Capital One Bowl Projection Round-Up, Week 3

Mark Schlabach (ESPN):                                             LSU vs. Ohio State

Brett McMurphy (ESPN):                                            Ole Miss vs. Wisconsin

ESPN Big Ten & SEC Blog:                                       Texas A&M vs. Nebraska

Jerry Palm (CBSSports):                                           LSU vs. Ohio State

Bill Bender (Sporting News):                                     LSU vs. Ohio State

Brant Parsons (Orlando Sentinel):                            LSU vs. Ohio State

Phil Steele:                                                                  Texas A&M vs. Wisconsin

Following the second week of college football season, LSU (2-0) vs. Ohio State (1-1) has become a favorite prediction among the experts. This matchup received votes from four different sources, up from just one the previous week (the Orlando Sentinel).  Following a comeback win over Wisconsin in week one, the Tigers shut out Sam Houston University 56-0. After defeating Navy in week one, Ohio State couldn’t hold on to beat Virginia Tech in week two, falling 35-21 to the Hokies.

The last time the Tigers and Buckeyes met was in the 2008 Championship Game; LSU prevailed, beating Ohio State 38-24. The overall record between these two schools is even at 1-1-1.  

For the second week in a row, Wisconsin appeared in the predictions, this time with two votes- both against new opponents. Brett McMurphy added the Ole Miss Rebels as a possible Capital One Bowl selection, while Phil Steele predicted the Badgers will face Texas A&M in the Citrus Bowl Stadium.

The Badgers rebounded from a tough week one loss to LSU and defeated Western Illinois 37-3.The Rebels breezed through week two with a 41-3 win over Vanderbilt, improving their record to 2-0 for the season and 1-0 in conference play. The Aggies had a decisive 73-3 win over Lamar University on Saturday, improving to 2-0 for the 2014 season.

Texas A&M vs. Nebraska remains the pick for ESPN Big Ten and SEC blogs. The Aggies and Cornhuskers have met a total of 14 times including in a Big 12 championship game in 1997. Nebraska defeated Texas A&M 54-14 before going on to defeat Tennessee in the 1998 National Championship game. Before the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011, they faced the Aggies for a final in-conference match up in 2010 which resulted in a 9-6 Nebraska loss. The overall record between these schools stands at 10-4 in favor of the Cornhuskers.