Stop if you’ve heard this one before: Wisconsin has a massive game this weekend. Yup, the Badgers’ trial by fire continues again this week when they host Nebraska. The Michigan-MSU game takes a back seat for the first time in a while and OSU looks to bounce back against an increasingly frisky Northwestern team. All that and more in what looks to be a deceptively good week of league games. Iowa and Rutgers will take the week off to reflect on some very bad play this year, very bad. Like always the times I list are central.
Game of the Week:
Nebraska at Wisconsin
Nebraska is off to an outstanding 7-0 start and is in the top ten but they have had some injury issues on offense and their point totals the last few weeks have reflected the downturn in health. Worse, they haven’t really played anyone with just Northwestern and Wyoming as their two opponents above .500 teams. Lastly, they haven’t had a road game in an environment like Madison yet this season. Those are all factors that have to make the Badgers feel good about themselves. Still, even with most people taking the Badgers, this NU team will not go down without a fight. Tommy Armstrong Jr is a solid quarterback even with his nicks this year and the outstanding WR Jordan Westerkamp is back at practice and looks to be able to go after a back injury sidelined him. Getting some more pop back in this offense could be just the ticket to steal this one on the road and take a stranglehold on the Western division.
- Saturday, 6pm, ESPN
Sleeper:
Indiana vs Maryland
This is a huge game for bowl positioning. The Terps are 5-2 so a win will get them to the post season in year one of a new coach – huge for recruiting, which D.J. Drukin is already cleaning up on. Projecting forward, UM still hast trips to Michigan, Nebraska and host Ohio State. So if they don’t win here, the Rutgers finale is a must win to get to 6-6 barring an upset along the way. For the Hoosiers they have looked worthy of a bowl at times but have been very sloppy with turnovers and sit at just 3-4. They still have Penn State and a trip to Ann Arbor meaning they either need to pull off a big upset or sweep Purdue, at Rutgers, and this very Maryland team to get back to a bowl game. IU’s defense has played a lot better this year but Maryland’s offense has been phenomenal when QB Perry Hills is healthy. Should be a fun one in Bloomington.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ESPNU
Don’t Forget:
Penn State at Purdue
One of the toughest things in sports is the game after a huge upset. A lot of teams have a hangover which results in a massive letdown loss. Penn State faces that situation this week when they travel to West Lafayette to take on a Purdue squad that has played better as of late. In their last three games the Boilermakers have beaten Illinois and pushed Nebraska. Only in the Iowa game did Purdue struggle in but it is undeniable that PU has been a little frisky lately.
- Saturday, 11am, ABC / ESPN2
Snoozer:
Michigan at Michigan State
Let’s be honest, with all the skill players MSU graduated this season was going to have a pretty tight margin of error and any success was dependent on the defense being amazing. So with those concerns what has happened to the Spartans? Naturally they have an insanely banged up defense that is giving up yards and points at will. On the other side of the field Michigan is pretty good, we would all agree.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPN…or sleep in so you have enough in the tank for a Halloween party.
Upset Watch:
Sadly now that we’re in league play there is no real easy way to make the distinction between being on the right end or wrong end of an upset. That’s always a fun feature of the non-conference but now that we’re in league any upset is potentially season crippling or season defining.
Right and Wrong end:
When the schedules came out, I don’t think too many people were concerned about Ohio State hosting Northwestern to end October, yet here we sit. The Wildcats have turned around an ugly 1-3 start to win three straight to put themselves in great shape for a bowl and if they have a few breaks could even get to Indy. Ohio State has been going the other way. Indiana gifted OSU 14 points in a 21 point game. Wisconsin put in a great effort to have an overtime epic. Then there was the Penn State upset. OSU is the better team and should get back on track but NU is confident and playing with house money. Buckeyes are young and haven’t faced much adversity and knows to make the playoffs they have to win out, that can be a lot of pressure.
- Northwestern at Ohio State, Saturday, 2:30pm, ESPN
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Illinois vs Minnesota – Gophers can lock down a bowl game with their sixth win but they can actually keep their eyes on an even bigger prize. If UM wins out, they’ll be 7-2 in league play. Minnesota lost to Iowa but the Hawks already have two conference losses and still has Michigan. UM has yet to play Nebraska and the Huskers could lose at Madison or Columbus (or both) and another team UM hasn’t faced yet, Wisconsin, already has two league losses. So yes, the Gophers are still very much in the thick of the Western race if they can nab a road victory at a struggling Illini club.
- Saturday, 11am, BTN
Western Michigan at Ball State – So technically this game is in week 10 because it is on Tuesday but that doesn’t sit right with me. I’ll preview all their Tuesday games with the rest of the league as they are our honorary member. Ball State is a rebuild project that has gone alright with a 4-4 mark through eight but they aren’t there yet as reflected in their 1-3 mark in the MAC. Broncos should enjoy a nice victory down in Muncie, Indiana.
- Tuesday, 7pm, ESPN2
Random Musing
Happy Halloween everyone! I’m going as Ron Swanson this year. As for a real random musing…trying to cover that really good WMU team now with them having games on Tuesdays is going to make everything really weird. It was all fun and games a few weeks ago but now it is just going to be difficult. Still, WMU is fun to cover so I’ll gladly take on the burden that is watching more football. Gee, what an “inconvenience.”
Big Ten and Counting 