Sean Merriman, BTN.com web editor, December 24, 2015
Merry Christmas, Big Ten fans!
Indiana and Nebraska are set to kick off the Big Ten bowl season tomorrow as the Hoosiers will take on Duke in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, while the Huskers will battle UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl.
There are 12 bowl games in the books, but just because the Big Ten has yet to play, that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of Big Ten story lines surrounding bowl season.
I dug deep into the archives and came up with one Big Ten fact for every college football bowl game this season.
Gilden New Mexico Bowl: Arizona vs. New Mexico
Fun Fact: Rich Rodriguez is Arizona's head coach. Rodriguez coached at Michigan from 2008-2010, compiling a 15-22 record and one bowl appearance.
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl: Utah vs. BYU
Fun Fact: Taylor Stubblefield served as Utah's wide receivers coach for the last two seasons. Stubblefield starred at Purdue from 2001-2004 where he recorded the most receptions in NCAA history.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State vs. Ohio
Fun Fact: Ohio's head coach is Frank Solich, who played at Nebraska and served as the head coach for the Huskers from 1998-2003. Solich directed the Huskers to six consecutive bowl games, including the 2001 national championship game.
AutoNation Cure Bowl: Georgia State vs. San Jose State
Fun Fact: Greg Robinson is the defensive coordinator at San Jose State. Robinson served as the defensive coordinator at Michigan from 2009-2010 under Rich Rodriguez.
RL Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Louisiana Tech
Fun Fact: Maryland recently hired Arkansas State's Walt Bell as their offensive coordinator.
Miami Beach Bowl: USF vs. Western Kentucky
Fun Fact: Danny Hope is the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at South Florida. Hope was Purdue's head coach from 2009-2012 where he compiled a 22-27 mark.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Akron vs. Utah State
Fun Fact: Akron star defensive lineman Se'Veon Pittman played at Ohio State as a freshman before transferring to Akron.
Boca Raton Bowl: Temple vs. Toledo
Fun Fact: Temple head coach Matt Rhule played at Penn State from 1994-1997 before joining the Nittany Lions' coaching staff as a graduate assistant.
Poinsettia Bowl: Boise State vs. NIU
Fun Fact: Northern Illinois defensive line coach Brett Diersen served as the defensive line coach at Nebraska from 2008-2010. Following that stint, he went to Indiana to become the Hoosiers' recruiting coordinator.
GoDaddy Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern
Fun Fact: Bowling Green offensive coordinator Sean Lewis played at Wisconsin as a quarterback and tight end from 2004-2007.
Popeyes Bahamas Bowl: Middle Tennessee vs. Western Michigan
Fun Fact: Western Michigan head coach P.J. Fleck began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2006. In 2010, Fleck was hired by Rutgers as the wide receivers coach under former head coach Greg Schiano, who is now with Ohio State.
Hawaii Bowl: Cincinnati vs. San Diego State
Fun Fact: Cincinnati linebacker Eric Wilson played at Northwestern in 2012 before transferring to Cincinnati.
St. Petersburg Bowl: Marshall vs. UConn
Fun Fact: Marshall linebacker Shawn Petty transferred to play for the Herd after spending two seasons at Maryland.
Hyundai Sun Bowl: Miami (FL) vs. Washington State
Fun Fact: Former Miami safety Kiy Hester is now a standout at Rutgers.
Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl: Southern Miss vs. Washington
Fun Fact: Southern Miss running back Justice Hayes played at Michigan under Brady Hoke from 2012-2014.
Pinstripe Bowl: Duke vs. Indiana
Fun Fact: Duke walk-on Hud Mellencamp is the son of Bloomington native John Mellencamp, who is a big-time Indiana fan.
Camping World Independence Bowl: Tulsa vs. Virginia Tech
Fun Fact: Tulsa co-defensive coordinator Brian Norwood spent seven seasons as the safeties coach at Penn State, from 2001-2007.
Foster Farms Bowl: Nebraska vs. UCLA
Fun Fact: UCLA defensive coordinator Tom Bradley played at Penn State from 1975-1978. Following his college playing career, Bradley served on the Penn State coaching staff for 32 years.
