Remember the 2008 bowl season in the Big Ten? It's OK if you don't. You probably wanted to block it out. As a reminder, here's how it looked.
Date
Bowl
Winner/Tie
Pts
Loser/Tie
Pts
Notes
2009-01-05
Fiesta Bowl
Texas
24
Ohio State
21
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)
2009-01-01
Capital One Bowl
Georgia
24
Michigan State
12
Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL)
2009-01-01
Outback Bowl
Iowa
31
South Carolina
10
Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL)
2009-01-01
Rose Bowl
Southern California
38
Penn State
24
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
2008-12-31
Insight Bowl
Kansas
42
Minnesota
21
Insight Bowl (Glendale, AZ)
2008-12-29
Alamo Bowl
Missouri
30
Northwestern
23
Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX)
2008-12-27
Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State
42
Wisconsin
13
Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL)
It was an awful year in the league. We were humiliated. We'd never recover (it would take until 2009, when the league won 2 BCS games and placed 4 in the final Top 15).
That's a not a new story line. 1984 was the first season that the Big Ten sent a majority of its schools to bowls. Here's how the six fared.
Date
Bowl
Winner/Tie
Pts
Loser/Tie
Pts
Notes
1985-01-01
Rose Bowl
Southern California
20
Ohio State
17
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
1984-12-31
Peach Bowl
Virginia
27
Purdue
24
Peach Bowl (Atlanta, GA)
1984-12-29
Hall of Fame Classic
Kentucky
20
Wisconsin
19
Hall of Fame Classic (Birmingham, AL)
1984-12-26
Freedom Bowl
Iowa
55
Texas
17
Freedom Bowl (Anaheim, CA)
1984-12-22
Cherry Bowl
Army
10
Michigan State
6
Cherry Bowl (Pontiac, MI)
1984-12-21
Holiday Bowl
Brigham Young
24
Michigan
17
Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA)
You see, there are no new plots, only recreations of our old tales.