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You know how it goes every year: a team comes from out of nowhere to have a surprisingly good season.
In the Big Ten, it happened last year with Indiana, which used the overtime win in Week 1 over Penn State as something of a springboard into its best season in 30 years. Penn State had it in 2016 when it beat Ohio State after having already lost two games that season — the Nittany Lions ultimately won the conference as a result.
Conversely, a loss could be a springboard to disaster as it could spiral a season out of control. That’s why certain games on the schedule are season-defining — especially if they’re surrounded by other important games.
With that in mind, this is each game that has incredible pertinence for each Big Ten team, as they could make-or-break the 2021 season for each program.
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