Bowl Game Projections For Iowa and Nine Other Big Ten Teams

Iowa's regular season has come to an end. The Hawkeyes stand at 10-2, ranked in the top 20 nationally, and will play in the Big Ten Championship game Saturday night. Iowa is one of nine Big Ten teams that are bowl-eligible. Here is where the pigskin prognosticators have Iowa and the other teams in the conference bowling at this year.

First, let's start with the team most likely to make the College Football Playoff, Michigan. The Wolverines beat Ohio State and will almost certainly handle Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game. They'll be undefeated and will certainly be in the playoff. The Des Moines Register reports that their most likely destination is The Rose Bowl, where they'll take on the winner of the Pac-10 Championship Game. Washington topped Oregon earlier this year. A Rose Bowl game featuring the undefeated Wolverines against the unbeaten Huskies would be hard to beat.

Now let's head to the 'best of the rest' or the New Year's Six. Here is where the experts have the remaining highest-ranked Big Ten teams headed.

• Orange Bowl: Ohio State vs. Louisville
• Peach Bowl: Penn State vs. Tulane

The Register reports that the Orange Bowl takes the highest-ranked remaining Big Ten, SEC team, or Notre Dame, against the highest-ranked ACC team. Even after losing to Michigan, the Buckeyes are ranked #6 and are the highest-ranked Big Ten or SEC team not in the Playoff. Meanwhile, the Register reports that Penn State is currently ranked #10 and ahead of fellow 10-2 teams Ole Miss and Oklahoma.

So where does that put our beloved Iowa Hawkeyes? The Register reports that the Big Ten has six bowl-eligible teams outside the top three. Michigan is in the Playoff. Ohio State and Penn State are in New Year's Six bowl games. That would mean that the Big Ten's highest remaining team would get a birth to the Citrus Bowl. That team is Iowa. The Hawkeyes are a virtual lock for the Citrus Bowl where they would take on a top SEC team. Here is how the other Big Ten bowl games are projected.

• Citrus Bowl: Iowa vs. LSU
• Music City Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
• Las Vegas Bowl: Northwestern vs. Utah
• Pinstripe Bowl: Rutgers vs. Georgia Tech
• Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Maryland vs. Kansas
• Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Toledo

These are of course just bowl projections. What would happen if Iowa shocked the world? What happens if Washington loses to Oregon? If you root for chaos, a lot can still happen prior to bowl selection. Nothing would shake it up more than a Hawkeye victory in Indy on Saturday night.