Big Ten Bowl Grades
2020-2021 Team, Conference Bowl Grades
ACC | American | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA | Ind
MAC | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt
Big Ten Bowl Grade: B+
Big Ten Straight Up: 3-1
Big Ten Against The Spread: 3-1
Grade the Big Ten on a bit of a curve, and the grade goes up fast if Ohio State plays well against Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship, forgetting about if it wins it.
The Buckeyes pulling off an all-timer of a performance for that storied program makes everything look a whole lot better, but the grade gets dragged down by the horrible offensive performance by Indiana in the Outback. Northwestern came through, and Wisconsin did what it was supposed to do – sort of – but it’s all about the Buckeyes, and they made the Big Ten look great.
Indiana Bowl Grade: D+
Outback Bowl
Line: Indiana -7.5, o/u: 65
Prediction: Indiana 40, Ole Miss 34
Final Score: Ole Miss 26, Indiana 20
– 5 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Outback Bowl
Indiana was the Big Ten’s second-highest ranked team, and it lost to the SEC’s 8th-to-10th best team.
Ole Miss came into this game with the nation’s worst defense and Indiana couldn’t seem to figure it out until it was too late. You and a few good friends could’ve scored more than two field goals on this Rebel D in the first three quarters, but what should’ve been an offensive firefight became a grind. The IU O did pick up, it did tie the game in the fourth, and then the defense couldn’t hold.
Northwestern Bowl Grade: A
Vrbo Citrus Bowl
Line: Northwestern -3.5, o/u: 43.5
Prediction: Northwestern 23, Auburn 20
Final Score: Northwestern 35, Auburn 19
– 10 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Citrus Bowl
The Wildcats got up 14-0 in the first half, the defense held Auburn to field goals in the second quarter to start in control, and the offense became the more aggressive and physical of the two in the second half. To be fair, Auburn was dealing with a coaching change, but even up just 14-13 in the third quarter the the Cats had this. Auburn played hard and gave it a run, but Northwestern was just better.
Ohio State Bowl Grade: A+
AllState Sugar Bowl
Line: Clemson -7.5, o/u: 65.5
Prediction: Clemson 38, Ohio State 27
Final Score: Ohio State 49, Clemson 28
– 5 Thoughts Reaction, Analysis: Sugar Bowl
What more could you have possibly wanted? The only reason it’s not an A+ is because the team got down early, got flagged nine times, and stalled a bit late as the … what are we doing here? The Buckeyes were better than they could’ve ever dreamed of, Justin Fields was incredible, and the program got their moment to eliminate the bad memories of last season’s Fiesta Bowl loss.
Wisconsin Bowl Grade: B
Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Line: Wisconsin -10, o/u: 51.5
Prediction: Wisconsin 34, Wake Forest 20
Final Score: Wisconsin 42, Wake Forest 28
– 10 Things To Know from the Duke’s Mayo Bowl
A win is a win is a win, especially if it’s by 14 points after looking completely outclassed early on. There wasn’t much of a running game, the secondary was torched, and the defense that was among the best in the country got lit up for 518 yards. However, last year Wisconsin outplayed Oregon and lost the Rose Bowl – a win is a win is a win. The defensive adjustments and four picks ended the rough Badger year on a great note, but this game showed how much work there is to do.
2020-2021 Team, Conference Bowl Grades
ACC | American | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA | Ind
MAC | Mountain West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt