B1G Rewind: Goin’ bowlin’?

Now that the calendar has turned to November, jockeying for bowl positioning has began in earnest.

Tuesday, the College Football Playoff selection committee will release its first rankings, which sets the stage for rhetoric turned up past 11 on the Spinal Tap overreaction scale. A selection committee will tab the four participants in the College Football Playoff, which takes place Dec. 31 in the Orange and Cotton bowls. But what about the other bowls? Here's a primer.

The four remaining bowls — Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Peach — as part of the 'New Year's Six' features a mix of committee selections and old-school filtering by bowls and conferences this year. The Rose Bowl will have its traditional Big Ten/Pac-12 arrangement. Their league champions will meet in Pasadena on Jan. 1 unless they are chosen for the College Football Playoff. If that's the case, both leagues have different criteria for the Rose Bowl.

The Rose Bowl itself picks the Big Ten's representative. According to the league, the Rose Bowl 'will generally select the highest-rated available team, but will take into consideration final College Football Playoff rankings, head-to-head competition, division champions and most recent Rose Bowl Game appearances.' The Pac-12 is less clear in writing, 'The Rose Bowl would then fill the slot vacated by the Pac-12 champion with another Pac-12 team.'

The Sugar Bowl pits the Big 12 and SEC champions, unless they participate in the playoff. The SEC's representative is chosen strictly by the selection committee rankings. The Big 12 does not list how its Sugar Bowl representative is chosen.

If it doesn't qualify for the College Football Playoff, the ACC champion will participate in either the Fiesta or Peach bowls. The highest-ranked champion from the Group of Five — American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, MAC and Mountain West conferences — also will earn a spot in the playoff, Fiesta or Peach bowls. Two or more at-large squads also will compete in the Fiesta and Peach bowls. Those match-ups are arranged by the selection committee.

Outside of the 'New Year's Six' bowls, the Big Ten has contracts with nine other bowls this year. The league took over matchmaking responsibilities last year to ensure fresh locations for its participants (bowls must have five different Big Ten teams in a six-year period). The bowls are tier-based with the first comprising the Citrus, Outback and Holiday. The second tier includes the Foster Farms, Pinstripe and Music City/TaxSlayer bowls. The third tier includes the Quick Lane and Armed Forces bowls. The Big Ten has a shared arrangement with the ACC and Notre Dame with the Music City and TaxSlayer bowls where each league sends teams to each bowl three times in six years.

How will it all shake down for the Big Ten? That depends on how many teams qualify for the 'New Year's Six' bowls, now that the two-team limit was eliminated. Ohio State, Michigan State and Iowa all are 8-0 and among the nation's top 10 by the Associated Press. If the league champion finishes unbeaten, it should compete in the College Football Playoff. If, say, Michigan State is 11-1 and Iowa is 12-1 with a conference title loss to Ohio State, then the Rose Bowl makes the selection. The other team likely heads to either the Fiesta, Peach or Citrus bowls.

Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Penn State are competitive for the first-tier bowls. Wisconsin has played in the Citrus and Outback bowls, respectively, the last two years so it could shift to the Holday or another bowl. While no Big Ten team has been eliminated, Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana are two wins from postseason eligibility. Among three-win teams, Rutgers has the best chance to qualify for a bowl.

Here's a stab at how it could play out:

College Football Playoff — Ohio State

Rose — Iowa

Citrus — Michigan State

Outback — Michigan

Holiday — Wisconsin

Foster Farms — Penn State

Pinstripe — Northwestern

Music City — Indiana

Quick Lane — Minnesota

Armed Forces — Rutgers

TOUGH ENDING

No team had a more emotional week than Minnesota after Coach Jerry Kill stepped down Wednesday because of health concerns.

The reeling Gophers had a home game Saturday against No. 15 Michigan, which presented a major challenge regardless of the circumstances. But Minnesota more than held its own against the Wolverines and appeared to take the lead late in their battle for the Little Brown Jug.

The Gophers trailed 29-26 and started their drive with 4:57 left. They were backed up to their 13 after a personal foul penalty but converted a third-and-17 and fourth-and-5 on the drive to move to Michigan's 23-yard line. Quarterback Mitch Leidner connected with Drew Wolitarsky for an apparent touchdown with 19 seconds left. After a review, Wolitarsky was ruled short of the goal line and the ball was placed inside the 1-yard line with 19 seconds left.

Once the ball was spotted, the clock started and Minnesota took its time. Leidner passed incomplete toward Brandon Lingen and only two seconds remained. The Gophers called their final timeout. Leidner then tried a quarterback sneak but was stuffed short of the goal line and the game ended.

Minnesota interim coach Tracy Claeys, who also serves as the team's defensive coordinator, received plenty of questions about the final two-play sequence. He said he wouldn't have done anything differently.

