NCAAF ESPN releases final preseason bowl projections, opponent for Iowa Hawkeyes, Big Ten
With Saturday’s Week 0 slate in the rearview, the 2023 college football season is officially underway!
Fans still have to wait until Thursday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. on FOX when Nebraska travels to Minnesota for the Big Ten’s 2023 season to start, though. That is the first of 11 games in Week 1 involving Big Ten teams and the first of three league matchups.
The other two contests pitting Big Ten squads against one another in Week 1 are No. 4 Ohio State at Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 2:30 p.m. on CBS and Northwestern at Rutgers on Sunday, Sept. 3, at 11 a.m. on CBS.
Of course, the Iowa Hawkeyes open their 2023 season against Utah State at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2, on FS1 from inside Kinnick Stadium.
Though he has been nursing his way back from a non-contact injury sustained in Kids’ Day at Kinnick, Iowa starting quarterback Cade McNamara was pictured at practice on Saturday with his helmet on and is expected to be available in the Hawkeyes’ opener versus Utah State.
Expectations nationally for the Hawkeyes vary a little bit, but the general consensus seems to be that Iowa will be right in the thick of the Big Ten West race versus primary challenger Wisconsin.
Iowa just missed out on the top 25 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, garnering the most points in the receiving votes section. The Hawkeyes did crack the preseason Associated Press Top 25, checking in right on the fringe at No. 25 nationally to start the season.
As the 2023 season officially arrives in Big Ten country, how does ESPN see the league’s collective fate playing out? Let’s take a look at final Big Ten preseason bowl projections and opponents from ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach.
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Location: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 23
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ABC, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Oregon
Schlabach: Iowa vs. Oregon
Breakdown: First things first, the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl is far off from the intended destination for Iowa. That said, it would be sort of fun to see the Hawkeyes matchup with the Ducks before Oregon arrives as a full-time member beginning in 2024.
Quick Lane Bowl
Location: Ford Field (Detroit, Mich.)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 26
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Purdue vs. Toledo
Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Ohio
Breakdown: Similar thoughts for both here. Both Purdue and Nebraska are breaking in first-year head coaches in Ryan Walters and Matt Rhule, respectively. Though the Cornhuskers fancy themselves as a national power when things are right in the world, they’ll gladly take a bowl appearance in Rhule’s first season at the helm.
Guaranteed Rate Bowl
Location: Chase Field (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 26
Kickoff: 8 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Minnesota vs. Baylor
Schlabach: Illinois vs. UCF
Breakdown: P.J. Fleck versus Dave Aranda feels like two polar personalities squaring off. Either way, a solid Big Ten program versus a solid Big 12 program. That’s right, UCF. Welcome to the big leagues.
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Location: Yankee Stadium (New York City, N.Y.)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 28
Kickoff: 1:15 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: NC State vs. Maryland
Schlabach: Wake Forest vs. Maryland
Breakdown: The pair don’t agree on the opponent, but Bonagura and Schlabach both envision the Terps squaring off in their bowl date against either NC State or Wake Forest. Assuming he opts in, this will be the final chance to watch a great Maryland quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa.
TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Location: Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tenn.)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ABC, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Michigan State vs. Texas A&M
Schlabach: Minnesota vs. Ole Miss
Breakdown: Is MSU quarterback Noah Kim ready for the full-time bright lights? The Spartans’ schedule looks daunting with games against Washington, Maryland, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State. Michigan State making any bowl game would be a terrific step in the right direction after the disaster that was 2022 for the Spartans and head coach Mel Tucker.
Minnesota fans are still holding out hope that they can finally win the West in its final year of existence. Hey, a pre-New Year’s Eve party with Lane Kiffin isn’t the worst thing, right?
ReliaQuest Bowl
Location: Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, Fla.)
Date: Monday, Jan. 1
Kickoff: 11 a.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN2, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Iowa vs. Ole Miss
Breakdown: Speak of the devil. Here’s Iowa versus Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin. And it’s a New Year’s Day hangover for Kiffin and the Rebels. Known as one of the nation’s top offensive tacticians, it would be fun to watch Iowa’s defense against Ole Miss’ offense. And who knows? Maybe it’s Brian Ferentz and Iowa’s offense that makes one final statement of improvement in the 2023 college football season on the first day of 2024.
