One of the more unusual slates comes to Big Ten country this week. Highly ranked OSU is off, there are no games between ranked opponents, and two of the match-ups are against non conference foes. The biggest thing I’m looking at is some one and two win squads having favorable games to get back in the win column. This could be a make-or-break week for some bowl hopes. Should be a fun, albeit understated, slate. All times are central.
Game of the Week:
- Indiana at Maryland
The Hoosiers are 2-2 but a few plays away from being 3-1 if they had knocked off Louisville. Of course their two point win over Akron was nerve-wracking and now they hit the road to take on undefeated Maryland. An IU win would be a great upset victory for Allen’s squad and on the flip side, a UM win will get them to 5-0. Coming into the season we knew Maryland could move the ball but the defense has put in some work. They held MSU to just nine points, Towson to just six, Charlotte hit 20 points thanks to a garbage time touchdown, and Virginia put up 14 first quarter points and then were shutout the rest of the way. If UM’s defense shines like that yet again, it will be a tough task for Indiana. But with the Hoosiers desperate to get to 3-2 and Maryland hopeful to keep the hot start going, I expect both teams to ball out Saturday afternoon.
- Saturday, 2:30 PM, BTN
Sleeper GOTW:
- Illinois at Purdue
Two desperate teams square off in West Lafayette. Purdue has slipped to 1-3 with back to back blowouts, being outscored a combined 73 to 17. Their defense has looked dreadful the past two outings. Facing them is Illinois, who knocked off FAU to get to 2-2 but it was a shaky game, winning just 23-17 against the Owl’s back-up quarterback. With the remaining games these two have, it feels like the loser will have a gargantuan task to get to a bowl. Should mean a pair of hungry clubs battling out.
- Saturday, 2:30 PM, Peacock
Don’t Forget:
- Michigan State at Iowa
After the worst offensive performance in 23 years, Iowa looks to rebound against a reeling MSU outfit. With how poor MSU’s defense has played, Iowa surely will move the ball…right? Right? Meanwhile, MSU is 2-2 but coming off two lopsided losses, being outscored 72-16 over the last eight quarters. If they drop to 2-3, it becomes nearly impossible for them to go bowling with their remaining slate…but of course after the Mel Tucker debacle, they might just be checked out and playing out the string.
- Saturday, 6:30 PM, NBC / Peacock
Snoozer:
- Wagner at Rutgers
Rutgers is 3-1 with their lone blemish against that nasty Michigan squad. Wagner is 2-2 and their one game against FBS competition was a 24-0 laugher loss to Navy. RU should roll.
- Saturday, 2:30 PM, BTN – The GOTW and Sleeper GOTW are the same time. Why would anyone watch this game?
Upset Watch:
- Louisiana at Minnesota
The Ragin’ Cajuns are 3-1 with just a one-score road loss to Old Dominion keeping them from being 4-0. The Gophers are 2-2 after a dumbfounding loss to Northwestern where they were dominating and then went full on turtle mode and played not to lose…which then means they lost. Despite being on a two game skid, Vegas has the Gophers as 9.5 point favorites. Why? Other than being Big Ten versus Sun Belt, what has Minnesota done to demonstrate they are ten points better than these scrappy Cajuns? Exactly. Classic upset scenario.
- Saturday, 11:00 AM, BTN
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Michigan at Nebraska – The number-two ranked team in America hits the road for the first time but their hosts have struggled to score this year and UM is giving up just 5.75 points per game. Look for that D to suffocate yet another opponent.
- Saturday, 2:30 PM, Fox
Penn State at Northwestern – No doubt surprising even their fans, Northwestern is 2-2 after that comeback win against the Gophers last week. Now they take on a PSU team that flat-out embarrassed Iowa last week. PSU’s defense should make NU’s life pretty miserable but the Cats did get in sync a week ago so maybe they acquit themselves better than the hapless Hawks.
- Saturday, 11:00 AM, BTN
Bye Week:
Ohio State, Wisconsin
Random Musing:
If Rutgers and Maryland win, the Terps will be 5-0 and RU 4-1. Their remaining schedules are:
- Maryland: at OSU, Illinois, at Northwestern, Penn State, at Nebraska, Michigan, at Rutgers
- Rutgers: at Wisconsin, MSU, at Indiana, OSU, at Iowa, at Penn State, Maryland
I don’t see how UM doesn’t win at least one of those remaining seven. I’d put their bowl hopes at about 99.9%. For Rutgers they have good shots against MSU and Indiana but also that goofy Iowa team. I’d put their bowl hopes at about 55% right now. This would be so cool for those schools AND the league if both UM and RU went bowling in the same year, and in UM’s case, they have a good shot at nine regular season wins. What a fun year for these squads.
Big Ten and Counting 