Yes

Over the course of the next month, the Big Ten will prove its dominance over the rest of the college-football world. Here’s why:

I think the Big Ten will get seven wins during the bowl season, one more than both the SEC and the Pac-12. I have the Big Ten going 4-3 in head-to-head games versus the SEC and Pac-12, ultimately giving it the nod in total wins.

Michigan State has a tough matchup against Alabama, and I think the Spartans lose that game. Nebraska does not stand a chance against UCLA and might lose by 40. Seriously. And I don’t see Penn State playing with Georgia. It loses, too.

In what could be one of the best games during bowl season, I think Wisconsin will pull out a close one against USC. Northwestern has not dropped a game since its loss to Iowa, and it will continue that winning streak against Tennessee, which has underachieved all year. Michigan will pick up a win against a Florida team that hasn’t looked the same since Will Grier got suspended, and the Wolverines just might carry Jim Harbaugh off the field. Iowa hasn’t been to Pasadena since 1991 and hasn’t won there since 1959. That changes on New Years Day, when the Hawkeyes defeat Stanford.

Three more wins: Indiana over Duke, Minnesota over Central Michigan, and Ohio State over Notre Dame makes seven for the Big Ten.

The SEC will fall one short with wins from Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Arkansas.

The Pac-12, also one short, will get wins from Utah, Arizona, Washington, UCLA, California, and Arizona State.

— by Blake Dowson

No

The question that’s on everyone’s mind is, will the Big Ten have the most Power-5 bowl wins? The answer to that question is no.

Let’s first start with the College Football Playoff — Michigan State and Alabama in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31.

Both teams are coming into this game with 12-1 records but looking at the games they lost, there’s quite a difference.

Alabama lost to SEC rival Ole Miss in a high scoring game toward the beginning of the season. Mississippi ended the regular season with a solid record of 9-3 facing other strong SEC teams, such as Auburn, Mississippi Sate, and Florida.

Michigan State, on the other hand, lost to a Nebraska team that finished its season 5-7.  While the game ended on a bad call, the Spartans still let Nebraska get to a position in which it could win.

Alabama will beat Michigan State to move on to the final. Michigan State will face a team that is hungry after last year’s loss to Ohio State in the playoff, and it will try to seal the deal this year.

The Big Ten will most likely go 3-5 in the Power-5 bowl games.

Indiana (6-6) will surely lose to Duke (7-5), Wisconsin (9-3) will beat USC (8-5) in a close game, Northwestern (10-2) will lose to Tennessee (8-4) despite having the better regular-season schedule, Michigan (9-3) will lose to Florida (10-3), Iowa (12-1) will beat Stanford (11-2), Penn State (7-5) will lose to Georgia (9-3), and Ohio State (11-1) will beat Notre Dame (11-2).

While the Big Ten teams in this lineup generally have good regular-season records, their counterparts have better regular-season records.

Big Ten teams will win some bowl games, but such teams as Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan, and Penn State don’t match up.   

— by Rod Engblom