The fall air has hit a large portion of Big Ten country, which is no coincidence now that conference play is in full swing.
16 of the 18 Big Ten programs are in action during Week 6 of the college football season, with Illinois and Maryland watching from the sideline this weekend. Which games should they and football fans be paying attention to with eight games to choose from?
The matchup between the Michigan State Spartans and Oregon Ducks didn’t make the cut, although former Oregon State quarterback and head coach Jonathan Smith, now the head coach of the Spartans, will want to take down his longtime rival with fellow former Beavers QB Aidan Chiles.
A likely blowout matchup between the UCLA Bruins and Penn State Nittany Lions didn’t make our list either.
The rest a case can be made for, so here we pick four out of the remaining six as the best in a generally ho-hum week of contests in the Big Ten.
USC Trojans at Minnesota Golden Gophers
Saturday, October 5 at 7:30 PM ET
It’s luck that has two teams that played two different games in one last week square off. The Trojans and Golden Gophers needed big second half performances last week, in USC’s case to take down Wisconsin and in Minnesota’s case to pull off an upset over Michigan, which they were unable to do.
USC QB Miller Moss will have to play a complete game after having a first half to forget last week. Minnesota’s defense is very good even when you adjust for quality of opponent. Only five defenses have allowed fewer yards per game, and only Iowa has gained more than 252 total yards.
Iowa Hawkeyes at Ohio State Buckeyes
Saturday, October 5 at 3:30 PM ET
The 20.5-point spread is unsightly, but it’s known that the Iowa defense is strong, even if not at ‘best defense in the nation’ level at this time. The question is if the offense can do anything against the current best defense in the country.
A bye week and two straight wins while scoring 30-plus each time is a start. And think of the CFP implications should the Buckeyes lose.
Michigan Wolverines at Washington Huskies
Saturday, October 5 at 7:30 PM ET
Both teams can exploit the opposing team’s defense, with Michigan rallying to the run game with QB turmoil, and Washington excelling at passing the ball against the third-worst pass defense in the Big Ten.
This is a good road test to see if the Wolverines can do enough on offense in a hostile environment.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Nebraska Cornhuskers
Rutgers is 2-0 in one score games, including a win on the road at Virginia Tech. The last time an undefeated team came to Lincoln, Nebraska folded in crunch time, ending their own run for perfection.
The Cornhuskers have dominated at home, save the second half against Illinois. Their struggles Week 5 can’t carry over in a game against a below average defense that bends (352.3 yards allowed per game) but doesn’t break (16.3 points per game).
A Rutgers win would put voters in an unenviable position at 5-0.