Late season finishes and bowl projections for Pac-12 teams

The Hotline won’t attempt to project the first playoff rankings, which will be released this afternoon, or Washington State’s position within.

Instead, we’ll use this space to lend advanced context.

The Cougars are likely to fall in the No. 12-16 range (give or take), a less-thansparking position due to their less-thansparkling resume and the conference’s decidedly poor performance.

If we use the current AP top-25 as a rough guide for the committee’s internal assessment …

Washington State has a poor resume (Eastern Washington, San Jose State and Wyoming) and just one victory over a ranked team (Utah). The broader canvass is even worse: The Pac-12 has multiple-touchdown losses to No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas, No. 17 Houston and No. 20 Fresno State.

The Pac-12’s best win is Arizona State’s Week Two victory over Michigan State, which is currently unranked and in third place in the Big Ten East.

The combination of their non-conference schedule and the Pac-12’s nonconference results could very well undermine the Cougars’ position – not only today but throughout November (if they continue to win).

It’s not like they have a bevy of ranked opponents awaiting in the stretch run.

For perspective on what we’re likely to see from WSU’S this afternoon (4 p.m. release), the Hotline examined the initial poll position of the 16 playoff teams:

No. 1: Clemson ’15, Alabama ’16 and Georgia ’17

No. 2: Florida State ’14, Clemson ’16 and Alabama ’17 No. 3: None No. 4: Alabama ’15, Clemson ’17 No. 5: Oregon ’14, Washington ’16 and Oklahoma ’17 No. 6: Alabama ’14 and Ohio State ’16 No. 7: Michigan State ’15 No. 8: None No. 9: None No. 10: None No. 11: None No. 12: None No. 13: None No. 14: None No. 15: Oklahoma ’15 No. 16: Ohio State ’14 Based on precedent, a position in the 12-16 range wouldn’t necessarily doom the Cougars. But it’s worth noting that Ohio State and Oklahoma possessed resume-boosting fuel that simply doesn’t exist for WSU:

* Ohio State played a superior non-conference schedule in 2014, had three wins over teams in the committee’s final rankings and blasted No. 11 Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game.

* Oklahoma finished with victories over No. 4 Baylor, No. 11 TCU and No. 9 Oklahoma State (two of the three on the road).

The Cougars could very well end the season as a 12-1 champion with just two wins over ranked teams – both of them against Utah. That’s unlikely to pass the committee’s test, unless there is complete and utter destruction elsewhere.

Oh, and that destruction must include losses by not only Notre Dame but also UCF.

One-loss Washington State won’t be ranked ahead of an undefeated UCF that will have beaten Cincinnati (won at UCLA) and Houston (plastered Arizona).

So whether the Cougars are No. 10, 15 or 20 this afternoon, they’ll need help on an immense scale over the next month.

Rose Bowl: Utah (6-2/4-2) Remaining games: two home/two road

Key dates: Nov. 3 at Arizona State, Nov. 10 vs. Oregon, Nov. 17 at Colorado

Comment: With Oregon and Colorado struggling, the stretch run has turned manageable. I’ve seen both the Utes and Cougars in person recently and would favor Utah on a neutral field. Alamo Bowl: Washington State (7-1/4-1) Remaining games: three home/one road

Key dates: Nov. 3 vs. Cal, Nov. 10 at Colorado, Nov. 23 vs. Washington

Comment: Still to come for Gardner Minshew and Co.: Dates with the two best pass defenses in the conference, Cal and Washington – plus, potentially, another duel with Utah’s secondary.

Holiday Bowl: Washington (6-3/4-2) Remaining games: two home/one road Key dates: Nov. 3 vs. Stanford, Nov. 23 at Washington State

Comment: Can’t believe I’m typing this, but right now, with all UW’S issues on offense, I’ll take the Cougars in the Apple Cup.

Redbox Bowl: USC (4-4/3-3) Remaining games: two home/two road Key dates: Nov. 3 at Oregon State, Nov. 10 vs. Cal, Nov. 17 at UCLA

Comment: The staff changes announced Monday night – Clay Helton will take over play-calling duties and has fired his offensive line coach – aren’t too-little, too-late. The Trojans are very much in the division race.

Sun Bowl: Oregon (5-3/2-3) Remaining games: two home/two road Key dates: Nov. 3 vs. UCLA, Nov. 10 at Utah, Nov. 17 vs. Arizona State

Comment: So often, coaches talk about the need to finish blowout losses with something positive to build upon. So often, star players left in the games for that very purpose end up getting injured.

Las Vegas Bowl: Cal (5-3/2-3) Remaining games: two home/two road Key dates: Nov. 3 at Washington State, Nov. 10 at USC, Nov. 17 vs. Stanford

Comment: It’s as easy to envision the