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.

Clint Chelf threw three of Oklahoma State’s five touchdown passes and the Cowboys shook off a disappointing Big 12 finish by dominating Purdue 58-14 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday. The Cowboys, a year removed from a Fiesta Bowl win that capped the best season in school history, forced five turnovers and had another short touchdown drive after a 64-yard punt return from Josh Stewart. Get the AP recap, video and Tom Dienhart’s Snap Reactions in this post.

Purdue will arrive in Dallas without head coach Danny Hope, who was fired after four seasons despite guiding the Boilermakers to a second bowl in succession. This is a chance to punctuate a second consecutive season with a bowl win, which hasn’t happened since winning back-to-back Alamo Bowls in 1997-98. And the Boilermakers arrive with some momentum, having won three in a row.

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.

Purdue is going to a bowl for a second consecutive season but the Boilermakers had to finish with a flurry to get there. More was expected from Danny Hope’s fourth team, and that’s why he was fired and Darrell Hazell was hired from Kent State. The offense struggled much of the season and lacked an identity and consistency. But a defense with several legit NFL prospects was the biggest disappointment, ranking No. 11 overall in the Big Ten (407.3 ypg) and 10th in scoring defense (29.0 ppg).

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.