Big Ten Bowl Preview

The Big Ten has ten teams in bowl games, coincidence?  But really, they do, and they are all deserving of a spot in the bowls this week.  The Big Ten also successfully put a team in the College Football Playoff, Ohio State, and three more in the New Year's Six, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan.  I will be doing a brief preview of the nine bowl games that are not including the Wisconsin Badgers, which I will have a more in-depth preview of them at a later time.

QUICK LANE BOWL: Maryland (6-6) vs. Boston College (6-6)
These previews are always a bit tougher for me, as some of these teams that the Big Ten play are not on national radar.  First thoughts, Boston College football has a good chance to have more wins this season than its' basketball team will in a 30 game season, so there is that.  All jokes (or truths) aside, this is the least compelling of the 10 bowl games.  The Eagles' best win is probably at Wake Forest the last week of the season, so they, like Maryland don't have a strong resume.  They do have a top ten defense nationally, but their offense is one of the worst.  Boston College is also undefeated when they score more than 20 points, which makes sense with that good of a defense.  Maryland has just as bad of a resume, but they have lost to much better teams.  I like the Terrapins here, with a final score of: Maryland 23, Boston College 17
Top NFL Prospects: Boston College DE Harold Landry (#62); Maryland CB William Likely III (#286)

HOLIDAY BOWL: Minnesota (8-4) vs. Washington State (8-4)
Washington State was once 8-2, and appeared like they could have had it all, a Pac-12 North title and a possible Rose Bowl berth, but then they lost their final two games, including a home loss to Washington, and fell out completely.  Now, they have to settle for a Holiday Bowl against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who did a good job of beating up on worse competition.  Washington State is one of the best passing attacks in the country, and it will be going up against a top 25 defense in the Gophers.  They have the same record, but Minnesota's best win is a home game against Northwestern, where Washington State won at home vs. Oregon (when they were supposed to be good) and at Stanford.  I like the Cougars here, with a final score of: Washington State 31, Minnesota 20
Top NFL Prospects: Minnesota OT Jonah Pirsig (#218); Washington State WR Gabe Marks (#277)

PINSTRIPE BOWL: #23 Pittsburgh (8-4) vs. Northwestern (6-6)
This is more like the what could have been bowl, as Northwestern had a really weird season with who they beat and lost to, where Pittsburgh beat Penn State and Clemson, but also lost four games.  None of those losses are bad by any means, but three more wins by the Panthers would have likely put them ahead of Clemson in the College Football Playoff.  (If I'm going that route, though, I might as well say an undefeated Rutgers would make it)  Anyways, RB James Conner is one of the best tailbacks in the nation, and I'm predicting him to be able to run the ball effectively against an average Northwestern team.  Oh, and Pittsburgh's final game was a 76-61 win over Syracuse.  I like Pittsburgh here, with a final score of: Pittsburgh 37, Northwestern 30.
Top NFL Prospects: Pittsburgh G Dorian Johnson (#49); Northwestern RB Justin Jackson (#176)

FOSTER FARMS BOWL: Indiana (6-6) vs. #19 Utah (8-4)
This is a dangerous game for Utah, who should be favored, since Indiana is going to be pretty unpredictable this game.  After the firing of head coach Kevin Wilson, Indiana is in an unusual place.  This could be one of those games where the Hoosiers play out of their minds, or it could be a complete falling apart.  Either way, Utah should be on edge this week, especially after closing out the season 1-3.  QB Richard Lagow is among the Big Ten leaders in passing, where Utah is in the middle of the pack on offense and on defense.  I still like Utah more, since they played pretty well for a good chunk of the season, and Indiana is in coaching turmoil.  Final score: Utah 30, Indiana 20
Top NFL Prospects: Indiana G Dan Feeney (#26); Utah DT Lowell Lotuletei (#56)

MUSIC CITY BOWL: Nebraska (9-3) vs. #21 Tennessee (8-4)
I only think that Tennessee remains a ranked team due to preseason hype over QB Joshua Dobbs, but if the Volunteers lose this bowl, you can expect their head coach to be on the hot seat.  This team was favored to win the SEC East for the first time in forever, and they let the Florida Gators win it instead.  Nobody is favored to win the SEC outside of Tuscaloosa, but it still is a disappointing season for the Volunteers.  The losses at South Carolina and at Vanderbilt are what really killed this team, since they had already defeated Georgia and Florida prior to losing to Texas A&M and Alabama.  As for Nebraska, they started the season 8-0, then finished 1-3, but the end of season schedule was daunting.  They lost at Wisconsin, at Ohio State and at Iowa, so to be fair, there is no bad loss on their resume.  I think the Cornhuskers have earned being the favorite here, despite Tennessee being ranked.  It will be a close one.  Final score: Nebraska 31, Tennessee 30
Top NFL Prospects: Nebraska SS Nathan Gerry (#220); Tennessee DE Derek Barnett (#20)

