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In projections "that are no longer completely guesswork," FOX Sports' Stewart Mandel writes that Utah could face 8-4 Pittsburgh in the Sun Bowl.

ESPN's Brett McMurphy foresees that the two U.'s, Utah and Miami, will spend Christmas together in El Paso.

And yet, the Sun Bowl's own committee chairman, John Folmer, said Tuesday that he expects Utah to be selected earlier in the Pac-12 order, and Kyle Whittingham believes Utah's most likely destinations to be the Holiday or Foster Farms bowls.

More clarity was expected Tuesday evening, after the release of new College Football Playoff rankings and an ensuing conference call between executives from Pac-12-affiliated bowls. The CFP committee dropped the Utes 10 spots after their loss to UCLA, but given UCLA and Washington State losses, Utah (No. 24) trails only Stanford (No. 7), Oregon (No. 16) and USC (No. 20) among Pac-12 teams.

But don't expect any announcements or definitive reports before Sunday.

There are a couple of factors clogging the works.

First, that there's football to be played.

There are three improbable scenarios by which the Pac-12 could have two teams playing in so-called "New Year's Six" bowls: 1. USC snatches the Rose Bowl from Stanford in Saturday's Pac-12 title game but the 10-3 Cardinal snag an at-large berth in another NY6 game. 2. Stanford thumps USC, jumps Ohio State and gets a fourth playoff spot over a one-loss ACC champion (if North Carolina beats Clemson) or a two-loss SEC champion (if Florida beats Alabama). The Rose Bowl then selects Oregon as the highest-ranked Pac-12 team. 3. The committee opts to send dormant three-loss Oregon to the Fiesta Bowl, incurring the wrath of a few one- and two-loss teams in the process.

More likely: Either Stanford (a 4.5-point favorite) or USC goes to the Rose Bowl, and the first pick from what remains falls to the Alamo Bowl.

That brings us to the second problem: the Alamo Bowl.

The bowl with first dibs has a reputation for being less than forthcoming. Prevailing thought holds that it will select Oregon — even if Stanford is available — thanks to the Ducks' 7-1 finish and the exciting prospect of pitting the nation's No. 6 offense against TCU's No. 4 offense.

In the unlikely event that Oregon makes the NY6 and Stanford doesn't, the Alamo Bowl will take Stanford. Should neither be available, president Derrick Fox said the Alamo Bowl would weigh Utah's merits against a title-game-losing USC and a Washington State team fresh off its most wins since 2003.

If it can, the Holiday Bowl will take Stanford. Much more probable, though, is a choice between USC, which it hosted last year, Utah and Washington State. Like the Alamo Bowl, it refuses to publicly order the three.

Next up: The Foster Farms Bowl. And guess what? They aren't tipping their hand, either. Executive director Gary Cavalli said the bowl has fond memories from Whittingham's first season as head coach, when the Utes beat Georgia Tech in what was then the Emerald Bowl, but "we still haven't made any definitive decisions."

Folmer — in a statement that will resonate with Utah fans, and that may be the point — said he's "just absolutely flabbergasted that somebody hasn't stepped up and said 'Yeah, we're going to take Utah.'"

Should Utah fall to the Sun's selection, it will head to the border for Christmas.

UPDATE: That was, if the Foster Farms Bowl didn't take 5-4 UCLA over 6-3 Utah, which seems increasingly likely as of Thursday. In that case, the Sun Bowl would choose between two 6-3 teams.

Regardless of their fate, Whittingham said players will have a light week of practice this week and next while coaches hit the road to recruit during the NCAA's allowed contact period.

If Utah draws a Dec. 26 bowl game, the Utes will practice for two consecutive weeks in the buildup. If it's a later game, they'll give players a break to spend Christmas with their families.

Twitter: @matthew_piper —

2015 Pac-12 bowl selection order

No. 1 Rose Bowl • vs. Big Ten champ, 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif., on ESPN

No. 2 Alamo Bowl • vs. Big 12 No. 2, 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2 in San Antonio, on ESPN

No. 3 Holiday Bowl • vs. Big Ten, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30 in San Diego, on ESPN

No. 4 Foster Farms Bowl • vs. Big Ten, 7:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 26 in Santa Clara, Calif., on ESPN

No. 5 Sun Bowl • vs. ACC No. 3-6, noon Saturday, Dec. 26, in El Paso, Texas, on CBS

No. 6 Las Vegas Bowl • vs. MWC No. 1 or BYU, 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 19 in Las Vegas, on ABC

No. 7 Cactus Bowl • vs. Big 12 No. 6, 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2 in Phoenix, on ESPN