Ten Big Ten bowl teams, 10 underdogs

This is kind of incredible.

A record-tying 10 Big Ten teams are going to bowl games, but none are favored to win them. If things go according to the chalk, Iowa will be trying to save face for the conference on Jan. 2 when it plays Tennessee in the TaxSlayer Bowl because the league will have lost its first nine bowls.

I'm here to tell you there is no way the league loses all 10, or even 9. Only two of the point spreads from Wynn Las Vegas (which is welcome to comp me for this wonderful plug) are higher than six points. These are bowls, and nutty things happen.

Right now, I'm projecting a modest four wins for the conference. Which four? I'm not telling, yet. But Maryland and Ohio State won't be among them.

The Big Ten has gone 10-21 in bowls over the previous four years. It was 2-5 in 2010, 2012 and 2013, and 4-6 in 2011.

The league is 38-62 in bowls since 2000 for an even 38 percent. It had winning bowl records in only two seasons since 2000.

Here are the Big Ten spreads as of early Tuesday afternoon:

Dec. 26

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL

Louisiana Tech by 5.5 over Illinois

QUICK LANE BOWL

North Carolina by 3.5 over Rutgers

Dec. 27

PINSTRIPE BOWL

Boston College by 3 over Penn State

HOLIDAY BOWL

USC by 6 over Nebraska

Dec. 30

FOSTER FARMS BOWL

Stanford by 13.5 over Maryland

Jan. 1

OUTBACK BOWL

Auburn by 5.5 over Wisconsin

COTTON BOWL

Baylor by 3 over Michigan State

CITRUS BOWL

Missouri by 6 over Minnesota

SUGAR BOWL

Alabama by 9.5 over Ohio State

Jan. 2

TAXSLAYER BOWL

Tennessee by 3.5 over Iowa