Bowl Projection Round-Up, Week 6
Mark Schlabach (ESPN): Mississippi State vs. Wisconsin
Brett McMurphy (ESPN): Mississippi State vs. Ohio State
ESPN Big Ten & SEC Blog: Georgia vs. Nebraska
Jerry Palm (CBSSports): Missouri vs. Ohio State
Bill Bender (Sporting News): Georgia vs. Ohio State
Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel): Texas A&M vs. Ohio State
Phil Steele: Ole Miss vs. Wisconsin
Through week five of college football, Ohio State remains the favorite pick in bowl projections with four experts predicting an appearance in Orlando. New selections for possible Buckeye opponents in week six are Georgia (3-1, 1-1) and Mizzou (4-1, 1-0). The Bulldogs earned their first SEC win this season outscoring Tennessee 35-32 in week five and Mizzou returned to the field after being upset by Indiana in week four to earn an upset of its own – the Tigers defeated South Carolina, 21-20.
If Ohio State faces Georgia on New Year’s Day it would be just the second meeting between the programs. The Buckeyes’ and Bulldogs’ only matchup was in Orlando in the 1993 Citrus Bowl – Georgia defeated Ohio State 21-14. If Mizzou is selected to play in Urban Meyer’s team, it would be the 13th time the Tigers and Buckeyes meet – the first time since 1998. Ohio State has the decisive lead in the overall series at 10-1-1.
Both Mark Schlabach and Brett McMurphy of ESPN kept their projections from week five the same in week six. The ESPN SEC Blog also stuck with its selection from last week (Georgia) but the Big Ten Blog now predicts that Nebraska will make the trip to Orlando. The Cornhuskers enter week six undefeated, including a conference win against Illinois last Saturday. If Georgia and Nebraska are the two teams selected, it would be the third time since 2012 that the two schools have met in a bowl game. Most recently, the Cornhuskers defeated the Bulldogs 24-19 in the 2014 Gator Bowl. In 2012-13, it was Georgia who came away with a win in the Capital One Bowl. Georgia leads the overall series 2-1.
Also keeping the same picks from week five is Brant Parsons of the Orlando Sentinel who projects a Texas A&M vs. Ohio State matchup. Phil Steele went back to his week four prediction of Ole Miss vs. Wisconsin after putting Texas A&M in the SEC slot in week five. Ole Miss enters week six undefeated with a conference win, while Wisconsin has a 3-1 record as it enters into conference play. Despite a week one loss to LSU, Wisconsin has gone on to win its last three games and will go on the road to Evanston, Ill. to kick off conference play against Northwestern Saturday.