B1G bowl projections, Week 10: One out but who's in?

All three undefeated teams in the Big Ten were idle on Saturday, making for a pretty slow week at the top of the B1G Bowl projections.

So this weekend was a time to nibble around the margins. Or around the marginal, as it were.

Michigan and Indiana further solidified their bowl credentials, each improving to 7-2 overall, 4-2 in the conference. And since both are idle this Saturday, the Hoosiers will enter mid-November on equal ground with the Wolverines, quite a feat for IU coach Tom Allen’s bunch.

The 2018 B1G West Division champion, Northwestern, was blown out at Indiana, emblematic of what a miserable campaign 2019 turned out to be in Evanston. After their seventh loss, the Wildcats will be at home for the postseason. Rutgers will also miss out on the bowls — not that anybody really expected otherwise — because the Scarlet Knights also took their seventh loss, against Illinois.

With seven B1G teams already bowl eligible and two teams that won’t be, how does the picture look for the other five league teams?

We’re still projecting Illinois (5-4) and Michigan State (4-4) to reach at least six wins and become bowl eligible. We’re not so optimistic for Maryland and Purdue; both are 3-6 and both would have to run the table to get in the postseason.

That leaves Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are either the most disappointing or the most overhyped team in the Big Ten, depending on your perspective. Either way, after Saturday’s loss to Purdue left them 4-5, the Cornhuskers would have to upset either Wisconsin or Iowa, plus defeat Maryland, to get to six wins.

We now project that won’t happen, leaving Big Red sidelined for bowl season for a third consecutive year — an unthinkable number for a program that made bowl appearances in 35 consecutive seasons from 1969-2003, but here we are.

Now, on to our B1G bowl projections, in the conference’s approximate bowl selection order: