Potential Purdue destination: Music City Bowl in Nashville
Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
Date: Friday, Dec. 29
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville
TV: ESPN
Tie-ins: ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC
Notes: This is the 20th anniversary game of the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. ... Teams would arrive in Nashville Dec. 26 to start game-week festivities, which include a welcome party at the Wildhorse Saloon, where each team will be ask to send five players to participate in a song-writing contest and performance. ... Last season, Tennessee beat Nebraska 38-24 in front of a capacity crowd of 68,496. The Big Ten has not had a winner since 2004, when Minnesota beat Alabama. But only twice since then did the league have a representative, including the Golden Gophers the following season (a loss to Virginia) and Nebraska last year. ... The bowl shares the ACC/Big Ten selection with the Taxslayer Gator Bowl, with each taking one conference for three games over a six-year span. Since Taxslayer has had a Big Ten team in two of the last three seasons — this is Year 4 — the thought is that Music City would pick from the Big Ten, evening up the split at 2-2, but that's not an absolute certainty.
Projections
Jerry Palm, CBSSports.com: Purdue vs. Kentucky
CollegeFootballNews.com: Wake Forest vs. Missouri
Kyle Bonagura, ESPN.com: Iowa vs. Texas A&M
David M. Hale, ESPN.com: Northwestern vs. Mississippi State
Bill Bender, SportingNews.com: Louisville vs. Missouri
Erick Smith, USA Today: Virginia Tech vs. Kentucky
Sports Illustrated: Iowa vs. Texas A&M
The potential opponents
If the Boilermakers are picked to play in the Music City Bowl, their opponent will come from the SEC. A quick glance at the most-likely possibilities:
Kentucky: 7-5 (4-4, T-3rd East). ... Wildcats started the season 7-3, before losing the last two (at Georgia and vs. Louisville) by a combined 86-30. ... Beat common opponent Missouri 40-34 on its Homecoming Oct. 7, three weeks after Purdue beat the Tigers. ... Offense ranks 10th in the SEC in yardage per game (350.1) and scoring (25.8). Allowed 425.7 yards per game, which ranked 92nd in the country (of 129), including 263.5 passing, No. 114 in the nation. ... Running back Benny Snell Jr. rushed for 1,318 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Texas A&M: 7-5 (4-4, T-4th West) ... Sunday, the university fired Kevin Sumlin after leading the Aggies to 51 wins over six seasons. He's replaced on an interim basis by Jeff Banks, the special teams coordinator. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has emerged as a potential favorite for the vacancy. ... A&M started 5-2, including an eight-point loss at then No. 1 Alabama. ... The Aggies rank eighth in the SEC in scoring, averaging better than 31 points per game.
Mississippi State: 8-4 (4-4, T-4th West). ... Coach Dan Mullens is departed, having taken over at Florida. Greg Knox, the special teams coordinator, takes over as an interim. ... Multiple outlets report Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as the possible successor. ... The Bulldogs are 24th in the latest AP top 25, falling eight spots after their loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. ... Mississippi State is the fourth-best offense in the SEC in terms of yardage, averaging 462.3 per game. ... The Aggies' defense is outstanding, allowing only 302 yards per game, 10th-best in the country. It does allow, though, 20.4 points per game, No. 24 nationally.
Missouri: 7-5 (4-4, T-3rd East). ... An unlikely opponent, considering the two teams met earlier this season . ... The Tigers have won six in a row following a 1-5 start that included a 35-3 loss to Purdue Sept. 16. ... During the six-game winning streak, which came — notably — against teams with a combined 25-47 record, Missouri's once-maligned defense allowed more than 21 points only once. In four games, it allowed no more than 17. ... QB Drew Lock, who was 12-of-28 for 133 yards and two interceptions vs. Purdue, finished the year with 3,695 passing yards, 43 touchdowns and 12 picks. He led an offense that averaged 511 yards per game, tops in the SEC and more than 40 yards more than No. 2 Auburn.
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