Big Ten Football & Basketball Blog

The conference opens their bowl season with the Wisconsin Badgers facing a tough test against the Miami Hurricanes on December 29th in the Champs Sports Bowl. The Golden Gophers of Minnesota will face Iowa State on New Years Eve with the game being broadcast on the NFL Network. On New Years Day Northwestern will face good Auburn squad while Penn State will battle LSU. In “The Granddaddy of them All” the Ohio State Buckeyes will face the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl on New Years Day at 4:30. Sparty will face Texas Tech on January 2nd. In the Big Ten’s other BCS game Iowa will face Georgia Tech on January 5th.

The Big Ten season is over for all teams ranked in the conference. However it is a big week for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Oregon and Oregon State will battle on Thursday, December 3rd for the Pac 10 title with the winner will play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. With Big Ten football action halted until bowl games, fans can find great sports gifts including Fathead posters online at DFN Sports sites.

The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Michigan once again in the best rivalry in all of sports. The #10 Buckeyes cruised to a 21-10 victory. Next up for Ohio State is the 2010 Rose Bowl on New Years Day. Iowa moved up two slots to #11 following a 12-0 victory over Iowa. At 10-2, the Hawkeyes still have hopes for a BCS bowl bid and in the latest bowl projections Iowa is picked to play Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl. Penn State moved up one slot to 13 with an impressive 42-14 victory at Michigan State.

The battle for the Big Ten Championship and a trip to the Rose Bowl lived up the billing as Ohio State defeated Iowa 27-24 in overtime in front of over 100,000 fans in the Horse Shoe. With the victory Ohio State moved up to #10 in this week’s BCS Top 25 standings while Iowa fell to #13. Ohio State will face Michigan in the one game season in Ann Arbor where it is expected that several fans will be wearing Ohio State Snuggies, while Iowa hosts Minnesota. Penn State moved up 4 slots to #14 following their 31-20 victory over Indiana. Penn State will face a difficult task when they travel to Michigan State this week. Wisconsin moved up 4 slots to #16 following a big victory over Michigan. The Badgers travel to Northwestern this week.

The Iowa Hawkeyes’ luck finally ran out as the Hawkeyes lost on their home turf to Northwestern 17-10. QB Ricky Stanzi sustained a knee injury in the contest, and his availability is unknown. Iowa lost all hope at a National Championship but still can win the Big Ten in Columbus when they face Ohio State. Ohio State moved up in the Top 25 rankings to #11 after an impressive victory at Penn State. The victory sets up what is essentially a Big Ten title game between the Buckeyes and Iowa this weekend. The winner will win the conference and earn a trip to the Rose Bowl. The loss sent Penn State down the rankings to #18 as the Nittany Lions will host Indiana this week. The Badgers of Wisconsin moved up one slot to #20 with their victory over Indiana. Wisconsin hosts Michigan on Saturday.

Big Ten Fans & partner site College Sports Fans are pleased to announce that the 2008-2009 bowl previews have been released for every bowl game that the Big Ten is participating in. From the Northwestern’s Alamo Bowl match-up with Missouri to Penn State’s face-off with USC in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, you can find previews for every Big Ten bowl game for the 2008 college football season below.

• 2008 Rose Bowl preview - Penn State
• 2008 Fiesta Bowl preview - Ohio State
• 2008 Capital One Bowl preview - Michigan State
• 2008 Outback Bowl preview - Iowa
• 2008 Insight Bowl preview - Minnesota
• 2008 Alamo Bowl preview - Northwestern
• 2008 Champs Sports Bowl preview - Wisconsin

The college bowl games were announced on Sunday as 7 Big Ten teams will be bowling to conclude the 2008 college football season. Headlines by the two BCS Bowl teams, Penn State & Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern & Wisconsin will join the co-Big Ten Champions in bowl games. Here’s a look at each bowl match-up featuring Big Ten football teams.
- Rose Bowl - Penn State vs USC
- Fiesta Bowl - Ohio State vs Texas
- Capital One Bowl - Michigan State vs Georgia
- Outback Bowl - Iowa vs South Carolina
- Insight Bowl - Minnesota vs Kansas
- Alamo Bowl - Northwestern vs Missouri
- Champs Sports Bowl - Wisconsin vs Florida State