Can you believe we are a month into this season already? Time flies when you are having fun. The final traditional week of non-conference play gives the Big Ten one final chance to save some face as the league squares off against the ACC in three games, the Pac 12 and the SEC. In addition to these important games there are some other intriguing match ups outside the “power five” clashes.
Game of the Week:
Miami (FL) at Nebraska
Huskers have quietly started 3-0 while Miami has looked good since the week one loss at Louisville. Sitting at 24th Nebraska has a ton of work to even have a prayer at making the tournament and a home loss to an unranked ACC team will crush those dreams early. Miami may still be recovering from years of poor play, poor coaching and NCAA investigation but they are still more talented than your average team and Al Golden always squeezes a lot out of his players. Not sure Miami’s mediocre offense will have enough juice to pull off the upset but this one should still be a dandy.
Saturday, 8 / 7 central, ESPN2 / WatchESPN app
Sleeper:
Rutgers at Navy
The Scarlet Knight’s defense was outstanding a week ago – especially the rush D – yielding just 13 points in a tight loss to Penn State. They now get a triple-option headache with Navy. A lot of shine will come off those silver helmets the Knights wear now days if their 2-0 start evaporates into a 2-2 opening month. Navy welcomes back a health(ier) Keenan Reynolds under center.
Saturday, 3:30 / 2:30 central, CBS Sports Network
Don’t Ignore:
Utah at Michigan
The Utes offense has been clicking as they have put up over 50 points in each of their opening games en route to a hot 2-0 start. The competition has been lacking though. Michigan is also 2-0 against terrible opponents but failed miserably in their lone test on the season. If Michigan wants to put that Notre Dame game fully behind them they need to play well against a fellow “big boy” team. Utah of course wants to get prepped for the juggernaut that is their Pac 12 season as they have five ranked teams in the upcoming league slate. This is a good measuring stick for both.
Saturday, 3:30 / 2:30 central, ABC / ESPN 2
Snoozer:
Eastern Michigan at Michigan State
EMU has been a doormat team for about 35 seasons while MSU is the defending league and Rose Bowl champion. When the spread is over 40 points even Vegas is telling you not to watch.
Saturday, 12 / 11 central, Big Ten Network…or walk across shards of glass, either option will ruin the rest of your day.
Upset Watch:
Right End – Of the three underdogs (Iowa, Indiana and Rutgers) there is only one team that seems to be competent on both sides of the ball. If Rutgers had not treated the ball like a hand grenade and tossed it to Penn State a hundred times they would be undefeated and possibly ranked (or receiving votes). It also helps that of the three opponents (Pitt, Missouri, Navy) the Midshipmen are the easiest team on paper to face.
Wrong End – Technically Maryland is favored on the road but when it is only by a point that’s not juicy enough for an upset watch. Similarly, Nebraska against a decent ACC team would be a cop out. I’m going to think outside the box and pick Minnesota. Gophers have had a long, long week of practice after a horrid game at TCU. Sometimes that amps you up for your next game and sometimes you start looking around and seeing cracks in your club and wondering where the season is going. Worse, next week is a trophy game against Michigan so UM might be looking past their opponent. Sitting in their way is San Jose State. The Spartans were off a week ago and the Gopher offense isn’t exactly the toughest to prepare for. SJSU got humiliated at Auburn and their best player from last year has graduated but if Minnesota isn’t right this week, they could let an easy one slip away.
SJSU at Minnesota, Saturday, 4 / 3 central, Big Ten Network
Elsewhere:
Iowa at Pittsburgh, Sat, 12 / 11, ESPNU / WatchESPN app – Iowa has looked like garbage and Pitt is 3-0, including a win at Boston College where USC was just slayed. I feel like Iowa will either get blown out by 3+ touchdowns or give everyone false hope and win by a field goal.
Western Illinois at Northwestern, Sat, 12 / 11, ESPNews / WatchESPN app – Who would have guessed that at 0-2, NU faced a must win against the Leathernecks. WIU was pesky in the first half against Wisconsin but considering how badly the Mildcats need it, expect Northwestern to sail by in a spirited effort.
Southern Illinois at Purdue, Sat, 12 / 11, Big Ten Network – SIU is undefeated and Purdue is…well…Purdue. I think the Boilermakers should win this one but nothing would surprise me at this point.
Bowling Green at Wisconsin, Sat, 12 / 11, ESPN2 / WatchESPN app – We know what the Falcons are capable of after dispatching Indiana a week ago. Wisconsin should be able to wear them down with their rushing game (Indiana put yards on them but aren’t physical enough to do the psychological damage) and the defense is a step up compared to the Hoosiers but you can’t take this one for granted. Expect BGSU to hang around, probably even deep into the second half. This isn’t a gimme.
Maryland at Syracuse, Sat, 12:30 / 11:30, GamePlan / ESPN3 – The Orange are a very quiet 2-0 since they needed overtime against Villanova, took down Central Michigan and had a bye in between. They aren’t getting much love as the Terps are a slight road favorite but Maryland has issues of their own. Two weeks ago the offense was putrid at USF. A week ago the defense couldn’t get off the field. I think(?!) Maryland is better but would anyone keel over from shock if Syracuse wins this game?
Massachusetts at Penn State, Sat, 4 / 3, Big Ten Network – UMass has played a lot better this season but are still winless. They dropped their last two by just a field goal but Colorado and Vanderbilt aren’t exactly Penn State and nothing is quite like Happy Valley. Penn Stat should enjoy the tuneup.
Texas State at Illinois, Sat, 4 / 3, ESPNews / WatchESPN app – TS San Marcos is 1-1 after knocking off a FCS team and losing by 14 to Navy. Illinois of course is their usual up-and-down self. Much like Purdue, the Big Ten club should win this game but if you were to see the score on bottom line Saturday evening and see the loss – would you be floored?
Indiana at Missouri, Sat, 4 / 3, SEC Network / WatchESPN app – The Hoosier offense might be able to keep them around for some time but the Tigers look like the class of the SEC east so far as Maty Mauk is putting up insane numbers and the defense is playing well in spite of losing key pieces, including co SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam. Pretty tall order for IU.
Random Musing
The Hurricane-Husker match up will be the 11th time the two schools face each other. The series is tied at 5 with Nebraska winning four of the first 5 and Miami winning four of the last 5. Incredibly this series has been apart of six national titles, including the last five meetings. The last pairing was the 2001-2002 season at the Rose Bowl where the Dorsey-led Caines picked up a title against the Heisman winning Eric Crouch led Huskers. Sufficient to say there is a lot of history packed into just 40 quarters of football. I think the cliche we are looking for is, “Something’s gotta give.”
Big Ten and Counting 