ORANGE BOWL: #6 Michigan (10-2) vs. #11 Florida State (9-3)
This is the first of four New Year's Six Bowls in the Big Ten, and I think it is the most intriguing.  Both of these teams had aspirations for the College Football Playoff, but the Orange Bowl is one of the best bowls around.  Michigan's season collapsed when they went to Iowa and lost a heartbreaker on the road, and then lost again at Ohio State in double overtime to knock them out of contention.  They did, however, beat Penn State, Wisconsin and Colorado, among others, en route to a 10-2 season.  As for Florida State, that early season blowout loss to Louisville made everybody forget about them for a while, and then a home loss to North Carolina shut the door on their season.  They finished winning six of seven, including a win over Florida to end the season, and that may just be what got them in the Orange Bowl.  Florida State is top 30 in both offense and defense, where Michigan is more of a defense-first program.  They have the best defense in the country, so the key will be what happens when the Wolverines have the ball.  I'm going with Michigan here, with a final score of: Michigan 28, Florida State 21
Top NFL Prospects: Michigan utility player Jabril Peppers (#3); Florida State RB Dalvin Cook (#12)

OUTBACK BOWL: #17 Florida (8-4) vs. Iowa (8-4)
Florida only had 12 games this season despite playing in the SEC Championship game, and played some pretty tough teams getting there.  Losses to Alabama don't mean anything in my mind, and they also lost to Florida State, at Arkansas and at Tennessee.  None of those are bad losses, but how they are ranked so high is beyond me.  They do have the sixth best defense in the nation, but their offense once again is their demise.  As for Iowa, bad losses reign supreme, as an early season loss to FCS North Dakota State (without Carson Wentz) isn't the most embarrassing loss they could have, but it's still not a good one.  No ranked FBS team should lose a home game to an FCS team.  However, Iowa saved their season, winning home games vs. Nebraska and Michigan in order to salvage a disappointing season.  I believe they will continue on that trajectory, and get a win over the offensively challenged Gators.  Final score: Iowa 13, Florida 10
Top NFL Prospects: Florida CB Teez Tabor (#6); Iowa CB Desmond King (#24)

ROSE BOWL: #9 USC (9-3) vs. #5 Penn State (11-2)
This is the granddaddy of them all, where the Big Ten Champion plays the Pac-12 Champion, and that is the case for the Big Ten.  Despite Penn State beating Ohio State, and winning the Big Ten, the Buckeye bias led them into the College Football Playoff.  As for USC, they were the highest ranked Pac-12 team left after conference champion Washington made the playoff.  There was a time early in the season where both of these teams seemed dead in the water, USC started 1-3 (albeit with three good losses), but went on to win eight straight (including over Washington) to finish 9-3 only to fall short to Colorado in the Pac-12 South standings.  Penn State was 2-2, with a loss to Pittsburgh and a blowout defeat by Michigan, and seemed done.  Since then, they have won nine in a row, including wins over Ohio State and Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship.  I'm less intrigued by this than the Michigan-Florida State game, but it still should be good.  I'm going with USC here, since it is all but technically a home game.  Final score: USC 35, Penn State 31
Top NFL Prospects: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster (#19); Penn State WR Chris Goodwin (#160)

FIESTA BOWL: #2 Ohio State (11-1) vs. #3 Clemson (12-1)

This semifinal game features the national runner up last season against the national champion two seasons ago, Clemson and Ohio State, respectively.  Both of these teams were and have been in the conversation for the playoff since the season began, and both have talent across the board.  Clemson boasts wins over Florida State, Louisville and Auburn where Ohio State has wins over Oklahoma, Michigan and Wisconsin.  Any way you look at it, these teams are both very solid.  I think Clemson has more will in this game, and wants another shot at Alabama, so I'm going with the Tigers here based off of that.  Ohio State also is not as experienced, and is playing a lot of young talent around star QB JT Barrett.  Final score: Clemson 42, Ohio State 35
Top 3 NFL Prospects: Ohio State C Pat Eflein (#42), WR Curtis Samuel (#60), and CB Gareon Conley (#70)
Clemson WR Mike Williams (#10), QB Deshaun Watson (#13) and DT Carlos Watkins (#37)