Useless ESPN Bowl Projections Week 13
In this week's useless ESPN bowl projections, here are the B1G bowl games predicted by ESPN's Edwards & Schlabach.
Italics= Not enough B1G teams bowl eligible to fill slots.
| Bowl | Schlabach | Edwards |
| Rose Bowl presented by Vizio | Nebraska vs Stanford | Nebraska vs Stanford |
| Capital One Bowl | Michigan vs Texas A&M | Michigan vs Texas A&M |
| Outback Bowl | Northwestern vs LSU | Northwestern vs South Carolina |
| Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl | Wisconsin vs South Carolina | Wisconsin vs Vanderbilt |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | State vs TCU | State vs TCU |
| Meineke Car Care Bowl of TX | Purdue vs Baylor | Purdue vs Texas Tech |
| Heart of Dallas Bowl | Minnesota vs Iowa St. | Minnesota vs Iowa St. |
| Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl | No. Illinois vs Mid. Tenn St. | No. Illinois vs San Jose St. |
Other matchups of note-
| Bowl | Schlabach | Edwards |
| BCS National Championship | Georgia vs Notre Dame | Alabama vs Notre Dame |
| AT&T Cotton Bowl | Texas vs Alabama | Texas vs LSU |
| Bell Helicopter Armed Forces | Air Force vs UCF | Air Force vs SMU |
Thoughts?
November 25th, 2012 at 9:30 PM ^
November 25th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^
November 25th, 2012 at 9:19 PM ^
November 25th, 2012 at 9:21 PM ^
Not scared to play anybody. This Michigan team is talented and much better now than week 1. We would give the Aggies all they could handle.
4 losses this year to teams that have lost a total of 3 games... To much panic on these boards.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:54 PM ^
You do realize that the Aggies pinned one of those three loses on our opponents.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:23 PM ^
NW vs LSU = ouch
November 25th, 2012 at 9:25 PM ^
November 25th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^
My prediction: Michigan vs LSU.
Matchup with Miles against his alma mater is too good to pass up. Michigan has never played LSU. Plus the Cotton Bowl is probably salivating at a Texas-TAMU matchup a year after the rivalry ended.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^
I agree, and I say bring on the Tigers. Unless we're playing for a national championship or Rose Bowl title, I'm not too concerned about losing a bowl game. I'd rather have a high-profile, interesting, challenging bowl matchup even if that means we're less likely to win. LSU would certainly be high-profile, interesting, and challenging.
(For what it's worth, I have a very different philosophy with non-conference scheduling, where I generally think it's a mistake to schedule games like this year's Alabama game. Losses hurt more there.)
November 25th, 2012 at 10:27 PM ^
Of course, I was disappointed to get Miss State in the Gator Bowl a couple of years ago...just didn't seem like a glamorous match-up at all.
By halftime, it occurred to me that the Maroon Bulldogs fans were probably thinking the same thing.
Seriously, these conference tie-ins to the bowl games are the worst. The ESS EEE SEE fans have got to be sick of kicking the crap out of the B1G and the ACC by now. I used to get sick of always playing Arkansas or Ole Miss or Auburn in Florida during the Moeller/Carr years...and those were games Michigan won pretty easily at the time.
November 25th, 2012 at 10:34 PM ^
I'm clamoring for a complete wipe of the bowl tie ins. I want to see Michigan play in the Cotton Bowl soooo badly. It's the only major bowl they haven't won or played in.
I want to see Michigan play in bowls like the Chick-fil-A (Peach), Sun Bowl and others because they have storied histories. Wouldn't even mind maybe a game with texas at the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:30 PM ^
If Kent St. beats N.Illinois and either UCLA, FSU, or Nebreska lose and Kansas State does as expected and beats Texas it appears that Kent St. would be BCS bound. Also Rutgers can win the Big East with a win Thursday and possibly head to the Sugar Bowl.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:38 PM ^
Uhhh, no. First, they gotta crack the top 14 to be eligible. Second, they're not gonna get selected as an at large unless scandals pop up for 4-5 schools and make them ineligible for the postseason (not happening). Third, they have to finish top 6 to auto-qualify for a BCS bowl and that's ain't happening.
So no, Kent St will not get to a BCS bowl.
November 25th, 2012 at 10:04 PM ^
Top 16 and they get an auto. Its top 12 unless they are ranked above a BCS conference champion and they wil be above the Big East champ.
