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For a second straight week, Michigan State is projected to head out west this holiday season.
The Spartans are still slated to play against West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, according to the USA TODAY’s latest bowl projections by Erick Smith. There were no changes to this particular bowl prediction for Smith, with the Spartans and Mountaineers both projected to the Guaranteed Rate Bowl last week as well.
The Guaranteed Rate Bowl is scheduled to take place on Dec. 26 at Chase Field in Phoenix. Don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize the name of this bowl, as it was previously the Cactus Bowl before Guaranteed Rate, one of the largest retail mortgage lenders in the United States, became the title sponsor in late October.
It was announced last week that the Quick Lane Bowl will not occur this season, which eliminates yet another possible destination for the Spartans during the postseason. Going off of Smith’s latest projections, the Big Ten has six bowl tie-ins (not including the New Year’s Six bowls that are considered at-large bids) so it’ll be a battle for the Spartans to earn a bid this year. MSU will need to keep winning toss-up games — like this Saturday at Iowa — to remain in the hunt for a bowl this year with already a handful of games eliminated because of COVID-19.
Here’s where he has the rest of the Big Ten teams landing in his latest projections:
- Rose Bowl (College Football Playoff) – Ohio State vs. Clemson
- Fiesta Bowl (at-large bid) – Wisconsin vs. BYU
- Outback Bowl – Purdue vs. LSU
- Citrus Bowl – Penn State vs. Auburn
- Duke’s Mayo Bowl – Indiana vs. NC State
- Music City Bowl – Michigan vs. Tennessee
- Pinstripe Bowl – Northwestern vs. Pitt
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Michigan State vs. West Virginia
Click here to check out the complete USA TODAY bowl projections.
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