Hoosier Huddle's Big Ten Bowl Projections

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

The following Big Ten Bowl Projections are for the week of November 9, 2020. I am projecting out how I think the rest of the season will go and where each Big Ten team, including Indiana, will be placed. Please note, the Quick Lane Bowl (ties with Big Ten and ACC) will not be played this season.

Rose Bowl - #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Clemson (CFP Semifinal)

Admittedly, it looks strange to place Clemson into the semifinal after they just lost to Notre Dame. The Tigers were without three defensive stalwarts and quarterback Trevor Lawrence. I think a full-strength Clemson team will knock-off the Fighting Irish in the ACC Championship Game and do so convincingly while Ohio State will head to the playoff as an unbeaten Big Ten champion.

Things get interesting from here: if the Big Ten champion is not selected for the College Football playoff, they automatically get a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl spot. After that, nothing is guaranteed but I do consider it possible the Big Ten puts Ohio State in the playoff and a second team in the New Year’s Six as an at-large. Notre Dame will either be in the playoff or in a New Year’s Six bowl. Cincinnati and BYU both have claims if they go unbeaten. The Big 12 champion will get a spot. The SEC is going to get a playoff spot plus at least one New Year’s Six spot (SEC East champion and then likely Texas A&M). The PAC-12 will have a champion that gets a spot. Will there be room for a Big Ten team? If they have someone with good wins and at most two losses (with one of them being to Ohio State)…I think so. The West champion is the most likely candidate but Wisconsin might not end up eligible and we don’t have a clue what kind of team they are at this point. Purdue? Northwestern? Ultimately, I’m leaving the Big Ten out of the New Year’s Six. Which brings us to the remaining bowl affiliation.

Citrus Bowl – Indiana vs. Georgia – January 1 in Orlando, Florida

I’m projecting a 6-2 record for IU in the regular season plus a victory in the crossover game on championship Saturday. I have Alabama in the College Football Playoff and Texas A&M and Florida in a New Year’s Six bowl. That leaves me selecting between Auburn and Georgia for the Citrus Bowl and I’ll give the nod to the Bulldogs.

Outback Bowl – Northwestern vs. Auburn

Northwestern knocked off Nebraska and they are now 3-0. Peyton Ramsey is doing quite well for himself in Evanston, something that likely does not surprise very many Hoosier fans.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – Maryland vs. North Carolina

Formerly the Belk Bowl, this game is in Charlotte and would be a convenient destination for former ACC program Maryland. The Terrapins have looked awesome in the past two weeks and now sit as one of the more intriguing 2-1 teams in the country.

Music City Bowl – Purdue vs. Arkansas

The Boilermakers are 2-0 with a very manageable schedule ahead of them. Saturday’s game against Northwestern looms very large for both teams as control of the West is up for grabs.

Pinstripe Bowl – Wisconsin vs. Boston College

The Badgers are 1-0 with a victory over a bad Illinois team. What to make of them? I have no clue. How many games will they play? Who will they have available? At best, they’ll have six regular season games and one crossover game on championship Saturday. At worst, they can’t get a hold of the outbreak and they have no season to speak of.

Guaranteed Rate/Cactus Bowl – Michigan vs. Kansas State

The Wolverines are now 1-2 but there is enough talent there (plus the struggles of other sides) to get them into a bowl game.