" The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference, or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in a BCS bowl game if either:
A. Such team is ranked in the top 12 of the final BCS Standings, or,
B. Such team is ranked in the top 16 of the final BCS Standings and its ranking in the final BCS Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in one of the BCS bowls."
November 25th, 2012 at 10:47 PM ^
Man, when did this happen? I didn't realize they changed that rule.
November 25th, 2012 at 10:09 PM ^
Kent State would have to crack the top 16 and be ahead of the Big East Champion to automatically qualify. Kent State is #17. UCLA is #16. Assuming Stanford pounds UCLA again, Kent State is going to a BCS game.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:36 PM ^
Based on the current Sagarin numbers, these would be predicted lines. The highlighted number(s) indicate a game in which the Big Ten pick would actually be favored:
| Bowl | Schlabach | Predicted Line | Edwards | Predicted Line |
| Rose Bowl presented by Vizio | Nebraska vs Stanford | 6.69 | Nebraska vs Stanford | 6.69 |
| Capital One Bowl | Michigan vs Texas A&M | 10.7 | Michigan vs Texas A&M | 10.7 |
| Outback Bowl | Northwestern vs LSU | 8.07 | Northwestern vs South Carolina | 8.97 |
| Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl | Wisconsin vs South Carolina | 7.05 | Wisconsin vs Vanderbilt | 2.01 |
| Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl | State vs TCU | 4.19 | State vs TCU | 4.19 |
| Meineke Car Care Bowl of TX | Purdue vs Baylor | 14.03 | Purdue vs Texas Tech | 11.59 |
| Heart of Dallas Bowl | Minnesota vs Iowa St. | 10.88 | Minnesota vs Iowa St. | 10.88 |
November 25th, 2012 at 9:39 PM ^
OHHHH myyyyy.....
November 25th, 2012 at 9:39 PM ^
Suck it, Vanderbilt!
November 25th, 2012 at 10:00 PM ^
What would this look like if OSU and PSU were eligible? Because of that B1G teams are playing 1-2 slots above where they normally would be. My guess is at least the spreads would be smaller.
November 25th, 2012 at 9:37 PM ^
but hey at least we have Rutgers and Maryland coming to save the day...
November 25th, 2012 at 9:54 PM ^
EVERYBODY PANIC
November 25th, 2012 at 10:28 PM ^
November 25th, 2012 at 11:05 PM ^
yes please! Good bowl with good respect. Against Texas A&M and Manziel? NO F*CKING WAY....
November 25th, 2012 at 11:08 PM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 3:37 AM ^
Yes, just like 08! Uh you know, except without all the future NFL'ers, the #1 draft pick on the OL and a functional run game. Other than that, dude, we are GOOD. Seriously though, there is no good option for us here. We will be a multi-score dog no matter who we play.
November 25th, 2012 at 11:37 PM ^
That is terrifying. Texas A&M is not a team I would want to see us play right about now. I am not sure our "number 1 pass defense" would hold up.
November 26th, 2012 at 5:05 AM ^
I want to see Michigan play the best team they can play.
The more big games they play in the better off they will be the following year.
November 26th, 2012 at 8:24 AM ^
November 26th, 2012 at 9:00 AM ^
I highly doubt A&M falls to the Cap 1. The Cotton Bowl gets the first pick from SEC teams and it would be shocking if they passed on A&M. Huge alumni base in Dallas. High profile player. Almost guaranteed interesting matchup.
Assuming Florida's getting the SEC's second BCS bid, of the SEC title game losers, Georgia is a long way from Dallas (and not nearly as attractive a team as A&M) and Alabama's already played in Dallas this year. LSU is probably the second most likely for the Cotton, but again, Johnny Football, Heisman winner from a Texas school, is pretty much irresistible to the Cotton Bowl. About the only way A&M doesn't go is if Deloss Dodds informs the Cotton Bowl Committee through back channels that a matchup with A&M isn't acceptable to UT, but A&M may be more attractive than even UT to the Cotton Bowl this year.
November 26th, 2012 at 11:48 AM ^
I though Texas A&M was in the SWC?
November 26th, 2012 at 4:54 PM ^
We have beat little bro's before and we can beat them again.
November 26th, 2012 at 8:12 PM ^
Zona to the New Mexico Bowl
that's a shame