The Alamo Bowl announced Thursday that it is down to four schools it is considering for this year’s matchup.
Due to conference realignment, the matchup will involve two Big 12 teams.
Why is that?
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The Alamo Bowl has a contractual agreement to match up a Big 12 school against one from the Pac-12. Earlier this year, the Pac-12, which is down to just two schools for the next two years, worked with the Big 12, ACC and Big Ten to retain bowl partners for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
That means for this season and in 2025, Pac-12 legacy members that become bowl eligible will still have bowl tie-ins with the Pac-12 — if they don’t make it to the College Football Playoff.
Who will play in the 2024 Alamo Bowl?
Following the regular season, these are the teams both from the Big 12 and among Pac-12 legacy schools — or those that made up the 12-team league last season — that are bowl eligible this postseason.
Big 12 bowl eligible pool: Baylor, BYU, Iowa State, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.
Pac-12 legacy bowl eligible pool: Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, USC, Washington and Washington State.
Of those schools, the Alamo Bowl has determined which four will be in consideration. They include:
- For the Big 12 tie-in (this year’s visiting team) — BYU or Iowa State
- For the Pac-12 tie-in (this year’s home team) — Arizona State or Colorado
This, of course, will be affected by how the Big 12 championship game plays out. Arizona State and Iowa State will meet in that contest on Saturday at 10 a.m. MST (ABC).
The winner is expected to be headed to the College Football Playoff as an automatic conference champion qualifier, while the loser will be a strong candidate for the Alamo Bowl.
The Alamo Bowl — which will be played on Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m. MST (ABC) — has its first choice of Big 12 and Pac-12 teams once the College Football Playoff has determined its 12-team field.
Arizona State, BYU, Colorado and Iowa State all tied for the Big 12 lead with 7-2 conference records — the Sun Devils and Cyclones earned spots in the league’s championship game due to Big 12 tiebreaking procedures.
Of the possible Alamo Bowl matchup options, only one would be a rematch from this season, BYU vs. Arizona State. The Sun Devils beat the Cougars 28-23 on Nov. 23 in a game Arizona State led 21-3 and weathered a BYU comeback before surviving a wild last-minute that saw the Cougars come up short of an improbable comeback.
When will the Alamo Bowl matchup be announced?
The participants in the 2024 Alamo Bowl will formally be announced around 1:30 p.m. MST on Sunday, according to the bowl.
This comes after the final College Football Playoff rankings and 12-team CFP field will be announced during a four-hour selection show on ESPN that begins at 10 a.m. MST.
What other bowl option is BYU being connected to?
Another bowl destination BYU has been linked to in recent projections is the Pop-Tarts Bowl, which pits a Big 12 team vs. an ACC team.
The Pop-Tarts Bowl selects a Big 12 participant after the CFP and the Alamo Bowl have made their selections.
If BYU ends up in the Pop-Tarts Bowl — which is also played on Dec. 28, at 1:30 p.m. MST (ABC) — possible teams the Cougars could face include Clemson and Miami.
