Updated Bowl Projections
Enough with the threads, WD.
Anyways, some pretty big changes to the bowl projections this week.
Apparently beating up baby seals erases the fact that you lost by 14 at home to a team who was just beaten at home by East Carolina.
Northwestern in a bowl game. Okay.
That CBS projection for Michigan is just......depressing.
ESPN B1G projections
| Bowl | Talking Head 1 | Talking Head 2 |
| Fiesta | State vs South Carolina | Ohio vs Stanford |
| Peach | No B1G team | State vs Alabama |
| Capital One | Wisconsin vs Mississippi | Nebraska vs LSU |
| Outback | Ohio vs Florida | Wisconsin vs Georgia |
| TaxSlayer | No B1G team | Penn State vs Missouri |
| Holiday | Nebraska vs Stanford | Maryland vs UCLA |
| Pinstripe | Penn State vs Pittsburgh | Michigan vs Clemson |
| Music City | Iowa vs Texas | No B1G team |
| San Fran | Michigan vs Arizona State | Iowa vs USC |
| Quick Lane | Minnesota vs BC | Minnesota vs Virginia |
| Heart of Dallas | Maryland vs UAB | Rutgers vs MTSU |
SB Nation
| Bowl | Pick |
| Fiesta | State vs UCLA |
| Peach | Ohio vs Georgia |
| Capital One | Michigan(!) vs LSU |
| Outback | Wisconsin vs Auburn |
| TaxSlayer | Northwestern(!?) vs Florida |
| Holiday | Iowa vs Washington |
| Pinstripe | Maryland vs Pittsburgh |
| San Fran | Nebraska vs Stanford |
CBS
| Bowl | Pick |
| Fiesta | State vs UCLA |
| Capital One | Ohio vs LSU |
| Outback | Wisconsin vs South Carolina |
| TaxSlayer | Iowa vs Florida |
| Holiday | Nebraska vs Washington |
| Pinstripe | Maryland vs Pittsburgh |
| San Fran | Penn State vs Arizona State |
| Heart of Dallas | Michigan vs Marshall |
September 14th, 2014 at 6:49 PM ^
Thoughts on that, Tom Brady?
September 14th, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 7:04 PM ^
The thought of the Heart Of Dallas Bowl sort of makes me....
September 14th, 2014 at 7:07 PM ^
Why not call it the J.R. Ewing Bowl? They can even have a cliffhanger at the end of the first half.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:08 PM ^
Would rather Michigan play in the Quick Lane Bowl. At least I could go see my team in a bowl game.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:25 PM ^
Who prefers the soul-crushing, cold-weather, backyard option for a bowl game?
September 14th, 2014 at 7:37 PM ^
Somebody needs to teach this kid how to parlay that easy access to student loan money into some nice vacations before it's too late.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:41 PM ^
Would I rather drop a bunch of money for a "vacation" to freaking Dallas or save a ton and just make a 30/40 drive up to Detroit?
The latter all the way. The hell do I want to go to Dallas for?
September 14th, 2014 at 7:43 PM ^
The hell do the players want to go to a warm-weather bowl game for?
September 14th, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^
Yeah, they really showed they valued that experience in last year's bowl game.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:47 PM ^
This cannot be a serious post.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^
It wasn't, actually.
September 15th, 2014 at 9:53 AM ^
when you are getting down to these kind of bowl games after projections of national relevance, I think the only thing the players care about is geographically where they get to go. I am sure the boys enjoyed the hell out of themselves last year, it was just that the actually game was about 8th or 9th on their list of "important" things to do while out west. The result of the game may just not have been that relevant of a consideration in determining whether the trip was successful or not.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:47 PM ^
And their lunch specials are affordable, even on a student budget.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 8:21 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
It's at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. Where OU/Texas play.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:17 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 8:12 PM ^
If NW gets to 5 wins this year I might eat a lemon. Might.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:26 PM ^
You heard it here first folks, alum96 is going to eat a lemon with 5+ wins from NW!
September 14th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^
chow down if NW gets to 6 wins? i realize that's about as likely one of our cows having triplets, but at least it would be something to aim for.
September 15th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
cows having triplets is.
Is this a standard saying somewhere or are you talking about the literal cows you own having triplets?
September 16th, 2014 at 1:18 PM ^
and trips are extraordinarily rare. same with sheep. not so with goats.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 7:35 PM ^
If michigan ends up in the heart of dallas bowl, they should take the opportunity to make Art Briles an offer he can't refuse.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:42 PM ^
It's a shame they moved the bowl game in San Francisco out of the city. The Giants ballpark was more than big enough for the crowd that game will draw. Much nicer to walk out of the game and be right in the city rather than across the street from an amusement park.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:43 PM ^
For a second I was excited at the prospect of playing Rich Rod. Then i saw it was ASU.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:44 PM ^
Speaking of that... seeing that Brandon is all about getting people talking about a Michigan game. I'm surprised we've not seen an Arizona home and home series announced. The 'controversy' would definitely get people talking.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^
That scheduling would not be
September 14th, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^
Clemson and ASU are ranked and Michigan is not. So why are the bowls so screwed up that Michigan would be projected to play either in a bowl if the current power rankings are indicative of the true strengths of the teams?
