The 3 bowl games Wisconsin football is most likely to play in | College Football
University of Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz speaks to the media after the 18th-ranked Badgers fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 23-13 in the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
The Big Ten championship game between Iowa and Michigan may not have much of an impact on where and when the University of Wisconsin football team plays its bowl game this season.
Despite beating Iowa this season, the Badgers (8-4, 6-3) finished a game behind the Hawkeyes (10-2, 7-2) in the Big Ten West Division standings, putting Iowa in Indianapolis for the league championship game. Iowa can make the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2015 with a win over Michigan (11-1, 8-1), which beat UW in early October.
Michigan will play in the College Football Playoff for the first time if it defeats the Hawkeyes at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Here’s how either outcome could affect the Badgers.
If Michigan wins
The Outback Bowl, a Jan. 1 matchup with an SEC team at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, is still in play for UW, but not exceedingly likely.
No. 2 Michigan would be in the CFP with a win, and No. 7 Ohio State would play in the Rose Bowl as the highest-rated Big Ten non-playoff team. Michigan State could be in line for a New Year’s Six bowl, but there’s two idle teams ranked ahead of the Spartans (Mississippi and Notre Dame) that will make it difficult for them.
The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl could have a spot for the Spartans, who are ranked No. 11 in the CFP, and the CFP chooses New Year’s Six Bowl participants. The Sugar Bowl may not depending on how things shake out in the SEC and Big 12. If the Spartans are passed over for the New Year’s Six bowls, it could take the Citrus Bowl slot and Iowa would bump into the Outback Bowl.
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