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Should Michigan State get the opportunity to play another game in a bowl, Mel Tucker says the Spartans would certainly accept the offer. The real question is whether or not they’ll even get that offer — but there could be some hope if they win their season-finale on Saturday.
At 2-5, it’s understandable to think MSU is unlikely to get offered a bowl bid this year. I wrote last week that they’d most likely need to win their final two games to receive a bid so, after last week’s 39-24 loss to Penn State, it appeared MSU’s bowl dreams were dead. However, after analyzing all of the factors in play, there may still be a chance for the green-and-white.
Erick Smith of USA TODAY released his latest Bowl Projections on Tuesday, and once again the Spartans were left off the list. That came as no surprise after MSU lost last week, but what stood out to me was where he has the rest of the Big Ten. Here are the bowl games Smith has Big Ten teams playing in:
- Rose Bowl (part of College Football Playoff): Ohio State vs. Clemson
- Cotton Bowl: Indiana vs. Oklahoma
- Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. Auburn
- Citrus Bowl: Northwestern vs. Ole Miss
- Duke Mayo’s Bowl: Maryland vs. Wake Forest
- Music City Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Missouri
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Penn State vs. West Virginia
What’s notable in this projection is Indiana receiving an at-large bid for a New Year’s Six game — this frees up another Big Ten bowl tie-in for teams like MSU. If this holds true, then there will be one potential spot still up for grabs (I’m assuming Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State are all locks at this point).
Should MSU beat Maryland on Saturday, that would put both teams at three wins and give the Spartans the head-to-head victory. That doesn’t necessarily play a role in these bids as the bowls ultimately can choose whoever they want, but it wouldn’t hurt the Spartans’ case.
Assuming MSU wins (since a loss should rule out any chance of making a bowl), then it would come down to the Spartans, Rutgers, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska for the final bowl slot. I’m assuming Michigan (COVID-19 issues), Purdue (COVID-19 issues) and Illinois (recently fired head coach) are out of play for the postseason at this point.
Nebraska and Rutgers play each other this week so the loser is most likely out of play, and while it might not be fair, the Scarlet Knights have a slim chance anyway based on brand recognition. Minnesota has a tough rivalry game against Wisconsin so a loss to end the year could also knock them out of consideration. So while there are a lot of factors in play, it does still appear a win against Maryland would give MSU a chance to go bowling this season.
It’ll be extremely interesting to see how this plays out for the league, but at least it appears MSU has a lot to play for this Saturday in College Park. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on the Big Ten Network.
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