Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, August 26, 2013

Not one football has been kicked off. Regardless, I bring to you my first edition of the 2013 bowl projections. I'll be rolling these out there every Monday this season, so let me know what you think.

As you can see, I have Ohio State playing Alabama in the BCS title game. That would be a fitting end to the BCS era, with two of the sport?s iconic programs battling in the historic Rose Bowl. Hey, if the Big Ten is gonna show it is making strides on the national scene, what better way to impress than by possibly beating college football?s 10,000-pound gorilla in Alabama? It would be a great opportunity.

For now, I have the Big Ten filling all of its bowl slots. But, that may be difficult to do. Still, for now, Iowa and Illinois are the lone Big Ten teams (Penn State in ineligible) that I have home for the holidays-as I have Indiana, Minnesota and Purdue slipping just under the postseason velvet rope for now. Stay tuned–and keep your eraser handy.

BOWL GAME MATCHUP TOM?S PROJECTIONS
BCS title game, Jan. 6  BCS No 1 vs. No. 2  Ohio State vs. Alabama
Rose Bowl, Jan. 1  Big Ten vs. BCS/Pac-12  Nebraska vs. Stanford
Capital One Bowl, Jan. 1  Big Ten vs. SEC  Michigan vs. Florida
Outback Bowl, Jan. 1  Big Ten vs. SEC  Northwestern vs. South Carolina
Gator Bowl, Jan. 1  Big Ten vs. SEC  Michigan State vs. Mississippi
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Dec. 28  Big Ten vs. Big 12  Wisconsin vs. Kansas State
Texas Bowl, Dec. 27  Big Ten vs. Big 12  Indiana vs. Baylor
Heart of Dallas Bowl, Jan. 1  Big Ten vs. C-USA  Minnesota. vs. Rice
Little Caesars Pizza, Dec. 26  Big Ten vs. MAC  Purdue vs. Ohio

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About Tom Dienhart 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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