Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, September 8, 2015
Yes, we just celebrated Labor Day. But, it?s never too early to think about bowl season, right? Right. For that, let?s check-in with Jerry Palm of CBSSports.com, the best in the galaxy when it comes to stuff like this.
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Palm has Ohio State as the No. 1 seed in the four-team playoff. Big shock, huh? The Buckeyes are playing No. 4 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. The Tigers, of course, beat OSU in this venue after the 2013 season, one of just three losses for Urban Meyer as Buckeye boss. Palm has No. 2 TCU playing No. 3 Auburn in the Cotton Bowl in the other playoff clash. The title game is in Glendale, Arizona.
Other Big Ten teams represented in Palm?s bowl chart:
Iowa: Holiday Bowl vs. Arizona
Michigan: Outback Bowl vs. LSU
Michigan State: Peach Bowl vs. Florida State
Minnesota: Foster Farms Bowl vs. UCLA
Nebraska: TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Ole Miss
Northwestern: Heart of Dallas Bowl vs. Western Kentucky
Ohio State: Orange Bowl vs. Clemson
Penn State: Citrus Bowl vs. Georgia
Wisconsin: Rose Bowl vs. Oregon
See Palm's full bowl projections.
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AT A GLANCE
Bowl teams: 9
Playoff teams: 1
Selection committee teams: 2
Best non-playoff/selection committee clash: Michigan vs. LSU in the Outback
Biggest bowl omission: Rutgers
Best shot to slip off this chart: Penn State
INSTANT REACTION
So, that?s nine teams in the postseason. Any surprising omissions at this point? Not really. I felt Indiana would make a bowl. But, it has something to prove after that unimpressive win vs. Southern Illinois. And don?t count out Maryland and/or Rutgers from making a bowl push. Palm has Penn State in a bowl. But, that may be a dicey proposition unless the Nittany Lions straighten out their offense.
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