As bad as the weekend was for the Big Ten, the league still is in good shape to place two teams in the "playoff bowls."
While it seems unlikely the league will get a team into the playoff, the selection committee also is responsible for selecting the eight teams that will be involved in the four other bowls associated with the playoff. Big Ten teams that are 11-1 or 10-2 likely would appeal to the committee, and they would be extremely appealing to bowl committees because -- for the most part -- Big Ten teams put fans in seats and turn on TV sets. (And if you don't think pleasing bowl and TV officials won't be important ... let's just say you're naïve and leave it at that.) That means Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Iowa could be in for nice holidays if they can get to 10 wins.
The lifting of Penn State's bowl ban Monday obviously is good for the Big Ten; it gives the league a far better chance to fill all its available bowl slots.
Remember that four bowls have been added to the menu this season, so when you include the two playoff semifinal games that will be played in bowls, there are 38 bowls. That means 76 teams will be in the postseason -- or 59 percent of the 128 teams in the FBS ranks.
This season, the playoff semifinals are in the Rose and Sugar bowls, meaning the committee also will pick the matchups in the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange and Peach bowls. While there are 12 teams involved in the six games, it's not necessarily the 12 highest-ranked teams by committee; instead, the highest-ranked team from outside of the "Power Five" conferences is guaranteed a slot in one of the games, even if it falls outside the top 12. (Just don't expect a non-Power Five school to be in a four-team playoff.)
When looking over these bowl projections, remember that a bowl's tie-in with a league doesn't necessarily mean it will get the third- or fourth-, etc., place team from the league; instead, it means it gets the third or fourth, etc., selection from that league. You'll also notice that there is no clear-cut designation for some of the league tie-ins; that's because the leagues and bowl organizers want a lot of leeway to put together what they consider the best possible matchup.
Note: Start times listed are ET.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
ROSE BOWL
SUGAR BOWL
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
THE OTHER BOWLS
NEW ORLEANS BOWL
ROYAL PURPLE BOWL
NEW MEXICO BOWL
IDAHO POTATO BOWL
CAMELLIA BOWL
MIAMI BEACH BOWL
POINSETTIA BOWL
BOCA RATON BOWL
BAHAMAS BOWL
HAWAII BOWL
HEART OF DALLAS BOWL
QUICK LANE BOWL
ST. PETERSBURG BOWL
MILITARY BOWL
SUN BOWL
INDEPENDENCE BOWL
PINSTRIPE BOWL
HOLIDAY BOWL
LIBERTY BOWL
RUSSELL ATHLETIC BOWL
TEXAS BOWL
MUSIC CITY BOWL
BELK BOWL
FIGHT HUNGER BOWL
PEACH BOWL
FIESTA BOWL
ORANGE BOWL
CAPITAL ONE BOWL
OUTBACK BOWL
COTTON BOWL
ARMED FORCES BOWL
TAXSLAYER BOWL
ALAMO BOWL
CACTUS BOWL
BIRMINGHAM BOWL
GODADDY.COM BOWL
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
