Who Will the Big Ten Send to the Rose Bowl?
Every week the Rose Bowl picture for the Big Ten seems to be in more and more disarray. Not long ago, Ohio State was way out of the picture. But now Daniel Herron is back and the Buckeyes are on a roll with three straight wins over Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The Buckeyes have a manageable schedule with road trips to Purdue and Michigan sandwiched in-between a home contest against Penn State. But what about Penn State? The Nittany Lions are 5-0, while OSU and Wisconsin are back at 3-2. However, Joe Paterno and company may have a slightly bumpy road ahead. Penn State’s best win is arguably the 10-7 victory over Illinois in the snow. And that was after the Illini fell apart. Now PSU has Nebraska, followed by trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin. Do not be surprised if Penn State ends up with at least two losses in conference play by the end of the year. For a team who has played road games against Temple, Indiana and Northwestern, trips to the Horseshoe and Camp Randall will be a shock. The Badgers will be in the mix as well, but if the Buckeyes and Wisconsin win out, OSU will win the Leaders Division since they beat the Badgers earlier this year.
The Legends Division is just as much of a mess. Nebraska and Michigan fell last week and Michigan State barely beat Minnesota at home. But the Spartans control their own destiny, but going to Iowa has not been a good trip for quarterback Kirk Cousins. A loss there for the Spartans and the Big Ten Legends Division will be a mess. The Cornhuskers and Wolverines square off on November 19th so that should put an end to one of their hopes. Should it come to it, Nebraska owns the tie-breaker over MSU, but Michigan State has the tie-breaker over in-state rival Michigan. But projecting just who is going to emerge from that mess and reach the Rose Bowl is not an easy task.
To see all of our bowl projections, check out our Bowl Projections page and come back every Sunday to see how your team fares after their game over the weekend.
Bowl Projections are updated every Sunday during the regular season and forecasts where each team will end up based upon College Sports Madness expert predictions.
