Bowl Projections: LA Bowl Preseason Prediction, Breakdown and History

Before the season gets underway, what's the first guess on what the 2024 LA Bowl might be? Why did we make this call, who else should be in the mix, and what's the history of the bowl?

This will all change throughout the season with its twists and turns, but in the preseason, the LA Bowl projection is ...

LA Bowl Projection

Wednesday, December 18
9:00, ESPN
SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA
Bowl Affiliations : MW, Former Pac-12
Last Season: UCLA 35, Boise State 22
Preseason Bowl Projection (with predicted final regular season records)
Boise State (11-2) vs Cal (7-5)

CFN Preview of All 134 Teams

Why this is the preseason LA Bowl Projection

This is about as coin-flippy as it gets because 1) Boise State could end up in the mix for the expanded College Football Playoff as the top Group of Five champion and 2) yeah, the program played in the LA Bowl last season in a 45-22 loss to UCLA.

The early preseason call is that the Broncos will end up winning the Mountain West, but will just barely miss out on the CFP. A repeat trip to the LA Bowl wouldn't be ideal, but it would be the highest-profile available bowl for what should be a top 20 conference champ.

Cal would be a fun matchup, mostly because it would be the first ever meeting between the two programs. This is where one of the former Pac-12 programs will go, and it could easily be Oregon State or Washington State, but there's one huge problem ...

Boise State plays both the Beavers and Cougars in the regular season.

There are other spots, though, for the Pac-2 teams, and one could end up here if it's anyone else from the Mountain West other than Boise State.

5 teams also in the mix for the LA Bowl

1. Oregon State
2. Washington State
3. Fresno State
4. Air Force
5. Arizona State

LA Bowl History

Dec 16, 2023 UCLA 45, Boise State 22
Dec 17, 2022 Fresno State 29, Washington State 6
Dec 18, 2021 Utah State 24, Oregon State 13