Bowl Projections: Where Will the Best Big Ten Teams End Up This Bowl Season?

I believe the the Big Ten is going to be very well represented when it comes to the bowl season this year, with teams like Michigan State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan all looking to finish in the Top 25.

There's no doubt that this is one of the stronger years of football we've seen out of the Big Ten, as more than one of its schools have been in the national spotlight.

Wisconsin was ranked No. 4 in the nation for a good chunk of the season, and many felt they could go all the way to the BCS championship.

Michigan State came and knocked them off in one of the most exciting finishes in college football history, thus the Spartans took the throne.

Nebraska came out the next week to beat up the Spartans though, and then the Michigan Wolverines beat up on the Cornhuskers a few weeks later.

Penn State's good play has been lost in the midst of the Joe Paterno firing and surrounding scandal as well.

Overall, it's been a great year of Big Ten football. Here are my bowl projections for these big-time Big Ten programs:

Rose Bowl: Michigan State

The Spartans have already secured their spot in the very first Big Ten title game, and they deserve all the attention and respect they are getting,

Mark Dantonio is building quite a program in East Lansing, and their ground-and-pound offense and championship-caliber defense should propel them over Wisconsin for the Big Ten Title.

That would take the Spartans to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl, which is the ultimate Big Ten honor. That being said, I'm not sure how well they are going to fare against the Pac-12, but that's a different story.

Capital One Bowl: Wisconsin 

As the runner-up to Michigan State, Wisconsin will have the pleasure of squaring off with with an SEC team, which should be a great watch.

Russell Wilson has been one of the best quarterbacks of 2011, and he'll have the opportunity to show off why the Big Ten indeed hangs with the SEC, or at least the Badgers.

Outback Bowl: Michigan

I have to give all the credit in the world to Michigan head coach Brady Hoke. I didn't think the Wolverines were going to be able to match up well with the other Big Ten programs, but they've come out and impressed with huge wins over Illinois and Nebraska, and I believe they will finally beat Ohio State.

All of that equals out to a 10-2 season for the Wolverines and a very good matchup with an SEC school on January 2nd.

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Nebraska

I expect Nebraska will win out their season, and Penn State will lose their last bout of the year against Wisconsin.

That would put the Cornhuskers a bit ahead of the Nittany Lions because of the win they secured over them on the very emotional first game without Joe Paterno.

This is an at-large bid game, which should make for a very interesting matchup.

TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl: Penn State

It's fitting for the Penn State Nittany Lions to get a bowl game at the very least, especially when you consider the fact that none of the current team has anything to do with the scandal that rocked the university.

The Gator Bowl will be a consolation for a good season that was overshadowed by tragedy.