Is it really mid October? Is it really week eight? Time flies when you are having fun and this Big Ten season has been a dandy. Illinois, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin are all off and based on how they have looked the last few weeks this is a good thing for the viewers. No ranked showdowns this week but two of the three ranked teams in action do face some pesky clubs. There is potential for the division races to get a shakeup this Saturday.
Game of the Week:
Nebraska at Northwestern
This game was decided by a Hail Mary last year so Fitz and staff have a game plan on how to keep close to the Huskers – and frankly win since they should have last year. Nebraska boasts an impressive 5-1 mark with the lone loss in East Lansing. Northwestern has bounced back from that terrible start and sit at 3-3 but have looked great the last three weeks in beating PSU on the road, crushing Wisconsin and getting a great effort in Minneapolis. Their defensive intensity has to be there this week as they go against one of the premiere running games and backs (Ameer Abdullah) in the nation. The loser will have 2 conference losses and be in a massive hole in the divisional race. Probably too deep to get out of unless they get some help via upsets.
Saturday, 7:30 / 6:30 central, Big Ten Network
Sleeper:
Iowa at Maryland
Hawks sit tied with Minnesota atop the West Division standings at 2-0 but breathing down UI/UM’s necks is the winner of the NUx2 game (Huskers 1-1, Northwestern 2-1). Idle Wisconsin also only has one league loss despite some rough performances the last few weeks so if Iowa has any hopes of winning their division they must find a way to win this crucial road tilt. Maryland also has one league less but since it is to juggernaut Ohio State, their chances of winning the East are quite slim. The Terps would be happy with putting a string of wins together and getting eight or nine wins this season and making a solid bowl in their Big Ten debut season. In order to accomplish that they need to hold home serve against their fellow second-tier teams which Iowa appears to be thanks to flaws in all three phases of the game. Maryland can score in a hurry but Iowa’s defense has been stout (until the Indiana game) so it will come down to that chess match. Can Iowa keep the score low enough to give their up-and-down offense a shot? Ooooh, the excitement!
Saturday, 12 / 11 central, ESPN2 / WatchESPN app
Don’t Ignore:
Rutgers at Ohio State
The Buckeyes have been playing some amazing football lately but their lone loss was to a team a bit like Rutgers. Virginia Tech played solid defense and limited their mistakes. Rutgers’ defense isn’t too far off the statistical mark Virginia Tech currently has so maybe the recipe for success against OSU is defense, not out scoring them like Maryland and Cinci hoped to do. Both teams have had a week to prepare but that could also help Rutgers since they have heard for two weeks how they are going to get crushed. OSU may also play down to the level of their opponent which could cost them. I don’t see how there will be an upset but there are cases to be made for something wonky in this one and that alone makes it worth keeping an eye on.
Saturday, 3:30 / 2:30 central, ABC / ESPN2
Snoozer:
Michigan State at Indiana
Even with MSU, ahem performance? against Purdue, this one looks to be pretty lopsided. With Nate Sudfeld out for the season teams will be putting 20 men in the box to stop Tevin Coleman. Difficult to see how Indiana can move the ball with zero passing game, let alone score at enough of a clip to keep pace with Connor Cook and all his weapons.
Saturday, 3:30 / 2:30 central, ESPN / WatchESPN app…or stick your face in a bear trap, either one.
Upset Watch:
Right End – Purdue has been playing a lot better football the last two weeks with Austin Appleby running the show and are improved overall from last year’s terrible team. They find themselves 12.5 dogs in Minneapolis and while the Gophers have been playing some outstanding ball, they don’t play an offensive style that really runs away from the opposition. If Purdue can play clean on the turnover sheet and get some lucky bounces in this game, I could see a stunner by the pesky Boilermakers.
Purdue at Minnesota, 12 / 11 central, Big Ten Network
Wrong End – Maryland is a 4.5 point favorite at home against Iowa. Maryland has only played two FBS teams with winning records, West Virginia and Ohio State, and lost them both. The Terps are a good team but by no means great. They can’t take a physical (if not overly impressive on tape) Iowa team lightly. I also think this Hawkeye team is much faster than people realize. They aren’t Baylor by any stretch of the imagination but compared to Ferentz teams of old, they are a lot faster. Lastly, Iowa has already traveled east this season and won at Pittsburgh in the non-conference so they won’t be fazed by the timezone change or travel. Terps have to be ready.
Elsewhere:
All games have been covered! I told you this was looking like a fun weekend of Big Ten action.
Random Musing
Two firsts this week as Iowa/ Maryland have never faced each other and Ohio State/Rutgers have never clashed. As you would predict, history favors the Bucks greatly but the other showdown is interesting. Despite never being in the same league, geographically apart from battling over recruits and having different eras of dominance, the Maryland and Iowa programs are eerily similar. This is according to my friends at Winsipedia (a fantastic site that I cannot plug enough):
Winning Percentage: Iowa .532 / Maryland .527
National Championships: 1 apiece (though some gray area ones in the way back times for both programs)
Conference Championships: Iowa 13 / Maryland 11
Bowl Games: Iowa 28 / Maryland 26
All Time Wins: Maryland 628 / Iowa 612
Bowl Record: Iowa .537 (14-12-1) / Maryland .480 (11-12-2)
Consensus All Americans: Iowa 23 / Maryland 12
Heisman Winners: Iowa 1 / Maryland 0
NFL Draft Picks: Iowa 242 / Maryland 207
First Round Draft Picks: Iowa 19 / Maryland 15
Weeks In AP Poll: Iowa 297 / Maryland 192
Weeks At AP #1: Iowa 11 / Maryland 6
Isn’t this sport funny sometimes how two programs vastly different can have their numbers boiled down to essentially identical histories?
Big Ten and Counting 