2014 Big Ten Bowl Tie-Ins & Tier System

Lots of changes afoot in the Big Ten Bowl Picture, but unfortunately the abomination that is the Capital One Bowl and it's shitty cousin the Outback Bowl are still with us. The Holiday Bowl does join them in what is known as "Tier 1," putting San Diego on the possible holiday destination list for travelling fans. Details on the tier system are here. Basically it has the Big Ten working with the Bowl organizers so one team isn't stuck going to Orlando every damn year. Great. Where were you when I needed you 14 years ago?

The order looks like this...

Championship Tier:

• Rose Bowl - but if the Rose Bowl is part of the playoff (like this year) the Orange Bowl is in play for the Big Ten three times between now and 2026...this is one of those times.

Tier 1:

• Capital One Bowl (Orlando) vs. SEC No. 2

• Outback Bowl (Tampa) vs. SEC No. 3

• Holiday Bowl (San Diego) vs. Pac-12 No. 3

Tier 2:

• Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) (split with ACC) vs. SEC

• Music City Bowl (Nashville) (split with ACC) vs. SEC

• San Francisco Bowl vs. Pac-12 No. 4

• Pinstripe Bowl (New York) vs. ACC

Tier 3:

• Detroit Bowl (Detroit) vs. ACC

• Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas) vs. Conference USA