After two weeks of just five games, the Big Ten is back to full throttle and all fourteen teams are in action over seven league contests. The west takes center stage with a some intriguing cross-over games against the east – mainly Northwestern and Iowa but there are plenty others. Nebraska, in an unfamiliar role as a spoiler, hosts MSU in an opportunity to shake up the league race and national title race. Last but not least, Minnesota travels to the Shoe. Gophers played this game tight a year ago and should be confident after nearly upsetting Michigan. Let’s see if the bump from coach Kill’s heartbreaking retirement announcement carries on for an extra week. All times are central.
Game of the Week:
Northwestern vs Penn State
The Wildcats traveled to Ann Arbor nationally ranked and 5-0. They came away with a crushing shutout loss. The next week they were smoked at home by Iowa. Undoubtedly shell shocked they found a way to win at Nebraska. Thankfully they had the bye to regroup and try to return to impressive form without too much damage done. At 6-2 (2-2) they might not be able to make a run for Indy, but they can still finish with 8 wins or more and it all starts with Penn State. The Lions headed to Columbus a shaky 5-1 before getting waxed. A shaky game against Maryland added fuel to the speculation fire but last week they annihilated Illinois. At 7-2 (4-1) they are in line for a solid bowl if they start stringing some more wins together.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPNU
Sleeper:
Indiana vs Iowa
The Hoosiers are a strange 4-4 (0-4) team to say the least. They nearly knock off Ohio State, let a sure victory slip through their fingers against Rutgers and until a fourth quarter rally, had Michigan State on the ropes. Only a disappointing game against Penn State with their best players out hurt did they look like typical Indiana football. They boast the 24th best passing attack, a solid running game and 33.0 ppg is pretty good, especially when factoring in the terrible 7 point effort at PSU. Iowa has the 6th best defense in the nation at 15.3 points allowed per game. The deciding factor may be Iowa going off for a ton of points, something they are capable of doing. Indiana’s defense is just 112th nationally. Either way this should be a fun game as both teams enter with polar opposite strategies for success.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ESPN
Don’t Forget:
Michigan State at Nebraska
Yes, yes, yes, we all know the Huskers have had their issues this year but they are still a talented team on paper. MSU of course has had some shaky performances despite their top-10 ranking in all major measures. NU needs to win out to make a bowl but they can spoil Iowa and the Spartan’s season with some home cooking. Let’s see how Michigan State responds after the bye in Lincoln.
- Saturday, 6pm, ESPN
Snoozer:
Wisconsin at Maryland
Wisconsin is peaking and the Terps are floundering. Should be a cakewalk in College Park.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, BTN…Or partake in brats, beer and crab cakes. The food associated with this game is more exciting than the actual game. Just make it an all day tailgate.
Upset Watch:
Right End – Minnesota was oh-so-close a week ago at turning the fortunes of a disappointing season around against Michigan. Next up is a trip to Ohio State. They gave the Buckeyes a run last year and if their defense performs up to expectation, they can hang around in any game. I think for them to have a shot they need to force 5 punts, 3 takeaways and 3 field goals. If Ohio State gets 7 possessions a half, that means on 8 of them they do nothing and three they generate 9 points. If they score 21 in the other three…that puts Minnesota’s target at 30 points. Can the Gophers do that? Doesn’t feel like it. They’ve only passed 30 points once this year and that was against Purdue…but we’ll see. This is a scrappy bunch.
- Saturday, 7pm, ABC
Wrong End – Obviously Iowa falling in Bloomington would be a wrong result to their season. They need to be on top of things because that Hoosier offense can be electric.
Elsewhere (Alphabetical):
Illinois at Purdue – Hey the Boilermakers are hot now, right? We’ll see. This is a huge game for Illinois’ dimming bowl hopes. They sit at 4 wins but still have OSU, @ Minnesota, an Northwestern (in Chicago) remaining. With how they played at Penn State, the odds of them winning two of those final three seem highly unlikely. Heck, even winning one seems like a stretch at this point so the trip to West Layfette is critical.
- Saturday, 11am, BTN
Michigan vs Rutgers – Rutgers defense the last three weeks: 52, 49, 48 points allowed. Michigan’s offensive issues in Minnesota get sorted out in a glorified scrimmage as they blowout the overmatched Knights.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, BTN
Random Musing:
I have had a week to let the Duke-Miami finish sink in and I still can’t believe what the ACC did. Suspending the refs is not enough. They need to be fired and their paycheck from the game canceled. I’m not sure you can reverse the outcome of the game since there were other controversial calls leading up to the final play but the officials getting a slap on the wrist isn’t enough. One overlooked job of refs is player safety. Accurately calling targeting which affects the head and neck as well as chop blocks which can ruin knees is critical. Maintaining control when blood is boiling to avoid fights and bench clearing brawls is also critical. How can refs do these difficult aspects of their job when they are clearly incompetent for simple calls like a down knee or a block in the back? If I was a coach, I would not feel safe having my kids out there on the same field with these clowns. The integrity of the game, a league and the entire CFB tournament is on the line if buffoons like this are allowed to operate.
Big Ten and Counting 