'We had the play called and thought we could get it off,' Claeys said. 'All the motions in that took a little bit longer than what we thought they would. So we thought maybe we could get another play, but hey, if we get it there and it's not there, we'll throw it away and come back at the half-yard line and sneak it in. You win some, lose some, but our kids battled.

'We have to be able to get a half-yard there, and we have to be able to match up on a few more routes on third down and get us off the field and take away a score or two.'

RANKING GAME

Ohio State remains top-ranked in both polls. Michigan State is No. 6 in both polls, Iowa is 10th by AP and 11th in the USA Today/Coaches polls and Michigan is 16th by AP and 17th the coaches. Wisconsin, Northwestern and Penn State are receiving votes in both polls.

THUMBS UPS

Wisconsin's defense stifled Rutgers to 165 total yards and 2 of 15 on third down. ... Purdue Coach Darrell Hazell picked up his first home win in 3 seasons as Boilermakers' coach. ... Penn State's defense held Illinois to 167 total yards, 12 first downs and generated 9 tackles for loss. ... Iowa kept Maryland to 241 total yards and 1 of 10 on third down. ... Michigan has won 16 consecutive times at Minnesota.

THUMBS DOWNS

Rutgers quarterbacks combined to complete just 6 of 20 passes for 82 yards, an interception and 3 sacks. ... Nebraska ran for just 77 yards on the league's worst rushing defense (183 yards per game). ... Illinois rushed for 37 yards on 27 carries. ... Maryland QBs completed just 11 of 23 passes for 74 yards and 3 INTs. ... Minnesota failed to score from inside Michigan's 1-yard line on the game's final two plays.

WEEKEND STARS

Wisconsin RB Corey Clement returned from injury to rush for 115 yards and 3 TDs. ... Purdue DB Anthony Brown had three interceptions and a pass breakup. ... Iowa safety Miles Taylor had a team-high eight tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception. ... Michigan's Jabril Peppers compiled 100 all-purpose yards as a runner and returner and added five tackles and two pass breakups as a safety.

NOTEWORTHY

Rutgers LB Quentin Gause had 15 stops, including 2 for loss. ... Nebraska WR Jordan Westerkamp caught nine passes for 123 yards and a TD. ... Penn State DE Carl Nassib had a sack for the ninth straight game and now has 14.5 sacks this year. ... Illinois' Ryan Frain punted 12 times for a 38.1 average with three inside the 20. ... Maryland QB Perry Hills became the first player to rush for more than 100 yards against Iowa this year. ... Minnesota QB Mitch Leidner passed for 317 yards and a TD.

POWER RANKINGS

1. Ohio State (1) 8-0 4-0

Not the best weekend off for Urban Meyer

2A. Iowa (2A) 8-0 4-0

Could face biggest roadblock to unbeaten season this week

2B. Michigan State (2B) 8-0 4-0

Tricky game ahead at Nebraska

4. Michigan (4) 6-2 3-1

Second straight game with a crazy ending

5. Wisconsin (5) 7-2 4-1

Only losses to top-10 teams, yet still not ranked

6. Northwestern (6) 6-2 2-2

Wildcats can make amends for Iowa, Michigan losses

7. Penn State (7) 7-2 4-1

Strange to say, but vastly underrated

8. Minnesota (10) 4-4 1-3

Showed glimpses of 2014 success in Michigan loss

9. Indiana (12) 4-4 0-4

Has a final chance to make mark on national race

10. Illinois (8) 4-4 1-3

Had better time in Happy Valley back in summer 2012

11. Purdue (14) 2-6 1-3

Nobody saw that coming after last few seasons

12. Nebraska (9) 3-6 1-4

In complete free fall mode with no bowl in sight

13. Rutgers (11) 3-5 1-4

Decide to save its next decent performance for Michigan

14. Maryland (13) 2-6 0-4

Turnovers proved crucial yet again

STANDINGS

WEST DIVISION

Iowa 8-0 4-0

Wisconsin 7-2 4-1

Northwestern 6-2 2-2

Illinois 4-4 1-3

Minnesota 4-4 1-3

Purdue 2-6 1-3

Nebraska 3-6 1-4

EAST DIVISION

Michigan State 8-0 4-0

Ohio State 8-0 4-0

Penn State 7-2 4-1

Michigan 6-2 3-1

Rutgers 3-5 1-4

Indiana 4-4 0-4

Maryland 2-6 0-4

SATURDAY'S RESULTS

Iowa 31, Maryland 15

Wisconsin 48, Rutgers 10

Penn State 39, Illinois 0

Purdue 55, Nebraska 45

Michigan 29, Minnesota 26

NEXT SATURDAY

Iowa at Indiana, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Penn State at Northwestern, 11 a.m. (ESPNU)

Illinois at Purdue, 11 a.m. (BTN)

Wisconsin at Maryland, 2:30 p.m. (BTN)

Rutgers at Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (BTN)

Michigan State at Nebraska, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Minnesota at Ohio State, 7 p.m. (ABC)

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com