Familiar faces appear in latest Las Vegas Bowl projections

Projections for the Las Vegas Bowl are cloudier than ever after Week 7 of the college football season.

This year’s game takes place at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 27 at Allegiant Stadium and will feature a team from the current/former Pac-12 Conference against a representative from the SEC.

Projection: Oklahoma vs. Washington State

The Sooners are selected as the SEC representative for the second consecutive week. CBS Sports and 24/7 Sports both picked Oklahoma for the Las Vegas Bowl despite a 34-3 loss to top-ranked Texas on Saturday.

The schedule is filled with potholes for the Sooners (4-2), who face four top-20 teams — Ole Miss, Alabama, Missouri and LSU — the rest of the way and need two wins in their final six games to gain bowl eligibility.

Other teams that appeared in projections for the Las Vegas Bowl are Arkansas and Ole Miss.

Washington State is back in the picture after appearing in early forecasts. The Cougars (5-1) held off Fresno State 25-17 as Ethan Connor returned an interception 60 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter.

After hosting Hawaii on Saturday, Washington State has a favorable remaining schedule and could play its way into a higher-tier bowl.

Also in the mix to be selected from the former Pac-12 are USC and Utah.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.