In the latest bowl projections by the USA TODAY, Texas is off to Tempe, Arizona to play in the Cactus Bowl. The Longhorns have never appeared in the bowl game despite the Big 12 being tied to it since 2006.
After being a Big 12 vs Pac-12 bowl game for five seasons, the Big Ten will now replace the west coast conference on a yearly basis. In the projections, the Northwestern Wildcats will be joining Texas in Arizona.
Northwestern has yet to kick off its season and will do so on Oct. 24 at home against Maryland. The Wildcats are looking to rebound from a 3-9 2019 that included a seven-game losing streak.
Historically, Texas and Northwestern have only met up one time and it was during World War II. In 1942 Dana Bible took the Longhorns up to Evanston and suffered a 3-0 loss. It was one of only two losses Bible’s squad suffered that season before capturing the Southwest Conference title.
Related: Latest ESPN bowl projections has Texas facing opponent for first time in 69 years
As for the rest of the Big 12, no conference member is projected to participate in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State, Clemson, Alabama, and Georgia are slated to be the four teams to fight for the national championship.
At the moment, Oklahoma State represents the conference in the New Year’s Six bowl games. The Cowboys are projected to play Penn State in the Cotton Bowl held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Mike Gundy’s squad is the only undefeated team left in the Big 12 and will face Texas on Halloween.
Here are the rest of the conference matchups:
- Oklahoma vs USC in the Alamo Bowl
- West Virginia vs Ole Miss in the Liberty Bowl
- Baylor vs SMU in the First Responders Bowl
- Kansas State vs Miami (FL) in the Cheez-It Bowl
- Iowa State vs Mississippi State in the Texas Bowl
Texas will need to beat teams such as Oklahoma State and West Virginia to compete for a higher bowl bid. While the College Football Playoff is out of the question, plenty of two-loss teams have played in a New Year’s Six Bowl game.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
