National title hopes dashed, but Big Ten race still up for grabs

By Chris Preston  |   Thursday, November 13, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

College Football
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When Daniel Murray’s 31-yard field goal split the uprights last Saturday, it not only gave the Iowa Hawkeyes an improbable 24-23 upset of No. 3 Penn State but also ended the Big Ten’s hopes of placing one of its teams in the BCS national championship game for a third straight season. At this point, it would take a miracle (and a series of epic collapses from Lubbock to Tuscaloosa to Gainesville) for Joe Paterno's boys to be playing on Jan. 8. And with two losses already, Ohio State’s dreams of a third straight title game appearance were shattered three weeks ago by those same Nittany Lions.

But the Big Ten title remains up for grabs. The Nittany Lions, Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans are locked in a virtual three-way tie atop the standings with two weeks left in the Big Ten season. Penn State holds the edge over Ohio State thanks to its October win in Columbus, and the Buckeyes have the advantage over the Spartans thanks to a dominating victory in East Lansing. The Spartans, however, are the only one of the three with six conference wins already, and have just one remaining game: at Penn State on Nov. 23. In other words, plenty of intrigue remains in the Run for the Rose Bowl.

It says here that Penn State will regroup to win its final two games and advance to its first Rose Bowl since 1995. Obviously that’s not going out on a limb. The Nittany Lions play their final two games at home and, despite the Iowa loss, have proven that they are the most dominant team in the Big Ten throughout the season. But what other Big Ten teams will be going bowling this holiday season?

Here are my Big Ten bowl projections:

Rose Bowl: Penn State (11-1) vs. USC (11-1), Jan. 1
Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State (10-2) vs. Texas Tech (11-1), Jan. 5
Capital One Bowl: Michigan State (9-3) vs. Georgia (10-2), Jan. 1
Outback Bowl: Minnesota (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5), Jan. 1
Alamo Bowl: Iowa (7-5) vs. Missouri (10-3), Dec. 29
Champs Sports Bowl: Northwestern (8-4) vs. Maryland (7-5), Dec. 27
Insight Bowl: Wisconsin (7-5) vs. Kansas (6-6), Dec. 31
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