BTN.com staff, December 15, 2012
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.
[ RELATED: View our 2012-13 bowl schedule ]
SEASON RECORDS
BTN.com fans: 75-22; .773
Tom: 73-24; .753
Brent: 69-28; .711
Meineke Car Care Bowl: Minnesota (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (7-5) – 9 p.m. ET Dec. 28 – ESPN
Tom's pick: Texas Tech, 35-21 – The Gophers don't have enough offense to keep up with a Red Raiders unit that can put up points in a hurry.
Brent's pick: Texas Tech, 41-20 – No Tommy Tuberville, no problem. Texas Tech lost its head coach to Cincinnati, but it still has QB Seth Doege, who threw for at least six touchdowns in three games this season.
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Michigan State (6-6) vs. TCU (7-5) – 10:15 p.m. ET Dec. 29 – ESPN
Tom's pick: Michigan State, 21-19 – This one figures to be a tough, low-scoring game that hearkens to a black-and-white era. Watch Le'Veon Bell run. A lot.
Brent's pick: TCU, 23-17 – Breaking news: TCU's Gary Patterson can coach. And he's really good in bowl games, winning six of the last seven, the lone loss to Boise State in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl.
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Purdue (6-6) vs. Oklahoma State (7-5) – noon ET Jan. 1 – ESPNU
Tom's pick: Oklahoma State, 40-30 – This may be the most fun game to watch among the Big Ten bowls. But in the end the Pokes have too much firepower.
Brent's pick: Oklahoma State, 48-27 – The Cowboys average 44.7 points (4th in FBS) and fling the ball all over the field. It will be tough for the Boilers to tame or keep up with this offensive attack.
Gator Bowl: Northwestern (9-3) vs. Mississippi State (8-4) – noon ET Jan. 1 – ESPN2
Tom's pick: Northwestern, 30-27 – The two-headed quarterback duo of Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian will have its way, as the Wildcats end a dubious nine-game losing skid.
Brent's pick: Northwestern, 29-24 – No matter the opponent, Northwestern is in the game. In this one, the offense might want to introduce a few new wrinkles, centered around Kain Colter, to help the program tally its first bowl win since 1948.
Outback Bowl: Michigan (8-4) vs. South Carolina (10-2) – 1 p.m. ET Jan. 1 – ESPN
Tom's pick: South Carolina, 27-24 – The Wolverines will struggle to score vs. a fast and tough Gamecock defense, led by all-world defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney.
Brent's pick: South Carolina, 23-20 – No team's losses have come against better competition (12-1 Alabama; 12-0 Notre Dame; 12-0 Ohio State; 10-3 Nebraska), and Michigan's offense has struggled in each defeat. That's a bad sign vs. South Carolina.
[ RELATED: Michigan unveils Outback Bowl uniform ]
Capital One Bowl: Nebraska (10-3) vs. Georgia (11-2) – 1 p.m. ET Jan. 1 – ABC
Tom's pick: Georgia, 33-27 – The Huskers will score. The issue? The Bulldogs' offensive balance will keep the Cornhusker defense reeling.
Brent's pick: Georgia, 34-24- Here's a scary stat: Nebraska gave up an average of 56 points in its three losses. While Georgia doesn't figure to sniff that total, it should have no trouble moving the ball against a defense that doesn't rival a top SEC unit.
Rose Bowl: Wisconsin (8-5) vs. Stanford (11-2) – 5 p.m. ET Jan. 1 – ESPN
Tom's pick: Stanford, 29-28 – These teams are mirrors of each other, both playing physical offense with underrated defenses. The difference will be at quarterback.
Brent's pick: Stanford, 27-24 – For all the flak Wisconsin has gotten about being the worst Rose Bowl team of all time, it will keep this one close before suffering its third consecutive defeat in the Grandaddy of Them All.