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Another thrilling week of college football has come and gone in the B1G. Ohio State and Michigan continued to look dominant, Nebraska continued its struggles under head coach Scott Frost and Wisconsin was unable to improve to 2-0 at home against Washington State.
So what did we learn? Well, either the Buckeyes broke Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman or the Irish just weren’t that good in the first place, losing at home to unranked Marshall. Does that mean anything for the Buckeyes and their 21-10 win opening week? Probably not, but we’ll see.
Illinois may have been the surprise of the weekend for the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini stunned Virginia 24-3 to improve to 2-1 on the season. If they weren’t on the cusp of a bowl bid already, I’d say they’re fully there now.
In fact, Iowa and Illinois seem to be battling for the 9th bowl spot in the B1G this season. Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland look primed to get to 6 wins. It seems like one of Iowa and Illinois will miss out due to how the schedule shakes out. For what it’s worth, their battle on Oct. 8 looks like it will decide that.
The B1G postseason slate looks similar to last season. The conference will add the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to its lineup instead of the Las Vegas Bowl. Wisconsin downed Arizona State last year in Las Vegas, but the bowl rotates between the SEC and B1G on a year-to-year basis, meaning a B1G coach will have the chance to earn the coveted mayo bath.
Here it is in all its glory: B1G bowl projections following an interesting Week 2 slate.
B1G college football bowl projections
Fiesta Bowl (Playoff semifinal): Ohio State vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. USC
Citrus Bowl: Michigan State vs. Tennessee
Music City Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Kentucky
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Minnesota vs. Pitt
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Maryland vs Texas Tech
Pinstripe Bowl: Purdue vs. Florida State
Quick Lane Bowl: Illinois vs. Central Michigan
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.