A full slate ladies and gents. 14 teams in action across seven league games but a lone head-to-head tilt between ranked teams takes center stage. Iowa hopes to remain hot against an Illinois team surging with confidence after knocking off the Huskers. Speaking of which, they host Wisconsin in what feels like an elimination game. Not sure either team can bounce back from an 0-2 start in league play. As always, listed times are central.
Game of the Week:
Michigan vs Northwestern
Y’all like defense, right? Northwestern boasts the number one scoring defense in the nation at just 7.0 ppg. Michigan is all they way down to second in the nation with 7.6 ppg. Wolverines average 28 ppg but NU isn’t a lightweight here either, with 25.0 ppg. Both are way down there nationally but with defenses like they have, it hasn’t been a liability. Northwestern has also traveled, granted it was Duke and that isn’t the same as Ann Arbor, but they are used to having a road routine. Michigan meanwhile struggled at controlling the ball in their game against Utah, a team comparable a bit with NU’s attack. With all things seemingly equal, I fully expect this to come down to who limits mistakes. Hidden yards of penalties and wasted possessions with turnovers will allow one team to escape with a monumental victory.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, BTN
Sleeper:
A lot of talent on the field in Lincoln for this game but each have a horribly bitter taste leftover from last week. Badgers played a defensive gem but because of sloppy play, turnovers and the Iowa defense they lost 10-6. Nebraska was up 13-0 but the Illinois defense never flinched in the fourth UI got their offense going to steal a 14-13 victory. Both teams are capable of winning the west but an 0-2 league hole would be devastating. I don’t see any path for the loser to crawl all the way back. Quarterbacks Joel Stave and Tommy Armstrong Jr. had looked great all year until their league debuts, whichever gun slinger finds their game again should win this. Husker’s so-so defense has me leaning, ever so slightly, towards Bucky.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ABC / ESPN2
Don’t Forget:
Homecoming week in Iowa City and a chance to start 6-0 (2-0) before a massive western division battle with Northwestern. A few months ago, this game looked like a lock for Iowa but the Illini are playing some inspired ball for interim coach Bill Cubit and enter with a shot to get to in unfathomable 5-1 (2-0) mark and lay claim as a player in the west. This game has never become a rivalry despite being border states. Illinois cares more about Northwestern and Iowa cares more about Minnesota is part of the problem. Another issue is they didn’t play each other every year. Lastly, neither program has been good at the same time. When Iowa was down, it was a cupcake for Illinois and vice versa. Maybe a battle this year and both teams seemingly improved could provide a spark, especially since they are in the same division now.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPN2
Snoozer:
Why is Brutus mocking an over sized turtle? Maybe it is because Maryland’s last two weeks of football have been brutal. Outscored 73-6, 9 turnovers, 15 penalties for 155 yards 5/32 on third down. Now they head to the Horseshoe. Ruh-row.
- Saturday, 11am, BTN…or sleep in. Unless you are watching another 11am game, this is a good time to sleep in Buckeye nation.
Upset Watch:
Right End – Indiana at Penn State – sees the Nittany Lion 6.5 point favorites over the Hoosiers. Indiana just went toe to toe with Ohio State and nearly pulled off the upset. Penn State just went toe to toe with Army and nearly lost the game in embarrassing fashion. Let’s go Crimson and Cream!
- Saturday, 11am, ESPN
Wrong End – Minnesota at Purdue – has Goldy favored by 3 points but the Train just got done playing their best ball of the year against Michigan State in a narrow loss. Meanwhile the Gophers were just shut out and have had horrific offensive play all year. A loss to the worst team in the league would destroy UM’s western division dreams and make certain fans quite angry at coach Kill.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ESPNU
Elsewhere (Alphabetical)
Michigan State at Rutgers – MSU keeps winning but has no style points to wow voters. They need to find a way to duplicate the style they flashed against Oregon. The problem is they have some injuries and everyone wants to knock off a top-5 team. Me thinks this is the week my precious Sparty gets a blowout (Smeagol voice).
- Saturday, 7pm, BTN
Random Musing
For more about the goofiness that is the lack of major rivalry between Iowa and Illinois I did some digging from my old friends over at http://www.winsipedia.com. Illinois leads the series 38-30-2. 70 times they’ve played, not very many considering they have been in the same league since 1899! From 1953-1966 they didn’t even play each other. After division alignment and natural rotation off, Iowa and Illinois didn’t face each other from 2009-2013. Isn’t it bizarre that this border war never really developed into anything? Very strange.
For more information on Illinois vs Iowa head to head as programs, here is the full comparison: http://www.winsipedia.com/iowa/vs/illinois
Big Ten and Counting 