Welcome back, college football!

The long wait is finally over and with the return of college football comes the return of bowl projections. We’re well over 100 days away from the start of bowl season and plenty will change from now to the final week of the regular season, but it’s time to get back at it.

Let’s start at the top. Similar to last year, it seems likely that the B1G duo of Ohio State and Michigan will both find their way into the top 4 following the B1G Championship Game, alongside Georgia and 1 more. For now, I’ll go with the team that features the best QB in America, USC with Caleb Williams.

Penn State may have something to say about Michigan and Ohio State, though. The Nittany Lions enter Week 0 as the No. 7 team in the country per the AP poll and have dangerous potential on offense with a strong O-line, RB Nick Singleton and 2nd-year QB Drew Allar. Once again, the Nittany Lions seem poised to grab a NY6 spot.

Wisconsin isn’t far behind. The Badgers are labeled by some as a surprise team this season under new HC Luke Fickell and should lock up the No. 4 spot in the conference and a trip to the Citrus Bowl.

Mystery awaits beyond the Badgers, though. Iowa should be near the upper echelon, and I’m personally high on Illinois despite its losing so much talent. As for Nebraska, their schedule shows major potential for a 6-win season barring any dark horses in the B1G West.

There are some changes in bowl tie-ins to be aware of heading into 2023. The Mayo Bowl will be an SEC/ACC contest this season as it alternates between the SEC and B1G year to year. The Las Vegas Bowl, instead, gets a B1G team for a matchup with a Pac-12 opponent.

The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will act as this season’s CFP semifinals, with the Peach, Fiesta, Orange and Cotton retaining their NY6 status as always.

This is the last season with a 4-team playoff after the announcement of a move to a 12-team system in 2024-25. Let’s get ready to watch some history, shall we? We start with 10 of the 14 B1G teams projected as bowl worthy.

Big Ten college football bowl projections prior to Week 0

Sugar Bowl (CFP semifinal): Georgia vs. Ohio State

Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal): Michigan vs. USC

Fiesta Bowl: Penn State vs. Washington

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee

Reliaquest Bowl: Iowa vs. Texas A&M

Music City Bowl: Illinois vs. Ole Miss

Las Vegas Bowl: Maryland vs. UCLA

Pinstripe Bowl: Minnesota vs. Louisville

Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Nebraska vs. Baylor

Quick Lane Bowl: Michigan State vs. Ball State