Ad Disclosure
To put it quite frankly, there wasn’t a whole lot that we learned from the B1G in Week 3. For the most part, everything played out the way that was expected. Considering the relatively weak schedule this weekend, it came as no surprise.
There were a few takeaways from this past Saturday, though. Maybe there weren’t a lot, but hey, something is better than nothing, right? Here are just a few notes from this past weekend as it relates to bowl bids and postseason play.
- Purdue’s strong performance through the first two weeks of the season was no fluke. Jeff Brohm has the Boilermakers playing at their highest level in the past decade. A 35-3 win on the road against an SEC team is nothing to scoff at. Four wins was going to be a good season in West Lafayette, but Purdue fans are already thinking about getting back to a bowl game.
- The sluggish start for Nebraska is a real concern. The Huskers have struggled in the first halves of the last two games and now, Mike Riley is facing some serious heat. Losing to Northern Illinois was a devastating blow to a team hoping to compete in the B1G West. Now, bowl eligibility doesn’t look like a guarantee.
- All four of the B1G’s ranked teams (Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin) all dominated on Saturday. Michigan and Ohio State struggled with the military academies, but were eventually able to pull away. The top off the conference continues to look strong.
- Northwestern bounced back in a big way on Saturday, crushing Bowling Green. That’s not really a surprise, but considering how poorly the Cats played against Duke last weekend, it was nice to see them dominate a weak team again. Pat Fitzgerald is still dealing with inconsistency but the Wildcats can compete with anyone in the B1G when they’re playing like that.
- Overall, the B1G looked really strong this past weekend. Dominating a weak schedule is exactly what the conference needed to do before heading into conference play.
After a relatively uneventful Saturday, we’ve reshuffled the bowl predictions for the postseason. Some teams have worked their way into bowl eligibility while some have dropped from the list.
This week, we’re projecting 11 of the B1G’s 14 teams to reach the postseason.
Here are the bowl projections after Week 3:
- Quick Lane Bowl: Indiana vs. Wake Forest
- Heart of Dallas Bowl: Minnesota vs. Texas
- Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland vs. Notre Dame
- Armed Forces Bowl: Michigan State vs. Army
- Foster Farms Bowl: Purdue vs. Stanford
- Holiday Bowl: Iowa vs. UCLA
- Music City Bowl: Northwestern vs. Vanderbilt
- Citrus Bowl: Michigan vs. Mississippi State
- Orange Bowl: Ohio State vs. Georgia
- Fiesta Bowl:Wisconsin vs. Washington
- College Football Playoff: Penn State vs. Alabama
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB