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B1G bowl projections following Week 6: Terps flirt with relevance, Michigan affirms dominance
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Purdue walked into a potential for 6 wins, lost to Iowa despite the Hawkeyes completing just 6 passes, and walked right back out. Sure, it’s still possible, but not when playing like that.
My faith in both Purdue and Iowa dropped significantly Saturday. Week 6 also affirmed that while Ohio State is still a top 15 team in the country, they are a solid No. 3 in the Big Ten. Until further notice, It’ll be Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State in that order.
The Buckeyes can argue that logic in a few weeks when Penn State comes to town.
Maryland, which hung right with Ohio State for 3 quarters Saturday, is probably a better team than both Iowa and Wisconsin right now, but both of the latter are likely to finish with a better record by the end of the year. The Terps still have 2 almost guaranteed losses upcoming, to Penn State and Michigan. Even with both those games being played in College Park, that’s a tough ask.
The major change-ups in our bowl projections this week come from results outside the conference. Oklahoma beating Texas leapfrogs the Sooners all the way into the CFP for now. I, for one, am rooting heavily for Michigan and Oklahoma’s 2nd ever matchup, a preview for their upcoming series in a few years.
The Sooners will probably have to down the Longhorns once again in the Big 12 championship to get there, though.
As for the B1G, we’re down to a season-low 8 schools expected to go bowling. On the outside looking in are Nebraska (3-3), Northwestern (3-3), Purdue (2-4), Illinois (2-4), Michigan State (2-3) and Indiana (2-3).
Here are our Big Ten bowl projections at roughly the halfway point of the 2023 regular season:
Big Ten bowl projections following Week 6
Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal): Michigan vs. Oklahoma
Fiesta Bowl: Penn State vs. Washington
Peach Bowl: Ohio State vs. Alabama
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Wisconsin vs. LSU
Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Kentucky
Las Vegas Bowl: Maryland vs. UCLA
Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Syracuse
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Minnesota vs. Baylor
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.