There were four other Big Ten bowl games leading up to Tuesday night’s 99th Rose Bowl between Wisconsin and Stanford. Northwestern was the lone victor, taking down Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, while Michigan (Outback), Nebraska (Capital One) and Purdue (Heart of Dallas) all lost. Check out our photo gallery from the four early games in this post.

Prior to Tuesday afternoon’s Gator Bowl win over Mississippi State, Northwestern hadn’t won a bowl game since beating Cal in the 1949 Rose Bowl. Sixty-four years and nine bowl defeats later, the run of futility is no more. Jump inside for a look at what was going on in the world in 1949, the last time Northwestern had won a bowl game.

Behind huge interceptions early and late, No. 21 Northwestern beat Mississippi State 34-20 in the Gator Bowl on Tuesday and snapped the game’s longest postseason losing streak. The Wildcats (10-3) won their first bowl game since 1949, snapping a nine-game funk that was tied for the longest in NCAA history. They also celebrated double-digit victories for the first time since the 1995 Rose Bowl season. Get the AP recap, video and Tom Dienhart’s Snap Reactions in this post.

Michigan won’t be the only Big Ten team wearing an alternate matte helmet for its New Year’s Day bowl. Northwestern, which debuted a matte black helmet earlier this season, will rock another matte look in Tuesday’s Gator Bowl.

Northwestern is looking to end a nine-game bowl losing skid and take another step in its evolution as a program under Pat Fitzgerald. And the Wildcats will be facing a Mississippi State squad that finished the season by losing four its last five games.

Minnesota kicks off the first of seven football bowl games involving Big Ten teams when the Gophers face Texas Tech on Friday night. On Saturday, Michigan State plays TCU. On Sunday leading up to five Big Ten bowls on New Year’s Day, watch our “Bowl Preview Show” at 7 p.m. ET on BTN/BTN2Go.

It’s the holiday season. Time is precious. There are many options when it comes to Big Ten bowl games but there are also five of them on Jan. 1 alone. Which ones should you watch? What should you watch for in each? That’s where I come in with my nifty ranking of the Big Ten bowls from 1-7.

If not for blowing leads against Nebraska, at Penn State and at Michigan, Northwestern may have gone 12-0. The defense was a big reason for Northwestern pushing its bowl streak to a school-record five seasons in a row. Players like LB David Nwabuisi, E Tyler Scott, LB Chi Chi Ariguzo, LB Damien Proby and S Ibraheim Campbell stood out for a team that showed better toughness.

Every week this season, BTN.com’s Brent Yarina (@BTNBrentYarina) and Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) offered their predictions for each Big Ten football game and provided polls for fans to pick their winners. We’re doing the same this bowl season. Heading into the games, BTN.com fans are atop the season standings, two games ahead of Dienhart. See our bowl predictions and choose your winners in this post.

There are seven Big Ten teams in bowl games. And there would be two more, if not for Ohio State and Penn State being on probation. What’s the best quarterback duel? Wheres’ the best chance for an upset? Which game is the best candidate for a good, old shootout?

One of the perks of going to a bowl is the gifts players receive. The Sports Business Daily recently chronicled what each bowl gives to participating players. Here’s a look at the swag that Big Ten players will receive at each game.

The bowl matchups are set as the Big Ten filled seven of its eight bowl slots. Four of the matchups are rematches of previous bowls. Here is a quick take on each bowl, with more analysis in coming days.

Throughout the bowl season, BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart offers his thoughts on the Big Ten’s record 10 bowl games. Find Dienhart’s reaction to Ohio State’s loss to Florida in the Gator Bowl on Monday in this post.

(AP) Florida’s special teams came up big in the Gator Bowl, scoring twice as the Gators beat Ohio State 24-17 on Monday in a game between Urban Meyer’s old team and his future one. Andre Debose returned a kickoff 99 yards – the longest scoring play in bowl history – and Chris Rainey blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown. The speedsters helped the Gators (7-6) avoid their first losing season since 1979. Ohio State (6-7) finished below .500 for the first time since 1986. The Buckeyes can take solace in knowing that Meyer, who officially takes over at Ohio State this week, will make it a priority to improve special teams. Read the full AP recap, get Tom Dienhart’s reaction, see the box score and view our photo gallery.

Throughout Monday’s Gator Bowl between Ohio State and Florida, we posted some of the best photos from the game. See the entire galley in this post. All photos courtesy of U.S. Presswire. Also, read the game recap.