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USA Today Sports Media Group
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Phil Harrison

Big Ten bowl projections and College Football Playoff predictions after Week 13

The Big Ten has a rich history in bowl games, and the expectations are it will continue in 2023 — we think.

Here at Buckeyes Wire, we keep the tradition going and look at where we think all of the teams in the conference will end up when the dust settles on the season. We reevaluate after each week’s games and predict where teams will be traveling for the holidays based on what our eyeballs tell us.

At the end of the regular season, nine conference teams are bowl eligible: Ohio StateMichigan, Penn StateIowaRutgers, Maryland, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The latter thanks to it being the best of the five-win teams based on APR score and not enough Football Bowl Subdivision teams getting to six wins.

The big three in the East division are likely headed to a very lucrative bowl, while Michigan and Iowa will battle it out in Indy for the Big Ten championship in what is probably going to be a public flogging on national television.

We try to figure out where all the teams in the conference will go bowling, and which four teams will make the College Football Playoff with just the conference championship games to go.

Keep in mind the scenarios are very complicated with bowl tie-ins and contractual preferences for teams that have not been involved in certain locations, so we do our best to track it all. We also throw in the College Football Playoff picks as a cherry on top of it all.

Below is a look at the bowl predictions for Big Ten teams and complete playoff picks after Week 13, the end of the 2023 regular season.

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

What We Predict

Date: Saturday, Dec. 23
TV: ABC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Reliant Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. Pac-12
Bowl Prediction – Maryland vs. Utah

Quick Lane Bowl

What We Predict

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 26
TV: ESPN, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. MAC
Bowl Prediction – Minnesota vs. Ohio

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

What We Predict

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 26
TV: ESPN, 10:15 p.m. ET
Venue: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. Big 12
Bowl Prediction – Northwestern vs. Iowa State

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl

What We Predict

Date: Friday, Dec. 29
TV: ESPN, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. ACC
Bowl Prediction –  Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech

TransPerfect Music City Bowl

What We Predict

Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
TV: ESPN, 2 p.m. ET
Venue: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Prediction – Wisconsin vs. Auburn

ReliaQuest Bowl

What We Predict

Date: Monday, Jan. 1
TV: ESPN2, Noon ET
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten* vs. SEC
Bowl Prediction – Notre Dame* vs. LSU

*Not enough Big Ten teams eligible

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl

What We Predict

Date: Monday, Jan. 1
TV: ABC, 1 p.m. ET
Venue: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida
Bowl Tie-Ins: Big Ten vs. SEC
Bowl Prediction – Iowa vs. Ole Miss

NEXT … Big Ten teams in the New Year’s Six bowls

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

What We Predict

Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
TV: ESPN, noon ET
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP at-large
Bowl Prediction  Penn State vs. Missouri

Capital One Orange Bowl

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

What We Predict

Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
TV: ESPN, 4 p.m. ET
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP at-large
Bowl Prediction – Ohio State vs. Louisville

NEXT … College Football Playoff games

CFP Semifinal Rose Bowl Game

What We Predict

Date: Monday, Jan. 1
TV: ESPN, 5 p.m. ET
Venue: Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP at-large
Bowl Prediction – Michigan vs. Florida State

CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

What We Predict

Date: Monday, Jan. 1
TV: ESPN, 8:45 p.m. ET
Venue: Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP at-large
Bowl Prediction – Georgia vs. Oregon

NEXT … For all the marbles

College Football Playoff National Championship game

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

What We Predict

Date: Monday, Jan. 8
TV: ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Bowl Tie-Ins: CFP semifinal winner vs. CFP semifinal winner
Bowl Prediction – Georgia vs. Michigan

NEXT … And the national champion will be …

College Football Playoff national champion

Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

The Georgia Bulldogs

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

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