After Saturday's games, the ESPN Big Ten blog came out with their weekly bowl projections and after Wisconsin's win at Purdue, they are projecting that Wisconsin could not make the Big Ten title game but still be placed in a BCS bowl.
The projection has Wisconsin winning out, but Michigan State and Penn State playing for the inaugural Big Ten Championship game and MSU winning. They say Penn State's loss would take them out of BCS contention and, with some computer help, if Wisconsin is in the top 14 (which they'd need to be in order to be in BCS consideration) the ESPN Big Ten blog is projecting them to play in the All-State Sugar Bowl.
They don't project who Wisconsin would play in that game.
Of course, CBS' bowl projections still has Wisconsin playing in and winning the Big Ten Championship game
Two other ESPN writers do their own weekly bowl projections. One of them has Wiscosnin playing Arkansas in the Capital One Bowl, while the other sees Wisconsin vs Oregon in the Rose Bowl
Its fine that many still feel Wisconsin has a chance at the Big Ten Championship game and the Rose Bowl. Things have to fall into place, but that path makes sense and is still possbile.
The idea that Wisconsin could not make the Big Ten Championship but still be considered for a BCS bowl astounds me, frankly.
The best I can figure, Wisconsin fans notoriously travel well and Wisconsin hasn't played in New Orleans ever. Game promoters have to hope/assume that Badger fans would leap at a chance to travel to somewhere new.
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Other than last year's trip to the Rose Bowl, Wisconsin hasn't played a bowl outside of Florida since 2003. The only time the Badgers have played in Louisiana is the 1982 Independence Bowl.
I guess I can imagine why they'd ask Wisconsin to come, but I feel like there'd be some pretty serious uproar if a 2-loss team who didn't make their own conference championship game got invited to a bowl game.
