This feels more like the 2018 “Weak” 6 Preview because this slate of Big Ten games is garbage. Ba-da-ching. I’ll be here all week folks. Seriously though, there are zero ranked versus ranked games and the teams that are in the polls that are also in action all play home dates so the odds of any upsets are lowered. Let’s do this, or whatever, I don’t know, this week looks so damn boring. As always, all times are central.
Game of the Week:
Maryland at Michigan
Maryland smoked Minnesota a few weeks ago then had the bye week to prepare for a Michigan team that, well, who knows what we are going to get. They scored 45+ points three straight weeks but that was against Western Michigan, SMU, and Nebraska. All those defenses are terrible. Against Northwestern, Michigan came back down with just 20 points. We know the Michigan defense will be ready to ball but an upset is still on the table if the Wolverines can’t get points and what an upset that would be. For Maryland it would push them to a surprising 4-1 mark, making a bowl highly likely and for Michigan it would probably end any hopes of winning the east with MSU, OSU, PSU, and Wisconsin all still left on their schedule.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, ABC
Sleeper:
Sure the Floyd of Rosedale winner will feel great about knocking off their rivals but there is a little bit more at stake. Wisconsin’s schedule is a beast. The winner of this one gets to keep their slim hopes in the west going for a little longer while the loser will be 0-2 in conference. At that point the season becomes, “hope we get to 9 or 10 wins and a bowl people have heard of.” Speaking of bowls, that would be a great benchmark for the Gophers as they missed out on one last year. A win tomorrow would be Fleck’s first in a major Minnesota rivalry game and also gets the Gophers to four wins which nearly locks down a bowl based on some of the clubs they have upcoming.
- Saturday, 2:30 pm, BTN
Don’t Forget:
The Wildcats need a win desperately. They are 1-3 and struggling to come anywhere near last season’s 10 wins. Thankfully they play a team this week that seems all too willing to keep their opponent in the game. Michigan State’s 3-1 start has been as unimpressive as Northwestern’s goofy 1-3 opening. As Sparty held off Utah State, lost at Arizona State, then took care of Indiana and Central Michigan the Wildcats were winning a thriller at Purdue, losing to a good Duke team, melting down against Akron, and then nearly upset Michigan. MSU has the better record, but have they played like the better team? I mean it is debatable. Consider this, NU’s losses aren’t really connected to anything deficient about the team just bad luck. For example, Akron had three defensive touchdowns. That is fluky. Meanwhile, MSU’s games have been tight because of a common thread: lack of offensive pop. At some point MSU is going to come down on the wrong side of a tight one. For Northwestern fans, they are praying it is this week so they can maybe, hopefully, turn their season around.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, FS1
Snoozer:
Hey the two worst Big Ten teams are in action! This cross-over game may be so bad that it completely breaks my brain.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, BTN…Well considering my GOTW is also an 11 o’clock kick, maybe you should watch that one.
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.
Based on how they played last week, Indiana does not seem like a team capable of strolling into the horse shoe and having much luck against Ohio State but hear me out. First, there is always hangover potential for the Buckeyes. They just had a massive and emotional win. Second, Indiana’s defense has been holding up really well this year. If they can replicate some of the things the Nittany Lions did right a week ago, the Hoosiers could find a narrow path to victory. Lastly, I tend to pick my upset watch games as the game that will do the most damage. For Ohio State to lose at home to Indiana brings Penn State right back into the eastern race and helps both Michigan schools. It could also be a big enough loss to prevent a trip to the “playoffs,” kind of like the Iowa game a season ago.
- Indiana at Ohio State, Saturday, 3:00 pm, Fox
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Nebraska at Wisconsin – Badgers haven’t been the world beaters we expected this season but they are 3-1 and undefeated in league. They got a week to prepare for one of the league’s worst teams and are the home club. Conventional wisdom says Bucky crushes the Huskers but so far nothing has gone as expected for Wisconsin so maybe, just maybe, Nebraska pulls a stunner off in Madison.
- Saturday, 6:30 pm, BTN
Random Musing:
For those of you keeping score of trophy games in the Big Ten, there are two of them this week. One should be pretty obvious. Iowa and Minnesota square off yet again for Floyd of Rosedale. This trophy has an iconic look (a big ass pig) and it has historical value as the pig was introduced in a 1935 bet between governors. On top of all that, the game alone has been played well over a hundred times and dates back to the first meeting in 1891. That leads to this test question…
The other trophy this weekend is?
a) The Lake Michigan Trophy between Michigan State and Northwestern
b) The Freedom Trophy between Nebraska and Wisconsin
c) The Red Cedar Trophy between Maryland and Michigan
d) The Ohio-Shawnee Tomahawk between Indiana and Ohio State
If you guessed B you are correct! The Freedom Trophy dates all the way back to 2014 and the game has been played all of 12 times! At least Iowa and Minnesota had the good sense to play nearly 30 times before introducing a friendly wager on the game. The Freedom trophy reeks of desperation and on top of that is one of the ugliest pieces of shit I have ever seen. Check it out here. To quote Kevin McCallister when he finds a picture of Buzz’s girlfriend: “woof.”
Big Ten and Counting 