Caple: Ranking every Big Ten bowl game by interest level

In the Big Ten Conference’s first season with 18 teams, 12 qualified for the postseason.

That list includes four participants in the expanded College Football Playoff, plus eight teams playing in bowl games.

Brock Huard reacts to the UW Huskies’ 2025 football schedule

Below, I’ve ranked every Big Ten postseason game from least to most interesting. This list does feature one notable omission: Oregon. The unbeaten, No. 1-seed Ducks have a first-round bye in this year’s CFP, and will face the winner of Ohio State vs. Tennessee in a Jan. 1 quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. Since Oregon doesn’t actually have an opponent yet, we’ll just give the Ducks the de facto No. 1 spot and instead rank those games with the participants fully set.

11. Rutgers vs. Kansas State (Rate Bowl, Dec. 26, ESPN)

Greg Schiano has the Scarlet Knights in a bowl game for the second consecutive season, something that never happened at Rutgers until Schiano did it during his first stint there, in 2005-06. All told, this is Rutgers’ ninth bowl appearance in 16 total seasons under Schiano. We’ll see if star tailback Kyle Monangai plays.

10. Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech (Duke’s Mayo Bowl, Jan. 3, ESPN)

Who would you rather see covered in mayonnaise: P.J. Fleck or Brent Pry?

9. Nebraska vs. Boston College (Pinstripe Bowl, Dec. 28, ABC)

For some reason, it amuses me that Bad Boy Mowers is the sponsor for Nebraska’s first bowl appearance since 2016. If the Cornhuskers win, they’ll finish above .500 for the first time since that season, too.

8. Washington vs. Louisville (Sun Bowl, Dec. 31, CBS)

The Huskies (6-6) and Cardinals (8-4) are meeting for the first time ever. Louisville had a high-powered offense this season, and each of its four losses came by one score. But the Cardinals will be without quarterback Tyler Shough, who already declared for the NFL draft, and star receiver Ja’Corey Brooks, who did the same. Getting a seventh win would be a big accomplishment for Jedd Fisch in his first season at UW.

7. USC vs. Texas A&M (Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 27, ESPN)

Is there a team less interested in bowl season than USC? I suppose we’ll find out. This is the Trojans’ second trip to Vegas this season, as they defeated LSU at Allegiant Stadium in their season opener. Texas A&M (8-4, 6-2 in SEC), meanwhile, missed out on an SEC championship game appearance by one game.

Big Ten standings

6. No. 19 Missouri vs. Iowa (Music City Bowl, Dec. 30, ESPN)

Missouri began the year as a fringe top-10 team and CFP hopeful, but wound up one of six teams tied for fourth place in the SEC with a 5-3 league record. Iowa won eight games and scored 40-plus three times in Big Ten play despite not really having a quarterback. Fun matchup.

5. No. 20 Illinois vs. No. 15 South Carolina (Citrus Bowl, Dec. 31, ESPN)

The Big Ten’s fifth-place team gets a good matchup on New Year’s Eve against one of two SEC teams to finish 9-3. Shane Beamer’s team is on a six-game winning streak since losing back-to-back games to Mississippi and Alabama. Illinois is looking for its first 10-win season since 2001.

4. Michigan vs. No. 11 Alabama (ReliaQuest Bowl, Dec. 31, ESPN)

This is a rematch of last year’s CFP semifinal, yes, but more importantly, it’s a rematch of the 2019 Citrus Bowl. These proud programs have met six times total — five in the postseason — and the series is split at 3-3. How motivated will Alabama (9-3) be after missing out on the Playoff? And can the Wolverines (7-5) build on their upset of Ohio State?

3. No. 11 seed SMU at No. 6 seed Penn State (College Football Playoff, Dec. 21, TNT/Max)

The Nittany Lions are one of four teams hosting a CFP game on campus in the first year of 12-team expansion. SMU was the last at-large team selected. The pressure is all on PSU and James Franklin to finally break through and win a big game.

2. No. 10 seed Indiana at No. 7 seed Notre Dame (College Football Playoff, Dec. 20, ABC/ESPN)

The CFP’s first in-state matchup, and it’s Notre Dame vs. Indiana? Sign me up. The Hoosiers’ only loss came at Ohio State, but they haven’t played the toughest schedule. The Irish lost early to Northern Illinois and also haven’t faced the most challenging slate of opponents. Indiana’s offense, led by quarterback Kurtis Rourke, will face a great test against Notre Dame’s defense, which ranks third nationally in points allowed (13.6 per game).

1. No. 9 seed Tennessee at No. 8 seed Ohio State (College Football Playoff, Dec. 21, ABC/ESPN)

This should be the most competitive matchup in the first round of the CFP. Are the Buckeyes still reeling from yet another loss to Michigan? Had to laugh at Kirk Herbstreit raising the possibility of the home fans booing Ryan Day if things don’t immediately go well. Still, the Buckeyes are 7.5-point favorites.

This column from UW Huskies football insider Christian Caple is exclusive to Seattle Sports. Subscribe to OnMontlake.com for full access to Caple’s in-depth Husky coverage.

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