Wildcats Daily

Big Ten Bowl Breakdown: A Complete Recap of Every Big Ten Bowl Game

Ohio State and Purdue win in thrilling fashion while Minnesota and Wisconsin rely on their run games to come out on top.

Connor Zimmerlee

Big Ten Scores: Bowl Season

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota 18 vs. West Virginia 6

While the final score was only a 12 point win for Minnesota in this one, this game was not nearly as close as it would appear from said final score. Minnesota controlled this game from the opening kickoff, winning in the trenches which helped their dynamic duo run all over the West Virginia defense. On the shoulders of running backs Ky Thomas and Mar'Keise Irving, the Minnesota offense put up 249 rushing yards in this one while nearly doubling West Virginia's time of possession. Thomas rushed for an impressive 144 yards and one touchdown while Irving contributed 129 yards on the ground himself. Minnesota's domination in the trenches and ability to control the clock led to an easy win that was never as close as the score indicates. 

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland 54 vs. Virginia Tech 10

There is not much to say about this other than it got ugly fast for Virginia Tech. The Maryland offense moved the ball at will all game long, racking up 481 yards of total offense while holding Virginia Tech's offense to a mere 259 yards of total offense on the day. Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was the star of the show for Maryland in this one, though, as he has been for most of the season. Tagovailoa threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns in the blowout win, with 111 yards and both touchdowns going to wide receiver Darryl Jones, as the Maryland offense faced no opposition from the Virginia Tech defense en route to an extremely one-sided showing. 

Transperfect Music City Bowl: Purdue 48 vs. Tennessee 45

This game was everything we predicted it to be and then some in what became an instant classic. Defense was optional in this one it seems as the two offenses combined for a staggering 1,293 yards of total offense in what wound up being a thrilling back and forth shootout that needed overtime to decide a winner. Much like their regular season offense, Purdue's offense in this one came pretty much solely from the arm of quarterback Aidan O'Connell, as he threw for 534 yards and five touchdowns. His favorite target by a wide margin wide receiver Broc Thompson, as Thompson hauled in seven passes to the tune of 217 yards and two touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns himself, favoring wide receiver Cedric Tillman. Tillman hauled in seven receptions for 150 yards and three touchdowns as the Purdue defense had no answers for the duo. Ultimately the Purdue defense would get the job done in overtime, though, as they stopped Tennessee on a controversial fourth and goal call, leading to Purdue hitting a game winning field goal to cap off the overtime thriller. 

Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 10 Michigan State 31 vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh 21

This one was always going to be tough for Pitt with star quarterback Kenny Pickett opting out of their bowl game but it went from bad to worse when second string quarterback Nick Patti went down with an injury that would sideline him for the game. Behind third string quarterback Davis Beville the Pitt offense was simply ineffective and unable to get anything going, as he only managed to throw for 21 yards. Michigan State, however, was able to rely heavily on starting quarterback Payton Thorne in this one, as Thorne would throw for 354 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Michigan State offense to the victory, which was necessary as the rushing attack only managed 56 yards on the ground in the win. 

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin 20 vs. Arizona State 13

Much like their recipe for success in the regular season, Wisconsin in this one relied heavily on winning the ground game on offense while the defense effectively shut down the Arizona State offense. Freshman phenom running back Braelon Allen led the way once again for the Wisconsin offense as Allen ran the ball 29 times and racked up 159 yards in the process. As for Arizona State, they were held to 219 yards of total offense on the day, including being stifled on the ground to the tune of a meager 60 yards on the ground, leading to Wisconsin rolling in this one. 

Taxslayer Gator Bowl: Rutgers 10 vs. No. 20 Wake Forest 38

Rutgers was not originally selected to go to a bowl game due to not reaching six wins on the season but when Texas A&M had to step down from their game against Wake Forest due to Covid, the Scarlet Knights stepped up and took their place. Unfortunately for Rutgers, though, the game was never truly competitive as Wake Forest moved the ball at will on offense and rolled to a blowout win over the Scarlet Knights. The Demon Deacons were led offensively by quarterback Sam Hartman, who threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, airing it out with relative ease against a Rutgers defense that never had a chance. 

Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 2 Michigan 11 vs. No. 3 Georgia 34

Michigan, unfortunately, followed the trend of uncompetitive College Football Playoff semifinal games, as they were blown out by Georgia in this one. The Georgia offense put up 518 yards of total offense in this one while the defense held Michigan to 325 yards of offense. Georgia relied on the passing game, airing it out behind the arm of quarterback Stetson Bennett. Bennett picked apart the Michigan defense with relative ease, throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns. As for the Michigan offense, which averaged 443 yards of total offense per game in the regular season, they were stifled by an elite Georgia defense, unable to sustain any meaningful drives while being held well below their season average 35.8 points a game as well. Next up for the Bulldogs is an SEC championship rematch and a chance at revenge against Alabama, who handed the Bulldogs their lone loss on the season. 

Outback Bowl: Penn State 10 vs. No. 22 Arkansas 24

A season to forget for Penn State ended in yet another game they will want to forget, as they never got it going against Arkansas. Arkansas was absolutely dominant on the ground in this one, only throwing the ball a total of 20 times while racking up a staggering 361 yards on the ground. For Penn State, their offense only managed 323 yards of total offense as they were out-gained by Arkansas' run game alone. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson led the way for the Razorbacks on the ground, running 20 times for 110 yards and a touchdown, with running back Raheim Sanders adding 79 yards and two touchdowns of his own. The Razorbacks ran all over the Penn State defense, controlling the line of scrimmage in what was a blowout win to end their season. 

Vrbo Citrus Bowl: No. 17 Iowa 17 vs. No. 25 Kentucky 20

For most of the game this one went just as expected with the Iowa offense unable to put points on the board while the Hawkeye defense kept the opposing offense in check. However, they were able to take a late 17-13 lead, which they could not hold onto as Kentucky would drive down the field and go up 20-17. On Iowa's last drive the Hawkeyes were driving before quarterback Spencer Petras threw the game sealing interception, which was the story of the day. The Iowa offense was playing rather well in this one but they were handicapped by Petras, who threw three interceptions and repeatedly killed any possible momentum the Hawkeyes may have gained which helped keep Kentucky in the game and ultimately win. 

Rose Bowl: No. 6 Ohio State 48 vs. No. 11 Utah 45

In what was arguably the best bowl game out of the Big Ten bowl slate, Ohio State outlasted Utah in a thriller. The Ohio State offense did what it does best as the Buckeyes aired it out with little to no resistance from the Utah defense. Quarterback CJ Stroud put up video game numbers, throwing for a whopping 573 yards and six touchdowns. His favorite target was far and away wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and for good reason. Smith-Njigba had a historic performance in the Rose Bowl, hauling in 15 passes for a staggering 347 receiving yards and three touchdowns, setting a record for most receiving yards in a bowl game in college football history. Stroud would also connect with wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. for 71 yards and three touchdowns. One has to wonder, if Ohio State had beaten Michigan and gone on to win the Big Ten, how much different the CFP would have looked with the Buckeyes prolific offense in the mix. 

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Connor Zimmerlee
CONNOR ZIMMERLEE

Connor Zimmerlee is a writer and reporter for Wildcats Daily. Zimmerlee received his Bachelor's of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin as part of the class of 2021 and now attends the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. 

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