Bowl Projections Update: UM In Play For NY6, Who Knows With MSU
The state's two biggest programs each played in marquee games this past weekend, however, they experienced different levels of success.
Michigan traveled to West Lafayette against an up-and-coming Purdue team under new head coach Jeff Brohm, and returned home with a victory. The Wolverines bounced back to overcome a 10-7 halftime deficit with a dominating second half performance for a 28-10 win over the Boilermakers.
The one downfall about Michigan's matchup on Saturday was the loss of starting quarterback Wilton Speight, who left with an undisclosed injury. The severity of Speight's injury is still unknown.
On the opposite end were the Michigan State Spartans, who suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish dominated the Spartans, never trailing en route to a 38-18 victory at Spartan Stadium.
So with one team picking up a convincing win while another experiencing an embarrassing loss, there was some shakeup in the latest bowl projections. See where both Michigan and Michigan State fall in this week's bowl projections.
Michigan - Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic vs. TCU and Outback Bowl vs. Mississippi State
Michigan State - Franklin Mortgage Music City Bowl vs. Mississippi State and No Bowl Game
Michigan - Holiday Bowl vs. Utah
Michigan State - Quick Lane Bowl vs. Temple
Michigan - Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama (College Football Playoff Semifinal)
Michigan State - TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Florida
Michigan - PlayStation Fiesta Bowl vs. USC
Michigan State - Holiday Bowl vs. Stanford
Michigan - Outback Bowl vs. Tennessee
Michigan State - No Bowl Game
To see how these bowl projections compare to last week, click here.
The takeaway from these projections is Michigan will be a contender for a New Year's Six bowl this year -- possibly the College Football Playoff. Three of the six projections have the Wolverines in a New Year's Six bowl -- one of those is a CFP matchup -- and two others have Michigan right outside in the Outback Bowl.
For Michigan State it will be a battle for a low end Big Ten tie-in bowl game this year. All of the Spartans bowl projections vary with no two alike. However, two of the experts have Michigan State missing the bowl season for a second straight year.
Michigan has this week off, and Michigan State will host Iowa on Saturday in another measuring stick game for the Spartans. The following week is the annual rivalry matchup between these two teams at Michigan Stadium. Kickoff for Michigan-Michigan State will be at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 7 with the game being nationally televised on ABC.
