Bowl Projections: Dienhart’s list post Week 2

The season is still in its infancy, so the bowl picture remains lucid. Very lucid. The Big Ten has tie-ins with eight bowls—and it has only 10 bowl-eligible schools, as Penn State and Ohio State are on NCAA and banned from the postseason in 2012.

The Big Ten is coming off a tough Saturday that saw it go 6-6, losing to every “big” team it played: Oregon State, UCLA, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Iowa State and Virginia.

The Big Ten’s wins came over Vanderbilt, New Hampshire, Air Force, UMass, Central Michigan, Central Florida. Not exactly a Murderer’s Row.

[Related: 5 early surprises in the Big Ten]

Still, for now, I think the Big Ten will be able to fill all of its bowl spots—but that could change in a month or so. And, it still could get two teams in the BCS.

I know the Big Ten probably isn’t one of the top two or three leagues in the nation at this moment, but there still is lots of time left. So, that’s why I still have two Big Ten teams in BCS bowls. History says it’s likely to happen, as the Big Ten has had two teams in the BCS 11 times in the 14-year history of the system.

[Related: Brent Yarina's Week 3 Big Ten Player Rankings]

Here is my third look at where your school may be bowling over the holidays:

BOWL GAME	DATE	OTHER CONFERENCE	DIENHART’S PROJECTIONS
Little Caesars Pizza	Dec. 26	MAC	Ohio vs. Minnesota
Buffalo Wild Wings	Dec. 29	Big 12	Baylor vs. Iowa
Meineke Car Care	Dec. 28	Big 12	Iowa State vs. Northwestern
TicketCity	Jan. 1	C-USA	Central Florida vs. Illinois
Capital One	Jan. 1	SEC	Georgia vs. Michigan
Outback	Jan. 1	SEC	Florida vs. Wisconsin
Gator	Jan. 1	SEC	Texas A&M vs. Purdue
Fiesta	Jan. 3	BCS	Oklahoma vs. Nebraska
Rose	Jan. 1	BCS	Oregon vs. Michigan State

BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men’s basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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