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Location: Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Fla.)
Date: Monday, Jan. 1
Kickoff: Noon
TV / Streaming: ABC, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Wisconsin vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Wisconsin vs. Texas A&M
Breakdown: The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl just sounds crazy. I love Cheez-Its as much as the next guy, but marketed alongside Citrus? It’s too much, man. Very off-putting.
The football in these projected matchups could be pretty exciting, though. A number of national analysts seem to be all in on Wisconsin winning the West as Phil Longo’s Dairy Raid offense makes Luke Fickell look like a surefire longterm solution in Madison, Wis. If the offense is indeed what some pundits expect in Year 1, then sign me up for a bowl date against Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers.
Capital One Orange Bowl
Location: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Fla.)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 30
Kickoff: 3 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Clemson vs. Ohio State
Schlabach: Florida State vs. Penn State
Breakdown: Look at these matchups! Heavyweight fights. Ohio State versus Clemson is pretty tasty. There’s just one problem here for Buckeye fans: It means Ohio State isn’t in the College Football Playoff. Based on this projection, that means OSU lost to Michigan…again. A New Year’s Six win here would be nice, but the unrest would still be real in Columbus.
Meanwhile, for Penn State, how about a chance at back-to-back New Year’s Six bowl game victories. The Nittany Lions thumped Utah in the Rose Bowl game last season. Of course, that was with longtime starter Sean Clifford. Reaching and winning the Capital One Orange Bowl in Drew Allar’s first season starting against perceived national contender Florida State would be a nice debut.
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Location: State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.)
Date: Monday, Jan. 1
Kickoff: Noon
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchup:
Bonagura: Utah vs. Penn State
Breakdown: Not to pour a cold drink of water on any New Year’s Six game, but something tells me Nittany Lion fans wouldn’t be as geeked up about this matchup as they would to play Florida State. Utah is a terrific football program that plays hard-nosed, physical football. But, Penn State just beat them in a bowl game last season.
CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game
Location: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.)
Date: Monday, Jan. 1
Kickoff: 4 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchups:
Bonagura: Michigan vs. Alabama
Schlabach: Michigan vs. USC
Breakdown: You can’t go wrong with another ticket to the College Football Playoff, but Michigan fans would rather see USC in this spot. While Caleb Williams is a transcendent offensive talent, the Trojans have had their defensive issues and Lincoln Riley couldn’t win in the CFP while leading Oklahoma. On the other side of the equation, Wolverine fans get a shot at the greatest college football coach of all time. Pick your poison.
CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
Location: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, La.)
Date: Monday, Jan. 1
Kickoff: 7:45 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchup:
Schlabach: Georgia vs. Ohio State
Breakdown: The storylines here would be fabulous. If not for an absolute shank on a game-winning 50-yard field goal try by Noah Ruggles, the Georgia dynasty wouldn’t exist and instead Ohio State probably smacks TCU to capture Ryan Day’s first national championship. Now, a year later, the two squads reconvene in the CFP with two different quarterbacks and with the Dawgs looking to become the first team since the 1930s to win three consecutive national championships.
CFP National Championship
Location: Caesars Superdome (New Orleans, La.)
Date: Monday, Jan. 8
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
TV / Streaming: ESPN, ESPN App
Matchup:
Schlabach: Georgia vs. Michigan
Breakdown: Sorry, Michigan. Bonagura is of little faith. Only Schlabach sees the Wolverines advancing from the Rose Bowl Game into the CFP national championship. One out of two ain’t so bad, though, right?
Neither Bonagura nor Schlabach offered national championship game picks. But, Michigan looking to track down its first national championship since 1997 against college football’s current juggernaut is about as good as it gets.
For Wolverines fans’ sakes, let’s hope it doesn’t end with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy once again staring off into the distance watching a celebration he’s not partaking in.
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