B1G bowls ranked on ‘watchability’ by Sports Illustrated

Bowl Season is set to get underway next week. There are 41 bowl games featuring 82 teams, including 9 B1G programs, to be played ahead of the College Football Playoff National Championship to cap the 2022 season.

Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger recently ranked all 41 bowl games by “watchability.” Here’s where the games featuring Big Ten teams checked in:

• No. 2 Fiesta Bowl – Michigan vs. TCU (CFP semifinal)
• No. 3 Peach Bowl – Ohio State vs. Georgia (CFP semifinal)
• No. 5 Rose Bowl – Penn State vs. Utah (New Year’s Six)
• No. 11 ReliaQuest Bowl – Illinois vs. Mississippi State
• No. 13 Citrus Bowl – Purdue vs. LSU
• No. 15 Pinstripe Bowl – Minnesota vs. Syracuse
• No. 23 Duke’s May Bowl – Maryland vs. NC State
• No. 30 Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State

Iowa fans are sure to notice that the Hawkeyes are missing from the above list despite making a bowl game. Iowa is left off the bulleted B1G bowl list because Dellenger had some fun with the article, ranking the Music City Bowl No. 1:

1. Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Kentucky

Date: 12 p.m. on Dec. 31, ABC

Watch it because … you despise offensive football. These two teams combine—combine—to average about 580 yards a game. That’s only 40 yards below what Tennessee averages a game. If you’re asking yourself why this is No. 1, then you don’t get the joke.

Bowl Season kicks off on Dec. 16. The first B1G bowl is the Guaranteed Rate Bowl on Dec. 29.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.