Bowl Projections Update: UM Drops Out Of New Year's Six Selections
Going into this past weekend we knew there would be a shakeup in the bowl projections. One team's stock would again rise while the others' would drop. That we knew, but most can't say they correctly picked who would be on the rise and who would be on the decline.
Michigan State went into the Big House this past weekend and stunned then-No. 7 Michigan in a 14-10 upset victory. The Wolverines were the heavy favorites in this matchup, but it was the Spartans who prevailed with a convincing victory over their hated in-state rivals.
The win in Ann Arbor improved Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio to an 8-3 record against Michigan, and now 2-1 against Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. The Spartans are also now 4-1 in the last five games in Michigan Stadium.
You can debate who this one affected more, but there is no arguing that Michigan State's bowl stock rose while Michigan's took a pretty big hit. So without further ado, let's take a look at where both teams fall in the latest bowl projections.
Michigan - San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Stanford and Outback Bowl vs. Texas A&M
Michigan State - Outback Bowl vs. South Carolina and Citrus Bowl vs. Mississippi State
Michigan - San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Stanford
Michigan State - Citrus Bowl vs. Mississippi State
Michigan - Outback Bowl vs. South Carolina
Michigan State - San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. Stanford
Michigan - Outback Bowl vs. Texas A&M
Michigan State - TaxSlayer Bowl vs. Mississippi State
Michigan - Outback Bowl vs. Tennessee
Michigan State - San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl vs. USC
To see how these bowl projections compare to last week, click here.
When comparing the two team's bowl projections after this past weekend's game there's one noticeable takeaway: Michigan is no longer considered a big bowl team. Last week, Michigan was a common pick for a New Year's Six bowl -- five of six had the Wolverines in one of those premier bowl games -- but this week that is not the case. No one had Michigan in a New Year's Six bowl, with the most popular pick being the Outback Bowl. That's still a good bowl game but not on the same level as last week.
As for Michigan State, it's kind of unclear what the bowl projection experts think of Sparty. Everyone had them in a respectable bowl game, ranging from the TaxSlayer Bowl to Citrus Bowl. However, there was no clear-cut pattern so that suggests the jury is still out on Michigan State. Was this past week the beginning of another great year in East Lansing or was it just another example of Dantonio getting his guys up for this one big game? This week's game against Minnesota should answer some more questions about Michigan State.
