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The B1G is never free of drama, that’s for sure.
All 3 away teams won in Saturday’s noon games, Maryland continued to prove it’s not to be taken lightly and Ohio State and Michigan reinforced the fact that The Game will pretty much be for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Minnesota lost its first game of the year to Purdue but will be fine moving forward so long as Mohamed Ibrahim can see the field sooner rather than later. He was a surprise scratch for the Golden Gophers.
Illinois beating Wisconsin and Maryland downing Michigan State make things interesting for the lower-tier bowl scramble at the end of the season. It sounds crazy, but neither Wisconsin nor Michigan State is guaranteed a bowl – an Oct. 15 matchup between the 2 may be the deciding factor.
It’s Illinois that really throws a wrench into things. The Fighting Illini are a field goal or so away from being 5-0 with strong wins against Virginia and Wisconsin. Nebraska and Northwestern remain on Illinois’ schedule, so Bret Bielema’s squad is almost certain to gain a bowl berth. With Chase Brown and the offense playing they way they are, 8 wins is not an insane final record to expect.
There are a few programs that will be really scratching to get to 6 wins, including Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan State. The Spartans are in real danger of finishing with 5 wins with games against 3 ranked teams left on the slate.
Ultimately, only 1 B1G program will reach the College Football Playoff, and Ohio State will be the favorite until further notice. It will likely all come down to The Game in the regular season finale vs. Michigan.
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 5
Fiesta Bowl (Playoff semifinal): Ohio State vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl: Michigan vs. USC
Cotton Bowl: Penn State vs. BYU
Citrus Bowl: Minnesota vs. Kentucky
Music City Bowl: Illinois vs. Texas A&M
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Purdue vs. Washington
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Michigan State vs TCU
Pinstripe Bowl: Wisconsin vs. North Carolina
Quick Lane Bowl: Iowa 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.