Several media outlets have updated their bowl projections this week. Here’s where they have the Wolverines going as of today.
Michigan’s narrow loss to an Indiana team having the season of a lifetime did them no favors in the national media. Several outlets have already published updated bowl projections. While there is no general consensus just yet, there seems to be a common trend among prognosticators.
As a general reminder, here are the seven Big Ten bowl tie-ins:
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (vs. SEC)
- ReliaQuest Bowl (vs. SEC)
- Duke’s Mayo Bowl (vs. ACC)
- Music City Bowl (vs. SEC)
- Pinstripe Bowl (vs. ACC)
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl (vs. Big 12)
- Quick Lane Bowl (vs. MAC)
Also, keep in mind that the four newest teams to the Big Ten are still eligible to play in the former Pac-12 tie-ins until a restructuring occurs. As of now, many do have that scenario taking place.
This is, of course, all assuming that Michigan is able to pick up at least one win in their final two matchups against Northwestern and Ohio State .
Here’s where several outlets have the Wolverines headed.
CBS Sports
(Jerry Palm): Music City Bowl vs. Missouri
Despite the loss to Indiana, Palm actually has Michigan moving up a notch or two in the Big Ten pecking order. Last week, Palm had Indiana on the outside looking in on the CFP. This week, he has four Big Ten teams making the CFP, including Indiana. This allowed Michigan to move up to the Music City Bowl taking place in Nashville, Tennessee. Missouri is currently 7-2 but has been blown out by the two best teams they’ve played: Texas A&M and Alabama.
The Sporting News
(Bill Bender): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Georgia Tech
Bender projects Michigan to travel to New York to take on Georgia Tech in a baseball stadium. The Yellow Jackets are coming off of a stunning upset of then-No. 4 Miami this past weekend. They also knocked off Florida St. in Week 0 before any of us knew how bad the Seminoles would be. Georgia Tech is currently 6-4 with N.C. State and Georgia left on the schedule.
Athlon Sports
(Steven Lassan): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Duke
Lassan’s projections haven’t changed much from last week. He also has four Big Ten teams making the CFP, including Indiana. The interesting thing to note here is that Lassan projects Nebraska to be selected for the Music City Bowl, thus relegating Michigan to the Pinstripe Bowl. The Cornhuskers are likely to make a bowl game as they are 5-4 but are just 2-4 in conference.
247Sports
(Brad Crawford): Music City Bowl vs. LSU
Crawford’s bowl projection stayed the same since last week, however with a new opponent: the LSU Tigers . LSU has been disappointing this season, though not nearly as disappointing as the Wolverines. This matchup would be a boon for the Music City Bowl as these are two of the biggest brand names in the sport with fan bases that travel very, very well.
The Action Network
(Brett McMurphy): Pinstripe Bowl vs. Pitt
McMurphy agrees with Lassan at Athlon Sports and has Michigan headed to Yankee Stadium to take on Pitt. The Panthers started the season 7-0 before dropping their last two games to SMU and Virginia. They have a tough schedule with Clemson, Louisville, and Boston College to round things out, however this would be a fairly even matchup according to hypothetical Vegas odds.