Sort of a hybrid week coming up around the league as Indiana, Minnesota, and Purdue have non-conference dates after an early bye last week and Iowa vs Rutgers, Michigan vs Penn State, MSU vs Wisconsin, and Nebraska vs Northwestern represent the start of league play. Honorary Big Ten team Western Michigan is also stepping out of league to take on Georgia Southern. By process of elimination Illinois, Maryland, and OSU are off this week. Like always, times are central.
Game of the Week:
Michigan State vs Wisconsin
The eighth ranked team hosting the eleventh ranked team is always going to be appointment television but this one has some added wrinkles. Wisconsin will be letting a redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook make his first start as he came in for Bart Houston against Georgia State and sparked the team midway through what had been a very flat game. Michigan State looked like world beaters against Notre Dame but they haven’t faced a defense as good as Wisconsin’s. This has all the trappings of a must see game.
- Saturday, 11am, BTN
Sleeper:
Not too many people realize this nationally but Indiana and Wake Forest are a combined 5-0. Wake is off to their best start in years with a 3-0 mark notching wins over Tulane, at Duke, and Delaware. With having woeful BC, Virginia, and struggling Syracuse still ahead, a win over Indiana makes a bowl almost guaranteed. Hoosiers have similar feelings as they still have awful Purdue, Rutgers, and struggling Northwestern in league so a win over Wake puts them in great situation for the post season. New starting IU quarterback Richard Lagow has looked sharp but this is by far the best defense they will face in the non conference so we’ll see if Lagow’s play can keep up with the step up in competition.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, BTN
Don’t Forget:
Franklin has yet to beat Michigan, MSU, or OSU but this is by far his most talented team. After several highly touted recruiting classes many fans in western PA feel this is the time to put up or shut up. Trace McSorley has been outstanding under center for the Nittany Lions but the Big House against Peppers and that defense is another story. Still, Michigan started painfully slow against Colorado. They haven’t faced a team as good as Penn State this year, either. Really curious how this Wolverine squad does with a large bullseye on them against a hungry program.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ABC
Snoozer:
Well I have to put something in this spot so I might as well go with the Big Ten’s worst team going up against a non-conference squad. I actually don’t think this will be too bad a game and it gave me an opportunity to bust out these awesome throwback logos so it is already the greatest Snoozer game of the year. Purdue was off last week and sits at 1-1. The last time we saw them play they were giving up yards, points, and the ball to Cincinnati left and right. Nevada is 2-1 on the year and barely slipped by FCS Cal Poly in overtime to start the year. While I may not know much about the Wolfpack I do know that running back James Butler is a beast. The junior has over 2300 yards in his career already and has 5 scores, 347 yards, and just 66 carries so far this year. Against Buffalo last week he had 174 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. Purdue’s rush defense better be prepared.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPNN…Or you know, watch the Wisconsin @ MSU game like a normal person!
Upset Watch:
Right End – For a program that is waiting for a marquee win with a third year coach, Penn State can make a massive statement if they find a way to stun Michigan. How loud will that statement be? Well, it would totally shift the Eastern Division race which in turn would impact the league title race which would then have ramifications for the college football playoffs. So, yeah, there would be a bit of a shake up.
Wrong End – One refrain after the embarrassing loss hopeful Iowa fans repeated last week was that the game didn’t impact the Big Ten standings. That’s true, but if the OL and DL gets whipped like they did against North Dakota they won’t win too many more games. Rutgers has moved to 2-1 and knows any bowl hopes rely on picking off any winnable games and nabbing an upset. Blowing a two touchdown favorite status on the road certainly qualifies as an upset. You have been warned, Hawkeye nation!
