All four pool teams featured in this week’s Valero Alamo Bowl projections remain ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll. No. 9 BYU, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 25 Houston represent the Big 12 pool, while No. 20 Oregon represents the Pac-12/former Pac-12 pool. Oregon remains a projected Valero Alamo Bowl participant after being the unanimous selection among media outlets last week.
In last week’s Game of the Week presented by Bank of Texas, Texas Tech improved to 3-0 with a 28-26 win over Houston in the Big 12 opener for both schools. The Red Raiders stopped Cougar quarterback Conner Weigman short of the goal line on a game-tying two-point conversion attempt with 49 seconds on the clock. Meanwhile, BYU improved to 3-0 with a 41-23 road win over Colorado State, marking a program-record fourth consecutive 3-0 start and the sixth time in their last seven seasons.
Oregon bounced back with an 84-0 win over Portland State, recording the largest margin of victory in Autzen Stadium history. In the offensive onslaught, the Ducks totaled 726 yards of offense and held Portland State to just 103 yards.
Week 4 features several notable matchups across the two pools, including a Top-25 matchup between Oregon and No. 12 USC. Two other games feature Big 12/former Pac-12 matchups, as Colorado takes on Baylor and No. 15 Utah takes on Iowa State.
Media Projections:
Athlon Sports: Houston vs. Oregon
College Football News: BYU vs. Oregon
ESPN: Texas Tech vs. Oregon
Sports Illustrated: Houston vs. Oregon
Game Schedule:
*all times CST
Big 12 Pool:
Saturday, September 26:
Sam Houston @ No. 11 Texas Tech | 11 a.m. | TNT
Colorado @ Baylor | 11 a.m. | ESPN2
No. 15 Utah @ Iowa State | 2:30 p.m. | FOX
TCU @ UCF | 2:30 p.m. | FS1
No. 25 Houston @ Georgia Southern | 3 p.m. | ESPNU
Kansas State @ Cincinnati | 6 p.m. | ESPN2
Oklahoma State @ West Virginia | 6 p.m. | FS1
Pac-12 / Former Pac-12 Pool:
Friday, September 25:
Clemson @ Cal | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN
Saturday, September 26:
Colorado @ Baylor | 11 a.m. | ESPN2
UCLA @ Maryland | 12:30 p.m. | BTN
No. 15 Utah @ Iowa State | 2:30 p.m. | FOX
No. 20 Oregon @ No. 12 USC | 6:30 p.m. | NBC
Arizona @ Washington State | 6:30 p.m. | CBS
Oregon State @ UTEP | 8 p.m. | Mountain West Network
Georgia Tech @ Stanford | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN
Minnesota @ Washington | 10 p.m. | FOX
Team Selection Rights:
The Valero Alamo Bowl will continue its current selection format for the 2026 season, matching the first selection from two 12-member pools following the announcement of the College Football Playoff (CFP) field.
- Big 12 Conference Pool – Baylor, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.
- Pac-12/former Pac-12 Pool – Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, and Washington State.
As part of this agreement, two of the Pac-12’s current members (Oregon State and Washington State) and the former Pac-12 members Cal and Stanford (ACC), Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington (Big Ten), and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah (Big 12) will remain in the Pac-12 bowl lineup for the 2026-27 season.
The official team selection will be announced on Sunday, December 6 at 2:00 p.m.. Purchase your tickets here to watch another Top 25 matchup battle it out Tuesday, December 29th at 8 p.m. in the Alamodome.