Here's a question I never thought I would ask this season: Will Michigan State make a bowl game?
Sounds ludicrous, right? The Spartans have been one of the two best Big Ten programs the past few years. They are coming off a College Football Playoff berth and Big Ten title last season. Yet here they sit at 2-3, having lost three straight games for the first time since 2009. Games remain against Michigan and Ohio State, and while those are at home, Michigan State would be a major underdog against both teams right now. Heck, the way they are playing, no win is certain, except against Rutgers and Illinois.
It's reminiscent of 2012, the only down year in the past six for Mark Dantonio's program. That team needed to beat Minnesota in the final game of the regular season just to go 6-6. Are we looking at a repeat of that?
For now, we'll keep the Spartans in our projections, but they're going down, down, down the pecking order. We're also going to include Indiana back in the bowl lineup despite the Hoosiers' 38-17 loss at Ohio State. That team looks good enough to pick up three more wins, especially with Rutgers, Maryland, Northwestern and Purdue on the schedule. Though these things are subject to change on a week-to-week basis.
The latest projections:
College Football Playoff: Ohio State
Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual: Michigan
Capital One Orange Bowl: Nebraska
Outback Bowl: Wisconsin
Holiday Bowl: Iowa
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl: Penn State
New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Maryland
Foster Farms Bowl: Michigan State
Quick Lane Bowl: Indiana
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Minnesota
