In the 2022 era, there is an audience that complains about too many bowl games. That there is the logic that too much football is just overwhelming. Imagine telling that to individual fan bases, players, coaching staff, and administrators. These bowl games provide 15 extra practices, revenue, help to recruit, and an awesome trip for players. It could be vital for a program to consistently make bowl games. I guarantee you no one in the Ohio State fanbase is complaining about bowl games when they have been bowl eligible for the last 34 seasons. So let’s take a look at the last time each Big Ten team missed a bowl game.
The Last Time Each Big Ten Team MISSED a Bowl Game
Indiana: 2022
Maryland: 2020
Michigan: 2020
Michigan State: 2022
Ohio State: 2012 (they were ruled ineligible this season but went 12-0)
Penn State: 2020
Rutgers: 2022
Illinois: 2021
Iowa: 2020/2012 (2020 was the COVID season but there were bowl eligible)
Minnesota: 2020
Nebraska: 2022
Northwestern: 2022
Purdue: 2020
Wisconsin: 2001
Amazingly, the beacon of consistency in the Big Ten for bowl games has been Wisconsin. Only one team has a streak past the 20-year mark and that is the Badgers. The program has nowhere to be found in Nebraska. The Cornhuskers haven’t made a bowl game since 2016. Overall there has been a major lack of consistency in the Big Ten as a total. You would think that many of them didn’t make it strictly for bowl eligibility but the majority of them had losing records anyways.
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