Bowl projections: Country or Western for Iowa?

Iowa's 26-24 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday locks the Hawkeyes into the Big Ten's middle tier of bowl agreements. Four league schools clearly are ahead of Iowa in the pecking order, and the Hawkeyes could fall to sixth or seventh should they lose to Nebraska this Friday.

But that scenario won't matter much, now that Iowa's title hopes were dashed on Saturday. The ceiling for Iowa starts with the Holiday Bowl (yes, that long-lost friend of Iowa lore), drifts up the coast to San Francisco, then creeps to Nashville, Tenn., and Jacksonville, Fla. It's unlikely the Hawkeyes slip past any of those four spots, and their positioning largely depends upon choices made by the College Football Playoff selection committee and the Orange Bowl.

If the Orange Bowl picks a Big Ten squad (it must do so three times over the next 12 years), then the ACC snags the Big Ten's Citrus Bowl (formerly Capital One Bowl) slot. That pushes teams one spot down the ladder. But if a second Big Ten team qualifies for the New Year's Six and heads to the Cotton, Fiesta or Peach bowls, then teams move up one destination.

I like the Music City Bowl as a possible landing spot for the Hawkeyes against a solid SEC opponent like Ole Miss, Missouri or Arkansas. It's an easy drive to a fabulous city for Iowa fans, and the bowl planned to send a high-ranking official to Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. Should the Music City Bowl instead opt for regional ACC squad Louisville, then the Taxslayer (formerly known as Gator) Bowl seems like a possible destination.

As for the other bowls, I can see match-ups among former rivals like Penn State-Pittsburgh, Maryland-Virginia, possibly Missouri-Kansas State and Texas-Texas A&M. Although there was a report than the SEC would step in to avoid a Texas-Texas A&M match-up, bravado will rule the day. Look for ESPN, which televises the Texas Bowl in prime-time on Monday, Dec. 29 (no NFL 'Monday Night Football” that week), to hook up its SEC and Longhorn Network partners for must-see bowl television.

Here's a look at bowl projections as the majority of teams wrap up regular-season play this Friday:

NEW YEAR'S SIX

Sugar

- Alabama vs. Ohio State (playoff)

Rose

- Oregon vs. Florida State (playoff)

Cotton

- Baylor vs. Mississippi State

Orange

- Georgia Tech vs. Michigan State

Fiesta

- UCLA vs. Colorado State

Peach

- Georgia vs. Kansas State

BIG TEN BOWLS

Outback

- Wisconsin vs. Auburn

Holiday

- Minnesota vs. USC

Music City

- Iowa vs. Ole Miss

Foster Farms

- Nebraska vs. Stanford

Pinstripe

- Penn State vs. Pittsburgh

Quick Lane

- Maryland vs. Virginia

Heart of Dallas

- Northwestern vs. Rice

Cactus

- Utah vs. Rutgers (Big 12 replacement)

POWER 5 BOWLS

Citrus

- Missouri vs. Notre Dame

Taxslayer

- Florida vs. Miami

Belk

- South Carolina vs. North Carolina

Texas

- Texas vs. Texas A&M

Liberty

- LSU vs. West Virginia

Birmingham

- Tennessee vs. Memphis

Independence

- Arkansas vs. Louisville

Alamo

- TCU vs. Arizona State

Russell

- Oklahoma vs. Clemson

Armed Forces

- Houston vs. Air Force (Army/Big 12 replacement)

Sun

- Arizona vs. Duke

Las Vegas

- Washington vs. Boise State

Bitcoin

- Central Florida vs. N.C. State

Military

- Boston College vs. Cincinnati

OTHER BOWLS

Miami Beach

- East Carolina vs. BYU

Poinsettia

- San Diego State vs. Navy

Hawaii

- Utah State vs. Louisiana Tech

Potato

- Nevada vs. Toledo

New Mexico

- Fresno State vs. UTEP

New Orleans

- Texas State vs. Old Dominion (replaces Air Force)

Bahamas

- Marshall vs. Northern Illinois

Boca Raton

- Middle Tennessee vs. Bowling Green

GoDaddy

- Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Western Michigan

Camellia

- South Alabama vs. Central Michigan

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