ESPN’s latest bowl projections have the Florida Gators playing two different Big Ten teams in two different bowl games. Mark Schlabach is projecting the Orange and Blue to play the Illinois Fighting Illini in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl. Kyle Bonagura has the Gators playing the Iowa Hawkeyes in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
The TransPerfect Music City bowl is currently scheduled to be played on Saturday, Dec. 31 in Nashville, Tennessee, with kickoff scheduled for noon p.m. EST on ABC Sports.
Formerly known as the Outback Bowl, the Reliaquest Bowl is currently scheduled to be played on Monday, Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida, with kickoff set for noon EST on ESPN2.
Illinois is coming off a 19-17 loss to Michigan, bringing their record to 7-4. After a 7-1 start, the Illini have dropped three straight games and now need some help in order to win the division and make the Big Ten Championship Game. They take on Northwestern Saturday in their final game of the regular season.
Iowa is coming off a 13-10 win over Minnesota, their fourth straight win. Now sitting at 7-4, the Hawkeyes have the inside track to the division title. If they beat Nebraska on Friday, they will play the winner of Saturday’s Ohio State vs. Michigan game in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Florida lost to Vanderbilt last week, dropping them to 6-5 with all five of their losses coming in conference play. They will head to Tallahassee to take on Florida State in a special Black Friday version of the Sunshine State Showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.
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