Bowl Projections Update: Both UM, MSU's Bowl Stock Rising
It's rivalry week across the state of Michigan as the Spartans will travel to Ann Arbor on Saturday to battle the Wolverines. Michigan enters the matchup off a bye while Michigan State improved to 3-1 with a win over Iowa in their Big Ten opener.
Michigan is listed as a 13.5 point favorite on Vegas Insider, but Michigan State has been known to keep it tight against the Wolverines in the past when they were heavy underdogs. Plus, Mark Dantonio has not lost to Michigan in back-to-back seasons since he took over in 2007. So it should again be a fun matchup.
One thing the two teams have in common right now is that their bowl stocks are both rising. In this week's bowl projections update, both the Wolverines and Spartans saw improvements in their postseason destinations. As of now, Michigan is a lock for a New Year's Six bowl game and Michigan State is firmly back in the postseason.
However, a lot could change this weekend. Here's where both the Spartans and Wolverines stack up in the latest bowl game projections.
Michigan – PlayStation Fiesta Bowl vs. USC and PlayStation Fiesta Bowl vs. Washington
Michigan State – San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Utah and Outback Bowl vs. Florida
Michigan – San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Utah
Michigan State – Foster Farms Bowl vs. Oregon
Michigan – Allstate Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama (College Football Playoff Semifinal)
Michigan State – TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Florida
Michigan – PlayStation Fiesta Bowl vs. Washington
Michigan State – TaxSlayer Bowl vs. South Carolina
Michigan – PlayStation Fiesta Bowl vs. Washington
Michigan State – New Era Pinstripe Bowl vs. Virginia Tech
To see how these bowl projections compare to last week, click here.
So based on this week's projections there are a few things Spartans and Wolverines fans can take away. Starting with Michigan State: the Spartans are looking good for a bowl game after last week's win over Iowa. After multiple sources had Michigan State missing out on the postseason last week, everyone this week has the Spartans playing in a bowl game. We've also noticed Michigan State's stock rise when it comes to prestige of the bowl game. No longer do we see Michigan State playing in the Quick Lane Bowl here in Detroit, but mostly going out west or south.
As for Michigan, the Wolverines' stock is also rising. This week the popular bowl destination for the Wolverines was the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. Four of the six bowl projections have the Wolverines heading to the desert so that is by far the most common pick. The other two projections have Michigan in the Holiday Bowl and Sugar Bowl, which is a College Football Playoff semifinal. So with that, Michigan appears to again be heading back to a New Year's Six bowl game.
We'll see how things shake out this weekend in Ann Arbor, and the ripple effect it'll have on next week's projections. Kickoff for Michigan-Michigan State will be at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday with the game being nationally televised on ABC.