Bowl Projections and Playoff Watch: Where is the Big Ten Going?

I woke up this morning fully intending on loafing around and waiting for the playoff committee selection show to see where everyone was going.  As I sat here drinking my coffee, I came upon this article from SBN main written by Jason Kirk predicting the playoff and all the bowls.  So where does the mothership think the Big Ten is going after conference championship Saturday?

The Playoffs and New Year's Six Bowls

1) Alabama Crimson Tide

2) Clemson Tigers

3) Oklahoma Sooners

4) Michigan State Spartans

This much was obvious yesterday.  Only Iowa lost from the prior playoff rankings and Michigan State was sitting there at five.  Yes, I know, they re-rank every week but there were only conference championships with four of the five P5 conferences and Oklahoma was off.  Makes this a bit easier, but who is going to the Rose Bowl with Iowa losing and Ohio State off but sitting there at 6 last week?

Rose Bowl: Stanford Cardinal vs. Ohio State Buckeyes

This sort of sucks for Iowa, who was undefeated until yesterday and lost on a 10 minute, game ending* drive from Michigan State when it looked like Iowa was in control all game; however, if you lose you lose, and the recency factor comes into play with Iowa's loss vs. Ohio State's loss.

But it's ok Iowa! You are 100% not dropping out of the Top 10 with your only loss as a Playoff team, and that means you still get a New Years Six bowl.

Peach Bowl: Florida State Seminoles vs. Iowa Hawkeyes

This is a good matchup for Iowa since you're not getting a full, wide open spread offense which could pose an issue.  Let's just hope that we don't repeat last year's bowl performance, ok? Solid season from Iowa and if you can win this game I can troll some people at work that their college lost to Iowa.

The Remaining Bowls (and there are a lot this year)

TaxSlayer Bowl: Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Citrus Bowl: Michigan Wolverines vs. Florida Gators

Outback Bowl: Northwestern Wildcats vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Holiday Bowl: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Washington State Cougars

Quick Lane Bowl: Duke Blue Devils vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers

Foster Farms Bowl: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. UCLA Bruins

PinStripe Bowl: Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Indiana Hoosiers

So, a 5-7 team gets in this year due to the fact that...well, a lot of bowls and not as many .500 teams.  I'm sure Nebraska isn't complaining.

CFB Playoff Selection Show

When: 12:30pm ET

Where to watch: ESPN

They'll announce the four playoff teams at 12:30pm ET this year, which shouldn't have even close to the drama of last year.  Then, at 3:00pm ET, they'll announce the final Top 25 along with the bowl pairings for the New Year's Six bowls.  The only question mark there is how far does Iowa drop and does the Rose take Iowa since Michigan State is in the playoff or do they take Ohio State, who is probably ranked higher?

Let us know what you all think of where you're projected to go! And Iowa fans...come punch your card, you guys haven't missed a Sunday yet.