Michigan won The Game.

It really was a bad week for Ohio State football. The Buckeyes now miss out on the B1G championship game and while they lost, all other CFP contenders won in Week 13. Barring extreme chaos, the Buckeyes are going to have a tough time cracking the field of 4.

On the other hand, Michigan is in excellent shape. The Wolverines are a win over Iowa away from the CFP, and likely a top 2 seed at that. My projected CFP field is as follows: Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Florida State, in that order.

Three spots seem to be filled as of now, simply awaiting a team: Michigan (assuming the Wolverines take care of business against Iowa), the winner of the Pac-12 (Washington or Oregon) and the winner of the SEC between Georgia and Alabama. But as you know, things can get tricky. There are still 8 teams in the running for the 4-team field, folks.

For now, Ohio State is likely to be the best team remaining out of the field between the B1G and SEC if Georgia beats Alabama. That would place them in the Orange Bowl. However, because the Orange Bowl is contractually obligated to select the next-best ACC team out of the Playoff, Louisville does not drop from the NY6 ledger after its bad loss to Kentucky.

Let’s shift gears to the remainder of the Big Ten. Penn State should be safe for a NY6 bid after downing Michigan State with ease. The Nittany Lions will likely face off in the Fiesta Bowl against either Tulane or SMU, whichever wins American Conference title game next weekend.

As of now, 9 B1G teams will go bowling. Minnesota fell to Wisconsin in Week 13, but since Hawai’i beat Colorado State the Golden Gophers get in with the B1G’s final bid due to APR rankings. As for Nebraska and Illinois, maybe next year!

Northwestern has been one of the more impressive stories this year. The Wildcats finish the year 7-5 and should get a good bowl after beating Maryland in the regular season and finishing with a better record than Rutgers. Their most likely destination is Nashville with a date against Texas A&M.

Conference championship week should be a fun one. Until next week, college football.

Big Ten bowl projections following Week 13

Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal): Michigan vs. Oregon

Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal): Georgia vs. Florida State

Orange Bowl: Ohio State vs. Louisville

Fiesta Bowl: Penn State vs. Tulane

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. Ole Miss

Music City Bowl: Northwestern vs. Texas A&M

Las Vegas Bowl: Maryland vs. Oregon State

Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Texas Tech

Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Eastern Michigan