Big Ten Football & Basketball Blog

New Year’s Day 2008 featured two Big Ten vs. SEC showdowns in bowl games as the Michigan Wolverines and Wisconsin Badgers matched up with SEC opponentts in their bowl games. #18 Wisconsin kicked off at 11 am in the Outback Bowl against #16 Tennessee and fell to the Vols 21-17. Just two hours later, unranked Michigan, led by head coach Lloyd Carr in his final game, faced heavy-favorite Florida in the Capital One Bowl. Michigan led 21-14 at the half over the #12 Gators and kicked two late FG’s and picked off a Tim Tebow pass to seal a 41-35 victory. With the win, Carr ends his coaching career at Michigan 122-40 overall and Chad Henne, Mike Hart & Jake Long, the three seniors who returned to Michigan this season to play for a National Championship, were able to get their first bowl win in four tries.

The Fighting Illini came off a 2-9 season in 2006 causing few to believe that the 2007 Illini would win 9 games, defeat #1 Ohio State in Columbus and make a BCS Bowl game, let alone the Rose Bowl. But Illinois has defied the odds all season long and while the College Sports Fans preview of the Rose Bowl between USC and Illinois does not paint a better picture for the Illini, don’t ever count Ron Zook’s team out. While Fighting Illini apparel & clothing is a hot-seller due to the Rose Bowl berth, Zook will surely have his team ready for their great January 1st test.

The Michigan State Spartans are in action currently as they look to improve the Big Ten’s 2007-2008 bowl record to 2-0. After Purdue kicked a game-winning FG as time expired to defeat Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl by a final of 51-48, the Big Ten began with a strong win. The Spartans’ opponent in today’s Champs Sports Bowl is the #14-ranked Boston College Eagles, a team who is tied for the highest current bowl winning streak and the ACC runners-up.

Purdue apparel & Michigan State clothing & merchandise can be found online through Big Ten Fans and DFN Sports sites.

The 2007 Motor City Bowl to be played on December 26th @ Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, will feature a rematch of the 7-5 Purdue Boilermakers and the 8-5 Central Michigan Chippewas. CMU comes off their 2nd straight MAC Championship and an 8-1 record overall against their Mid-American Conference opponents, and won the 2006 Motor City Bowl. These two teams met up back in September where the Boilermakers jumped out to a quick lead en route to a 45-22 win. While Central Michigan has not faired well in non-conference games, the Chippewas have momentum while Purdue has cooled off considerably since their hot 5-0 start. You can catch the game on ESPN @ 7:30 on Wednesday night and a 2007 Motor City Bowl preview from College Sports Fans.

Find Purdue apparel online at BigTen-Fans.com.