- Iowa at Rutgers, Saturday, 11am, ESPN 2
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Minnesota vs Colorado State – I realize it has only been one week but after all the excitement it feels like the Gophers haven’t played in a month. After getting floored in week one, CSU has really improved to get to 2-1 on the year. Minnesota should still be able to win, but this was a battle a year ago, expect more of the same. The Rams are well coached by former Georgia assistant Mike Bobo and for the most part Mountain West teams are much closer to the power five than the average fan would realize.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPNU
Nebraska at Northwestern – The annual NU battle resumes this week along the banks (sort of, it’s close) of Lake Michigan. I’m not sure enough people realize this, even around the league, but this series has been extremely tight ever since Nebraska joined. NU (Red) holds a 3-2 advantage but the in the 2011 game, NU (Purple) won by 3. Then next year NUR got the victory by one. The following season, NUR again, this time by 3. 2014 was the only blowout with NUR winning 38-17 but last year NUP got back in the win column with a two point victory. So four of five match-ups settled by just nine points total. I don’t think the Cats have the pieces to make this another memorable one but they did get the passing game going a week ago and Nebraska’s pass defense was iffy last year so maybe, just maybe, this budding rivalry will get some juice if Fitzy’s gang pulls off the stunner…again.
- Saturday, 6:30pm, BTN
Western Michigan vs Georgia Southern – Broncos step out of league play to take on a fellow 3-0 team Georgia Southern. The Eagles are one of the best in the Sun Belt but struggled last weak against Sun Belt bottom dweller ULM in a 23-21 win. Eagles have a great option attack but the WMU rush defense has been stout this year, last week they held Illinois to just three rushing yards as a team.
- Saturday, 7pm, ESPN 3
Random Musing
Wake and Indiana will square off for just the second time in history. Last year was the first meeting and the Hoosiers got the better of the Demon Deacons. Historically these two schools have struggled mightily in their respective conferences but their hot starts may be pointing to brighter days ahead. Thanks to the amazing database over at winsipedia, I took a glance to see how these two programs stack up, or to be brutally honest based on their histories, how they comparatively struggle.
Winning percentage: Indiana’s .419 is created by being nearly 200 games under .500. Wake is even worse at 438-642-33 which sits at just .408. These percentages are the 118th and 121st worst nationally.
Wins: As stated Wake is sitting at 438 while the Hoosiers have 469. Indiana’s total wins are good enough for 100th while the boys from Winston-Salem sit at 108th.
Bowl Performance: Each team has been to ten bowls (85th best all time) but Wake is an impressive .600 in those games (6-4) which is actually the 12th best bowl winning percentage right now. Indiana has struggled going just 3-7 in the post season (.300), which is the 87th ranked bowl winning percentage.
All Americans, Draft Picks, 1st Round Picks: Indiana sweeps these three categories with 7 AAs to 4, 162 picks to 133, and 12 first rounders to just 5. While none of these numbers sound terribly impressive they actually aren’t bad. Indiana’s totals in these categories rank 56th, 54th, and 48th all time. Out of 129 teams those are respectfully average. Wake’s figures are 68th, 67th, and 68th again.
Poll Performance: It may not have happened very recently, especially for Indiana, but both teams have been in the AP poll in their programs’ history. The Hoosiers have 55 weeks ranked throughout their history, good enough for 72nd all time. Wake has 42 weeks in, which puts them at 76th.
The two programs tied though in several categories winspiedia compares. Neither program has a national title, a Heisman winner, or a week spent as the number one team in the AP poll. Another area they tie is league titles, with two each. That is painfully situated at 104th all time in league titles.
While history hasn’t been kind to either the nice thing is that can always change. Kevin Wilson has already improved the offense and Wake’s defense is much better now than it used to be. Perhaps Dave Clawson and Wilson are right fit for the job and one of these programs enters a golden age. Crazier things have happened. After all, Florida State was a women’s college until 1947 and yet based on success you’d think they were a blue blood in the traditional sense of a Notre Dame. So buck up Hoosier and Deacon fans and remember things could be worse. You could be rooting for Kansas football.
Big Ten and Counting 