Micah's picks for each of the Big Ten bowl games

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It was a great and competitive regular season in the Big Ten, and now all that is left for the Big Ten to display to the country that this conference is the superior conference in college football. the Big Ten is well represented in the College Football Playoff. I think the Big Ten will come out of that with a national champion, but with many unfavored matchups in the other bowl games, I think the Big Ten will come up short on many other occasions.

Here are my bowl game predictions for each of the games featuring Big Ten teams:

LA Bowl: Boise State over Washington

Boise State will pull off a big upset as 10-point underdogs, strictly behind their aggressive defense and their dominant run game. Washington has a prolific offense, and Demond Williams is as entertaining a player as any in college football. With a dominant game from Dylan Riley and a couple of takeaways by the Broncos’ defense, I think Boise State ultimately comes out on top.

College Football Playoff First Round: Oregon over James Madison

James Madison has been a great story this season, and Wayne Knight has carried this team to victory with his effectiveness on the ground. The problem with this matchup is that James Madison’s greatest strength, the Ducks, can defend very well. The Oregon Ducks have an elite run defense. Mix in the fact that Oregon has a great run game and a quarterback that complements that, and it will be an early stop in the College Football Playoff for James Madison.

GameAbove Sports Bowl: Northwestern over Central Michigan

Northwestern will handle business against Central Michigan. Northwestern has hung in there against some really good Big Ten teams; they should be able to win convincingly against a 7-5 MAC team.

Rate Bowl: Minnesota over New Mexico

P.J. Fleck and the Gophers are coming off a great win against a hot Wisconsin Badgers football team. New Mexico did bat 500 against Big Ten teams in the regular season, but Minnesota will be able to finish the season off with a bowl win. With Minnesota, Fleck is a perfect 6-0 in bowl games, and I don’t think the Lobos will be the team to end the streak.

Pinstripe Bowl: Clemson over Penn State

Clemson and Penn State may have some of their best players not play in this game as they prepare for the NFL Draft. This is a game that should have been a College Football match, not a Pinstripe game. I am going to ride with Clemson to win this game, as Dabo Swinney desperately could use a happy ending to end this season.

Alamo Bowl: USC over TCU

TCU has no issue scoring, and Josh Hoover can sling it with the best of them. USC has the better defense, and that will be the story of this football game. USC has had more success offensively, and the Horned Frogs have failed to respond. Hoover has put up big numbers this year, but he also has 13 turnovers on the season. I think the Trojans get two takeaways off of his risky play, and USC is able to capitalize on each of those turnovers. I expect a big performance out of King Miller as well, and he will play a big part in the Trojans controlling this game. USC fell to a couple of opponents this season because they were not the physical team; in this game, that will be the exact reason they win.

Music City Bowl: Tennessee over Illinois

Tennessee has had a high-flying offense all season long; Illinois has not been too great against those types of teams, minus the Trojans. I could very well see the Fighting Illini getting behind early against Tennessee and never catching back up. I think the Volunteers will win by two possessions.

ReliaQuest Bowl: Vanderbilt over Iowa

Iowa has been a frisky team all season long and pushed good football teams to the brink. Vanderbilt is a good football team, with a great defense and a Heisman trophy candidate as their quarterback. I think Diego Pavia will go out with a bang and put the finishing touches on a great season. Pavia will outplay Mark Gronowski in this matchup and lead Vandy to a 11-2 season and a bowl win.

Citrus Bowl: Texas over Michigan

Michigan has been all in the news recently, and for all of the wrong reasons. The Wolverines’ head coach just got terminated for reasons other than coming up short this season and struggling with Bryce Underwood. This team has every distraction imaginable, while Texas is coming into this game with a message to send to the CFP committee. Arch Manning and this Texas offense will have a day versus the Wolverines.

Las Vegas Bowl: Utah over Nebraska

Nebraska is riding into this game banged up with little to no momentum. Utah was a sliver away from making the College Football Playoff. Devon Dampier, Utah’s offense will cover the 16.5 spread and get a convincing win to end the season, while Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers will enter next season with more doubt than confidence.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Predictions for each Big Ten football 2025-2026 bowl games

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