Military Bowl: Navy vs. Pittsburgh
Fun Fact: Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi served as the defensive coordinator at Michigan State from 2007-2014 under MSU head man Mark Dantonio.
Quick Lane Bowl: Central Michigan vs. Minnesota
Fun Fact: Central Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Colby was the defensive line coach at Illinois from 2012-14 and the defensive coordinator at Northwestern from 2002-2007. He also coached at Michigan State.
Lockhead Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Air Force vs. California
Fun Fact: Air Force linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden was the head coach at Maryland from 1997-2000.
Russell Athletic Bowl: North Carolina vs. Baylor
Fun Fact: North Carolina assistant head coach for offense Seth Littrell was Indiana's offensive coordinator 2012-2013.
Home Loans Bowl: Colorado State vs. Nevada
Fun Fact: Colorado State running back Dalyn Dawkins played at Purdue in 2013 before transferring to Colorado State.
Texas Bowl: LSU vs. Texas Tech
Fun Fact: LSU head coach Les Miles was a standout offensive lineman at Michigan from 1974-1975. He also coached at Michigan as a graduate assistant in from 1980-1981, and as an offensive line coach from 1987-1994 under Bo Schembechler and Gary Moeller.
Birmingham Bowl: Auburn vs. Memphis
Fun Fact: Auburn defensive back Blake Countess starred at Michigan from 2011-2014.
Belk Bowl: Mississippi State vs. NC State
Fun Fact: NC State head coach Dave Doeren was Wisconsin's defensive coordinator from 2006-2010.
Music City Bowl: Louisville vs. Texas A&M
Fun Fact: Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin was a standout linebacker at Purdue from 1983-1986.
Holiday Bowl: USC vs. Wisconsin
Fun Fact: Ty Isaac, who is a running back at Michigan, played for USC during his freshman season before transferring.
Peach Bowl: Houston vs. Florida State
Fun Fact: Houston head coach Tom Herman served as Ohio State's offensive coordinator from 2012-2014 under Urban Meyer.
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Fun Fact: Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was a four-year starter at defensive back for Iowa from 1979-1982.
Cotton Bowl: Michigan State vs. Alabama
Fun Fact: Alabama head coach Nick Saban was the head coach at Michigan State from 1995-1999.
Outback Bowl: Northwestern vs. Tennessee
Fun Fact: Tennessee senior punter Nathan Renfro played at Maryland from 2012-2014.
Citrus Bowl: Florida vs. Michigan
Fun Fact: D.J. Durkin served as Michigan's defensive coordinator this season before accepting the Maryland head coaching position this month. Before joining Michigan's staff, Durkin was Florida's defensive coordinator from 2013-2014.
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
Fun Fact: Notre Dame assistant coach Bob Elliott played at Iowa from 1972-1975. He also coached at his alma mater from 1987-1998.
Rose Bowl: Stanford vs. Iowa
Fun Fact: Wayne Lyons, who is a senior defensive back at Michigan, played at Stanford from 2011-2014 before transferring.
Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Mississippi
Fun Fact: Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy was an assistant coach at Maryland from 1997-2000, serving as the Terps' quarterback and wide receiver coach.
TaxSlayer Bowl: Penn State vs. Georgia
Fun Fact: Georgia linebackers coach Mike Ekeler was Indiana's co-defensive coordinator from 2011-2012. Before that, he served as the linebackers coach at Nebraska from 2008-10 under head coach Bo Pelini. During his three years in Lincoln, the Cornhuskers won or shared the Big 12 Conference North Division title all three seasons.
Liberty Bowl: Kansas State vs. Arkansas
Fun Fact: Arkansas head coach Brett Bielema was the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-2012.
Alamo Bowl: TCU vs. Oregon
Fun Fact: TCU running back Aaron Green began his playing career at Nebraska. The same goes for TCU defensive end Aaron Curry.
Cactus Bowl: Arizona State vs. West Virginia
Fun Fact: Kyle Bosch and Michael Ferns both play for West Virginia, and both began their college careers at Michigan.