The bottom of the B1G didn’t do itself any favors in search of a bowl bid this week.

Illinois and Purdue held on in their respective gimme games, but Indiana couldn’t inch closer to 6 projected wins against Cincinnati and Northwestern, which had a slim chance to begin with, lost to the Miami RedHawks of the MAC.

Some teams near the top upped their stock in a big way, though. Minnesota springs to mind.

The Golden Gophers didn’t just look good Saturday, they looked top 20 good. Mohamed Ibrahim, Tanner Morgan and Minnesota trounced Michigan State 34-7 in East Lansing. Minnesota is well on track to finish the season with 10, if not more, wins.

As of now, our projections indicate 10 B1G teams will reach a bowl game this season. Iowa did well for itself beating Rutgers Saturday and has winnable games against Nebraska, Northwestern, Illinois and possibly Purdue on the docket.

Ultimately, only 1 B1G program will reach the College Football Playoff, and Ohio State will be the favorite until further notice. The Buckeyes looked good against Wisconsin in their conference opener. It will likely all come down to The Game.

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. Those bowls rotate 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 this postseason.

B1G bowl projections following Week 4

Fiesta Bowl (Playoff semifinal): Ohio State vs. Alabama

Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. USC

Cotton Bowl: Penn State vs. BYU

Citrus Bowl: Minnesota vs. Ole Miss

Music City Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Arkansas

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Maryland vs. Florida State

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Iowa vs Kansas State

Pinstripe Bowl: Purdue vs. North Carolina

Quick Lane Bowl: Illinois vs. Central Michigan