Big Ten Bowl Projections: Ohio State a Consensus College Football Playoff Pick, Michigan Back to the Rose Bowl After Fifteen Year Absence
When it comes to the expert projections for the Big Ten bowl games after week 10, the only consensus pick is still Ohio State making the College Football Playoffs. While they didn't look overly impressive against Nebraska the Buckeyes got the win to remain undefeated in conference play.
The Buckeyes, though, have a gauntlet of a schedule to finish the season, ending with games against Purdue, Michigan State and rivals Michigan. With one loss on the season, Ohio State simply cannot afford another loss, as another loss all but knocks them out of the Big Ten championship game as well as the CFP. If they can escape the last three games unscathed, barring a loss in the Big Ten title game, the Buckeyes will return to the CFP yet again.
Speaking of the Wolverines, they are heading back to the Rose Bowl for their first appearance in the historic bowl game since 2007. With the Michigan State loss to Purdue last week, which knocked the Spartans themselves out of the Rose Bowl projection, the Wolverines are in prime position to claim a Rose Bowl bid.
That may not be the limit for Michigan though as they still have their annual game against Ohio State looming to end the season. If the Wolverines can finally get the Buckeye monkey off their back and beat Ohio State, Michigan would jump into the Big Ten championship game with an outside chance at the CFP.
As for the rest of the conference, two teams have been officially eliminated from bowl contention, with both Indiana and Nebraska picking up their seventh loss of the season last weekend. The other three teams that did not receive any projections to a bowl game are Illinois, Northwestern and Rutgers. Of those three, Rutgers has the best chance at possibly earning a bowl game bid, sitting at 4-5 with three games left in their season.
Action Network (Brett McMurphy)
Orange Bowl- #4 Ohio State vs. #1 Georgia
Rose Bowl- Michigan State vs. Utah
Citrus Bowl- Michigan vs. Ole Miss
Outback Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Kentucky
Music City Bowl- Iowa vs. Arkansas
Las Vegas Bowl- Penn State vs. UCLA
Pinstripe Bowl- Purdue vs. Virginia
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- Minnesota vs. Air Force
Quick Lane Bowl- Maryland vs. Northern Illinois
Athlon Sports (Steve Lassan)
Cotton Bowl- #3 Ohio State vs. #2 Oklahoma
Rose Bowl- Michigan vs. Wake Forest
Citrus Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Ole Miss
Outback Bowl- Penn State vs. Kentucky
Music City Bowl- Iowa vs. Arkansas
Las Vegas Bowl- Minnesota vs. Arizona State
Pinstripe Bowl- Purdue vs. Virginia
Quick Lane Bowl- Maryland vs. Northern Illinois
Bleacher Report (Kerry Miller)
Cotton Bowl- #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Oklahoma
Rose Bowl- Michigan vs. Oregon
Peach Bowl- Michigan State vs. Wake Forest
Citrus Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
Outback Bowl- Iowa vs. Kentucky
Music City Bowl- Purdue vs. Mississippi State
Las Vegas Bowl- Penn State vs. Arizona State
Pinstripe Bowl- Minnesota vs. Miami (FL)
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- Maryland vs. West Virginia
Cotton Bowl- #3 Ohio State vs. #2 Oklahoma
Rose Bowl- Michigan State vs. Oregon
Peach Bowl- Michigan vs. Ole Miss
Citrus Bowl- Iowa vs. Texas A&M
Outback Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Kentucky
Music City Bowl- Penn State vs. Arkansas
Las Vegas Bowl- Purdue vs. Arizona State
Pinstripe Bowl- Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- Maryland vs. Washington State
College Football News
Cotton Bowl- #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Oklahoma
Rose Bowl- Michigan vs. Oregon
Peach Bowl- Michigan State vs. Notre Dame
Citrus Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Ole Miss
Outback Bowl- Penn State vs. Auburn
Music City Bowl- Minnesota vs. Tennessee
Las Vegas Bowl- Iowa vs. UCLA
Pinstripe Bowl- Purdue vs. Syracuse
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- Maryland vs. Kansas State
247 Sports (Brad Crawford)
Orange Bowl- #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Oklahoma
Rose Bowl- Michigan vs. Utah
Citrus Bowl- Michigan State vs. Kentucky
Outback Bowl- Iowa vs. Arkansas
Music City Bowl- Penn State vs. Ole Miss
Las Vegas Bowl- Purdue vs. Oregon State
Pinstripe Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Virginia
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- Minnesota vs. West Virginia
Quick Lane Bowl- Maryland vs. Northern Illinois
USA Today (Erick Smith)
Cotton Bowl- #3 Ohio State vs. #2 Oklahoma
Rose Bowl- Penn State vs. Oregon
Citrus Bowl- Michigan State vs. Texas A&M
Outback Bowl- Michigan vs. Auburn
Music City Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
Las Vegas Bowl- Iowa vs. Oregon State
Pinstripe Bowl- Purdue vs. Syracuse
Guaranteed Rate Bowl- Minnesota vs. Fresno State
Quick Lane Bowl- Maryland vs. Northern Illinois
Now that you have seen all the projections from the seven experts, it might be confusing to determine the pecking order of each bowl game and how they compare to each other. Not to worry, we will break down the order of prominence for each bowl game the Big Ten competes in, as well as their conference tie-ins.
College Football Playoffs
If a Big Ten Team is a top four team at the end of the season, they will participate in the College Football Playoffs. The CFP games rotate annually, this year the semi-final games will be the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl.
Watch: The Orange Bowl will take place in Miami Gardens, Fla. at Hard Rock Stadium, on Dec. 31 at either 2:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Central time on ESPN
Watch: The Cotton Bowl will take place in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium, on Dec. 31 at either 2:30 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. Central time on ESPN
The other bowl games:
1. Rose Bowl (vs. Pac 12)
Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif. at 4 p.m. Central time on ESPN
2. Citrus Bowl (vs. SEC):
Jan. 1 in Orlando, Fla. at 12 p.m. Central time on ABC
3. Outback Bowl (vs. SEC)
Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla. at 11 a.m. Central time on ESPN2
4. Las Vegas Bowl (vs. Pac 12)
Dec. 30 at 9:30 p.m. Central time on ESPN
5. Music City Bowl (vs. SEC)
Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. Central time on ESPN
6. Pinstripe Bowl (vs. ACC)
Dec. 29 at 1:15 p.m Central time on ESPN
7. Guaranteed Rate Bowl (vs. Big 12)
Dec. 28 at 9:15 p.m. Central time on ESPN
8. Quick Lane Bowl (vs. MAC)
Dec. 27 at 10 a.m. Central time on ESPN
Note: The Redbox Bowl, located in San Francisco, Calif., would have been eighth in the order. However it has been cancelled for the second year in a row. It would have featured a Big Ten team taking on a team from the Pac-12.
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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.