CLEMSON, UCLA STILL TRACKING TO HOLIDAY

Tigers favorites this week vs. Wake Forest; Bruins to face USC

The teams for the 43rd annual SDCCU Holiday Bowl, which will be played at Petco Park for the first time, will be selected Dec. 5. Here’s a look at how things are shaping up in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 as bowl officials consider which two teams to invite to this year’s game:

SDCCU Holiday Bowl: Tuesday, Dec. 28, 5 p.m. (Fox), Petco Park

Expected payout: $3.2 million per team

Conferences: ACC vs. Pac-12

Projected matchup: Clemson vs. UCLA

Pecking order: After the New Year’s Six slots are filled, the Holiday Bowl gets one of three picks (with the Gator and Cheez-It bowls) among ACC teams and the fourth pick (after the Rose, Alamo and Las Vegas bowls) among Pac-12 teams.

While Notre Dame competes as an independent, the Fighting Irish are associated with the ACC for bowl purposes.

Clemson (7-3) has been tracking toward the Holiday Bowl for weeks now because of early losses that dropped the Tigers below three ranked teams in the conference.

But Clemson is actually a 41⁄2-point favorite Saturday against Wake Forest (9-1), which is looking for its first win over the Tigers since 2008.

Even with a loss, Wake Forest would have the inside track to the ACC title game.

Clemson remains a Holiday Bowl favorite because of the Tigers’ national success the past decade. They would likely be available with No. 8

Notre Dame (9-1), No. 10 Wake Forest, No. 18 Pitt (8-2) and No. 20 North Carolina State (7-3) all ranked and competing to fill NY6, Gator and Cheez-It bowl spots.

Notre Dame is a 17-point favorite against Georgia Tech and doesn’t seem likely to slip this week against the Yellow Jackets or next week at Stanford.

Pitt and N.C. State also are double-digit favorites this weekend against Virginia and Syracuse, respectively.

In the Pac-12, the matchup between No. 3 Oregon (9-1) and No. 23 Utah (7-3) bears the most interest on the conference race — and could be a Pac-12 championship preview — but the UCLA (6-4) matchup with USC (4-5) bears the most impact on the Holiday Bowl.

UCLA, a field-goal favorite, needs a victory to remain relevant for the Holiday.

If things hold as they are, it would give the Pac-12 two teams in the NY6, with the Ducks in the playoff and Utah in the Rose Bowl.

That leaves Arizona State (7-3), Oregon State (6-4) and UCLA to be distributed among the Alamo, Las Vegas and Holiday bowls.

Saturday’s impact games (CFP rankings):

No. 10 Wake Forest (9-1) at Clemson (7-3), 9 a.m. (ESPN)

Georgia Tech (3-7) at No. 8 Notre Dame (9-1), 11:30 a.m. (Ch. 7/39)

Virginia (6-4) at No. 18 Pitt (8-2), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Syracuse (5-5) at North Carolina State (7-3), 1 p.m. (ACC Network)

UCLA (6-4) at USC (4-5), 1 p.m. (Ch. 5/69)

No. 3 Oregon (9-1) at No. 23 Utah (7-3), 4:30 p.m. (Ch. 10)

Arizona State (7-3) at Oregon State (6-4), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)