Who is coming to the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl? Experts predict interest matchups
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Could SMU and Arizona State face off in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl?
That’s one possibility as Selection Sunday looms and the Sun Bowl prepares for its big announcement at around noon at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino.
Pac-12 Legacy: Arizona State seems to be the favorite
With only one game that could impact the Sun Bowl (the ACC title game between Virginia and Duke), a consensus is forming around an 8-4 Arizona State team to represent the Pac-12 Legacy in the New Year’s Eve game.
The Holiday Bowl, which picks ahead of the Sun Bowl, could have its choice between 9-3 Arizona and Arizona State, and given that Arizona just beat Arizona State, that could send the Sun Devils to El Paso. Should it pick Arizona State, the Sun Bowl would happily take Arizona.
“We’d love to have either Arizona or Arizona State,” Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said.
ACC is complicated, but SMU and Clemson attractive
As always, the ACC side is a bit more complicated, partly because it’s a 17-team conference (bowl eligible Cal, a remote possibility for the Sun Bowl, counts as Pac-12 Legacy) and partly because the Sun Bowl is in a pool with the Pinstripe Bowl and the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Olivas thinks the likely options are 7-5 Clemson, 8-4 SMU, 8-4 Pitt or 8-4 Wake Forest.
As a Texas school, SMU would be attractive if it were to fall to the Sun Bowl, though it may be taken before then. Olivas said Clemson, Pitt or Wake Forest are all good alternatives and acknowledged, “Clemson is the name brand.”
In the past, the Sun Bowl has occasionally passed over the best available record for the biggest name, and that would be Clemson.
Louisville will also be in the mix and has appeared in some projections, but the Sun Bowl is unlikely to have a repeat team. Louisville played Washington in last year’s Sun Bowl, and contractually, the Sun Bowl can avoid picking a team that played in El Paso last year.
All will be revealed Sunday.
Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl projections
ESPN:
Kyle Bonagura: SMU vs. Washington
Mark Schlabach: Clemson vs. Arizona State
USA TODAY: Pitt vs. Washington
Athlon: SMU vs. Arizona
Sports Illustrated: SMU vs. Arizona State
College Football News: Louisville vs Arizona State
CBS Sports: Wake Forest vs. Arizona State
Sporting News: Utah vs. Louisville
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Who is coming to 2025 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl amid Selection Sunday
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