoma vs Ole Miss | Oklahoma vs Auburn |
| Liberty Bowl | West Virginia vs Missouri | West Virginia vs South Carolina |
| Armed Forces Bowl | Baylor vs UCF | Baylor vs SMU |