A huge week for the western division race as current leader Northwestern heads to Iowa. NU needs to win two of their final three to wrap up the division. Iowa needs to beat NU and get some help but are still alive. Wisconsin and Purdue are also lurking. Here’s the kicker though, NU can win the whole thing this Saturday if they beat Iowa and both Purdue and Wisconsin lose. Got all that? Good. All times are central.
Game of the Week:
Northwestern at Iowa
The bottom line is Iowa is a talented team done in by some horrible coaching and erratic quarterback play but they are the most complete team in the division. Will it matter? Probably not because NU can still win the division if they win their final two games (at Minnesota and Illinois) but Iowa’s last stand for the division comes down this week. NU’s rushing game has been a mess and Iowa’s rush defense has been on fire so the Cats should be one-dimensional and not score a ton. Can Iowa’s shaky offense take advantage? The eyes of the Hawkeye state will be glued to find out.
- Saturday, 2:30 pm, Fox
Sleeper:
While not the blockbuster this game has been in the past it is still an intriguing one. MSU’s defense is nasty so they can make any game a dirty, grinding, low-scoring, slop fest…aka…Big Ten football in November. Ohio State is trying to keep pace with Michigan so the season finale decides the division and MSU is just trying to play spoiler, improve their bowl seeding, and get wrap up a season hampered by injuries and hope 2019 is a return to glory. Knocking off Ohio State would help the spoiler-ness, improve their bowl, and could kick-start 2019. Should be a fun one.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, Fox
Don’t Forget:
Slim divisional dreams still remain for the Boilers but at 5-4 objective number one still has to be locking down a bowl. The rebuilding Gophers sit at 4-5 so their bowl hopes are also alive but need to be secured with not much season left to get to a sixth win. In terms of the actual match-up, Purdue’s outstanding offense must have loved watching the tape of the struggling Gopher defense. Can Minnesota get enough stops to pull the upset? Can Minnesota get any stops? Exciting questions.
- Saturday, 2:30 pm, ESPN 2
Snoozer:
The last time Michigan played at Rutgers the final was 78-0. I’m not saying, I’m just saying…
- Saturday, 2:30 pm, BTN
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.
Not all upsets will have national title implications but Wisconsin‘s trip to Penn State at least presents some divisional implications. Wisconsin was the heavy favorite in the off-season and absolutely nothing has gone right this year but they are still mathematically in the western race. They won’t be for long though if Jonathan Taylor can’t go off and carry his struggling team to a big upset in State College. As for the Lions, they hope to get back into an offensive groove after a LONG day against Michigan.
- Wisconsin at Penn State, Saturday, 11:00 am, ABC
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Illinois at Nebraska – Huskers already have seven losses and 4-5 Illinois has their bowl hopes hanging by a thread so not a ton on the line in Lincoln this week but this should still be a fun game. NU has scored at will against everybody and Illinois’ defense has had its fair share of struggles. Illinois boasts a really good rush attack that has the ability to explode (just ask Minnesota about that) and NU’s defense has had its fair share of struggles. Could be a fun one between two rebuilding clubs.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, BTN
Indiana vs Maryland – 5-4 Maryland and 4-5 Indiana are both fighting towards that bowl game in College Park this weekend. The M.O. on Maryland is that if you can find a way to slow that nasty jet sweep at all, you are in good shape (see: Iowa and Michigan State’s wins over UM) but if they go off, you are in for a nasty game (see: Texas’s loss). Does Indiana have the chops to slow Maryland down? Guess we’ll find out.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, BTN
Random Musing:
Northwestern can win the division this week. Wow. Fitz runs a great program and I didn’t think NU would be shutout from the title game for its entire program history, but based on how Wisconsin was on paper, how Iowa looked at times this year and Purdue’s high ceiling (see upset over Ohio State) I just didn’t think this was NU’s year to grab the divisional crown yet here we sit.
Big Ten and Counting 