Bowled Over: A Lot to Like About Big Ten's Stellar Nine-Bowl Lineup

Fiesta. Rose. Cotton. Citrus. Outback. Gator. Holiday. Redbox. Pinstripe.

Any way you stack them, that’s a pretty good set of bowls.

The Fiesta. Rose and Cotton are New Year’s Six bowls. The Citrus and Outback are the best Florida bowls this side of the Orange. A third Florida bowl, the Gator, goes way back. San Diego’s Holiday Bowl has always had a cachet wherever snow shovels are sold.

Who wouldn’t want to play (or watch) in Yankee Stadium? And if the RedBox, nee Kraft Fight Hunger, has a strange name and was a cooler event in the Giants baseball park, at least it’s in a stadium that has hosted the Super Bowl and college football’s championship game.

When the Big Ten swings and misses, I would like to think I am quick to point out those whiffs. But this bowl lineup is a home run, venue-wise.

Most of the matchups are pretty good stuff, too.

They start, obviously, with the Ohio State-Clemson Clash of the Titans in the national semi-final Fiesta Bowl.

But Wisconsin-Oregon in the Grandaddy of Them All? Two accomplished teams in the best bowl setting ever. What’s not to like?

In the Cotton Bowl, Penn State draws the always-curious assignment of being the Power Five team designated to put the pride of the Group of Five in its place. Memphis sure looks like a well-coached scoring machine, though.

And Alabama-Michigan in the Citrus Bowl is yet another intriguing matchup. Could be another tough day at the office for beleaguered Jim Harbaugh. Or will the Crimson Tide, left out of the four-team playoff for the first time, be disinterested? Also, will some Bama studs opt to sit out as they turn their attention to the NFL?

Minnesota-Auburn in the Outback? Can P.J. Fleck keep the rah-rah—um, Row, Row—stuff going against a traditional SEC power that lost to LSU and Georgia by a combined 10 points—and beat Alabama? Like Alabama-Michigan, this is a statement game in the SEC/Big Ten battle for best-conference honors.

USC-Iowa in the Holiday Bowl: Will the Trojans give Clay Helton, who will be back, a performance that soothes his detractors? Or will Iowa, No. 16 in the final CFP poll, make a little noise at the end of a season played in the shadows of Minnesota and Wisconsin?

The final three Big Ten bowls are mainly of interest to their fan bases. Will Illinois, revived by Lovie Smith, finish strong against Cal in the Illini’s first bowl since 2014?

Can Indiana win nine games for only the second time in school history (1967, John Pont’s Rose Bowl team!) against Tennessee in the Gator Bowl? A nine-win season by a basketball school in the rugged Big Ten East? That would be pretty good stuff. Also, another data point in the SEC/Big Ten discussion.

The one game I can’t get excited about (yet!) is Michigan State-Wake Forest in Yankee Stadium. I have misgivings (for my Sparty friends) about sagging Mark Dantonio returning in 2020. He’s an MSU legend who deserves to go out on his own terms. But a bad outing in the House that Ruth Built would leave MSU flatter than the proverbial pancake. Not the best game to bat leadoff. But it is what it is.

And Let's Not Forget Notre Dame. . .

Oh, and by the way, the Camping World Bowl got Notre Dame. . . Pause for applause. . . But the Orlando undercard bowl didn’t get its dream matchup with fellow network star Texas. Iowa State will be the Irish opponent. Which ought to excite the Cyclones. We’ll see how excited ND is. At least there figure to be some theme-park visits.

Speaking of Ruth, have your pencil and scorecard ready. Here’s the Big Ten/Notre Dame bowl lineup. . . We'll delve more deeply into the games soon.

(CFP rankings. All times Central Flyover)

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Michigan State (6-6) vs. Wake Forest (8-4)
Yankee Stadium, New York
2:20 p.m., Friday, Dec. 27, ESPN

Michigan State favored by 3½

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
No. 22 USC (8-4) vs. No. 16 Iowa (9-3)

SDCCU Stadium, San Diego
7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27, FS1

Iowa favored by 1½

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Penn State (10-2) vs. Memphis (12-1)
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 28, ESPN

Penn State favored by 7

Camping World Bowl
No. 15 Notre Dame (10-2) vs. Iowa State (7-5)
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
Saturday, Dec. 28, 11 a.m., ABC

Notre Dame favored by 3 ½

College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
No. 2 Ohio State (13-0) vs. No. 3 Clemson (13-0)

State Farm Stadium, Glendale
7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 28, ESPN

Clemson favored by 2

Redbox Bowl
California (7-5) vs. Illinois (6-6)
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara
Monday, Dec. 30, 3 p.m., Fox

Cal favored by 6½

Vrbo Citrus Bowl
No. 14 Michigan (9-3) vs. No. 13 Alabama (10-2)
Camping World Stadium, Orlando
Noon, Wednesday, Jan. 1, ABC

Alabama favored by 7½

Outback Bowl
No. 18 Minnesota (10-2) vs. No. 12 Auburn (9-3)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
Noon, Wednesday, Jan. 1, ESPN

Auburn favored by 8

Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual
No. 6 Oregon (11-2) vs. No. 8 Wisconsin (10-3)
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
4 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 1, ESPN

Wisconsin favored by 2½

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Indiana (8-4) vs. Tennessee (7-5)

TIAA Bank Field, Jacksonville,
6 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 2, ESPN