Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, October 6, 2014

Northwestern has jumped into my latest Big Ten Bowl Projections, all the way up to the TaxSlayer Bowl. And, there?s chance NU will keep moving. This team is coming on, winning three in a row and sitting atop the West.

[btn-post-package]

The pecking would move up for everyone if I had a Big Ten team in the playoffs-but I?m not ready to do that. Not even after what was a crazy Saturday. But, stay tuned. Michigan State is in a prime spot.

To be clear, I have slotted Penn State into the Independence Bowl as a replacement for an SEC team.

Fiesta: Michigan State vs. UCLA
Capital One: Ohio State vs. Ole Miss
Outback: Nebraska vs. Missouri
Holiday: Iowa vs. Arizona State
TaxSlayer: Northwestern vs. South Carolina
San Francisco: Wisconsin vs. Arizona
Pinstripe: Minnesota vs. Miami (FL)
Quick Lane: Rutgers vs. Virginia
Heart of Dallas: Maryland vs. UTEP
Independence Bowl: Penn State vs. Duke

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.

And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.