It is senior ditch day in the Big Ten! Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are all off. On the plus side one spectacular game in Happy Valley gets to shine even more than it normally would with such a weak line up. As always, all times are central.
Game of the Week:
Ohio State at Penn State
Two explosive offenses meet with the winner having an outstanding shot at taking the eastern crown. Both defenses have had their moments (i.e. Ohio State’s two defensive scores against TCU) but have also given up big plays (e.g. PSU letting Appalachian State back into the game). Both teams are going to score so I’m not even going to do the old cliche of “whoever can get off the field the most wins” but set the bar lower. If either defense can make a big play or two, perhaps even scoring, that club will be the winner.
- Saturday, 6:30 pm, ABC
Sleeper:
Michigan is playing really well after that loss to open the season against Notre Dame but they have also played a wretched Western Michigan team, a terrible SMU club, and a pathetic Nebraska outfit. Northwestern has at least shown flashes of competence in their 1-2 start. In addition to being the best team since facing the Irish, this also marks the first time Michigan has left Ann Arbor since that fateful Notre Dame game. To say that Michigan is “back” or has a shot in the east or whatever benchmark you want to use, Northwestern at least presents a bit of a hurdle unlike the last three weeks.
- Saturday, 3:30 pm, Fox
Don’t Forget:
Woof, told you this was a thin week. 1-3 Purdue heads to 0-3 Nebraska as the third best game of the week. Why? Well Purdue’s game against Boston College needs to be replicated. It is one thing to pull off an isolated win or a rare upset. It is another thing to string two good games together. Nebraska meanwhile faces the same situation as the Boilermakers a week ago. With 0-4 right in front of their faces, does the team respond and show some pride, or do they falter? It might not be a meaningful game in the grand scheme of the title race, but it is at the very least intriguing.
- Saturday, 2:30 pm, BTN
Snoozer:
Sorry Michigan State, you’re playing a 1-3 MAC club while the rest of the league is facing a fellow Big Ten foe…or taking the week off. Either way, you’re the odd game out.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, FS1…Don’t sleep in but instead watch Syracuse/Clemson or West Virginia/Texas Tech. These are actual games at that 11 o’clock kick. Watch smarter, not harder, or something.
Upset Watch:
Well we’ve reached that point where there are so many league games there is no longer any point of doing a right end or a wrong end distinction. For the rest of the way (until bowl season of course), the Upset Watch will feature just one game, unlike weeks one through four.
The Indiana Hoosiers started 3-0 and were rolling. They stumbled against Michigan State but have a great shot at a bowl, especially if they take care of business against clubs like Rutgers, Iowa, Minnesota, Maryland, and Purdue. The bowl hopes don’t end with an upset this week on the banks of some river in New Jersey but they aren’t helped in any way. As for Rutgers, guaranteeing at least one league win would be huge because they have 0-9 written all over their faces.
Random Musing:
The last time five (or more) league teams had a bye week was 1909 when a major snow storm hit Chicago. This prevented train travel for Iowa at Northwestern, University of Chicago traveling to Minnesota, and Illinois making the trip up to Madison. With six teams all having games canceled that season, it actually allowed Michigan to win their first ever Big Ten title with a league record of 3-1-1 while Minnesota had to settle for a 2-1-1 mark. Michigan’s breakthrough season resulted in an uptick of interest in the sport from fans and administration alike and helped establish the Michigan dynasty the next decade when Michigan won 7 titles from 1911-1920. This of course was all bullshit. I had no interest in looking up the last time five Big Ten teams had the week off.
Big Ten and Counting 