Ugh.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:54 PM ^
The B1G has good bowl tie-ins because the fans will travel, there are alums in just about every market (if you hit various sports bars in LA, for example, you'll see big groups of Iowa, Wisconsin, UM, OSU, Nebraska, PSU, etc. fans and the same is probably true in NY or Chicago), and they watch on TV. The Pac-12 and ACC don't because they can't sell out their championship games and certainly can't get people to get on a plane to attend the BW3 Bowl.
September 14th, 2014 at 7:50 PM ^
September 14th, 2014 at 7:54 PM ^
Last I saw (10:09 AM on September 14), Jason Kirk of SB Nation had Michigan and Pitt in the Pinstripe Bowl. I've heard that New York is a "wonderful town."
September 14th, 2014 at 8:02 PM ^
Playing Clemson in the snow would be kinda cool.
You're on my turf now, bitch.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:23 PM ^
Ooohh never thought of this. Southern teams up north!
But is the Pinstripe bowl really going to get the 2nd rated ACC team? Makes no sense. Per Wikipedia it looks like the 3rd place ACC team goes to Pinstripe.
Also does Notre Dame go to the ACC seeding for bowl games or is it independent?
The ACC agreed to a six year deal with the Pinstripe Bowl,a nd the Big Ten agreed to the alignment for 8 years. The ACC has adopted a tiered system so the same conference position will not necessarily go to the same bowl.[8] ESPN.com quoted sources that 3rd through 6th bowl eligible teams would be tiered with the Pinstripe, Belk, Sun, Gator and Music City bowlsI
Dont really know who the 3rd best team in the ACC would be at this point. Their "Coastal' division is akin to the Big 10 West. Duke might be the best team there? Sure isn't VA Tech or Miami. Their "Atlantic" has FSU and Clemson, I give them that. Then it drops to NC State/Syracuse/Louisville. So its a 2 team conference like we are a 1 team conference right now in terms of being relevant unless Wisconsin discovers playing a safety at QB is really awesome.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:05 PM ^
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September 14th, 2014 at 8:09 PM ^
Rose Bowl is playoff only every third year, including this year. Orange, Fiesta, Sugar, Cotton, and Peach are the others in the rotation. Then national title game is in random city chosen in advance, a'la the Super Bowl.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^
UCLA lost its QB yesterday, not sure how long. ASU lost its QB yesterday, not sure how long. USC cannot play run defense - that doesnt get fixed quickly. The Pac 12 might be just Oregon and Stanford in a few weeks via attrition.
I am watching ASU closely for other reasons. Saw in their game last night they only have 8 seniors in their 2 deep - giving us a run for the money in that department.
UM v Clemson or a healthy ASU would terrify me at this point the way those offenses put up points, ASU is a poor man's Oregon without the same talent level.
UM vs Marshall would terrify me for other reasons.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:33 PM ^
I wouldn't say SC can't stop the run, but rather they can't stop teams with multiple threats that get them going side to side. They've shut down Stanford two years in a row and shut down BC last year when they had the Doak Walker winner. The ND game last year was basically a slugfest with little room on the ground.
On the flip side, teams like Arizona, ASU, UCLA, and Oregon two years ago have killed them. And the lack of numbers becomes very apparent in the second half if an opposing team can get Woods and Williams running sideline to sideline with no breather. BC didn't get much until they started attacking the edge and then hit that big reverse and the floodgates opened with the read/option/misdirection game.
If ASU and UCLA don't have their quarterbacks, I think it makes a huge difference in those matchups, since those guys are built to tear up SC's defensive weaknesses.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:56 PM ^
says Hundley will probably be ready for next week. Take it for what its worth.
September 14th, 2014 at 10:00 PM ^
Looks like Hundley is an elbow and Kelly (ASU) is a foot. Both those guys are engines for their team although UCLA thus far has not impressed in any of their 3 games. Mora Jr shine fading a bit?
September 14th, 2014 at 8:34 PM ^
It's way too early to be thinking about bowl season. There's a Utah team coming into town to prepare for.
I won't worry much about which bowl game we play in. I'm more concerned with winning the damn thing.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:39 PM ^
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September 14th, 2014 at 8:51 PM ^
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September 14th, 2014 at 8:59 PM ^
Okay, I'll rephrase it for you.
There's at least 9 more games on the schedule. This team could finish anywhere from a barely-bowl-eligible 6-6 to somewhere around 9 or 10 wins if the team gets a fire lit under them.
We don't really know what we have yet. Is it a team that wilts when faced with a determined quality opponent? Is it a team that is ready to breakout and erase some of its demons by winning tough road games? The fact that this is a question at all usually indicates the 10 win season is unlikely.
There's a lot of unknowns, and it's too early to start thinking about bowl games.
September 14th, 2014 at 8:43 PM ^
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September 14th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^
I'm smoking a bowl right now.
September 14th, 2014 at 9:04 PM ^