Bowl Projections Week 3
Mark Schlabach (ESPN) – Wisconsin vs. South Carolina
Brad Edwards (ESPN) – Wisconsin vs. LSU
Scout.com/CollegeFootballNews.com – Wisconsin vs. LSU
Jerry Palm – Michigan vs. Georgia
ESPN Big Ten & SEC Blogs – Wisconsin vs. Georgia
Big Ten Network– Michigan vs. LSU
LSU is off to a 3-0 start and is this week’s SEC favorite to appear in the Capital One Bowl. The Tigers continued their stretch of convincing victories with a 45-13 win over Kent State. LSU currently has a top-10 defense in the NCAA and is allowing just 267.7 yards per game. LSU welcomes SEC west rival Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC) this weekend to Death Valley.
South Carolina rebounded after a tough loss to Georgia with a 35-25 victory over Vanderbilt this past weekend. The Gamecocks jumped out to an early 28-0 lead thanks to Connor Shaw throwing for 284 yards and three touchdowns while adding 84 yards on the ground. South Carolina has the week off before heading to Orlando to take on UCF (3-0).
Georgia remains ESPN’s SEC Bloggers choice to head to Orlando despite having the weekend off. The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday when they host North Texas (2-1). Florida was not as lucky as they fell from the projections during their off week. The Gators will look to rebound from a tough loss to Miami (Fla.) when they host SEC rival Tennessee (2-1) this weekend.
Wisconsin remains the favorites to represent the Big Ten despite losing a bizarre game, 32-30, at Arizona State Saturday evening. The Badgers were driving and appeared to be in range for a game winning field goal attempt before having time run out on them. Wisconsin will look to rebound this weekend when they open up their Big Ten schedule by hosting Purdue (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten).
Michigan is the lone other Big Ten representative in this week’s projections. The Wolverines survived a 28-24 scare from Akron on Saturday thanks to a goal line stand as time expired. Michigan finishes their nonconference schedule this week as they head to Connecticut (0-2).
Ohio State dropped out of the projections this week with a 52-34 win at California. All six projections now have the Buckeyes in a BCS game. Ohio State has their final tune-up this weekend as they host Florida A&M before opening up Big Ten play with Wisconsin.