Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, September 9, 2013
Another week, another round of bowl projections. Just one Big Ten team lost on Saturday, with Indiana falling at home to Navy, 41-35. The other 11 schools won. But my bowl projections have changed-at least the lower-tier bowl projections.
The big winner this week: Illinois, which surprised everyone with a relatively easy 45-17 home win over Cincinnati. The Fighting Illini?s rise, coupled with Indiana?s loss and Michigan State?s second consecutive unimpressive victory, was the agent for change.
As a result, Illinois is now in my projections, going from out of my bowl picture all the way to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Nice!
[ MORE: Week 2 honors, grades & more | What did Tom Dienhart learn? | Week 2 picks revisited ]
| 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 | Michigan vs. Stanford |
| Capital One Bowl, Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. SEC | Northwestern vs. LSU |
| Outback Bowl, Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. SEC | Nebraska vs. Florida |
| Gator Bowl, Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. SEC | Wisconsin vs. Arkansas |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, Dec. 28 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 | Illinois vs. Oklahoma State |
| Texas Bowl, Dec. 27 | Big Ten vs. Big 12 | Michigan State vs. Texas Tech |
| Heart of Dallas Bowl, Jan. 1 | Big Ten vs. C-USA | Minnesota vs. Marshall |
| Little Caesars Pizza, Dec. 26 | Big Ten vs. MAC | Iowa vs. Ball State |
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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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