Big Ten Football: 15 Most Anticipated Games for 2015 Season
Thanks to the presence of the defending national champions and several new head coaches heading into their crucial first seasons, the Big Ten has plenty of exciting matchups and storylines on the schedule for 2015.
With some of the nation's most storied rivalries and a few massive nonconference matchups, fans all across the league have been anticipating some of these games since the conference set the schedules months and even years ago.
Here are the 15 most anticipated games in the conference for the 2015 season. These games were ranked by national spotlight, rivalry bragging rights and their places on the calendar—the stakes grow as the season continues.
Which Big Ten games are you looking forward to the most in 2015? What other contests would make your top-15 lists? Let us know in the comments below.
15. Iowa at Nebraska, Nov. 27
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This regular-season-ending matchup will get a special spotlight this year, as Iowa and Nebraska will play on the day after Thanksgiving at Memorial Stadium.
Last year's matchup between these two West Division rivals went down to the wire, with Nebraska rallying from a 24-7 deficit, Iowa retaking the lead with 1:49 left and Nebraska kicking a late field goal to send the game into overtime. After Iowa hit a field goal to open the overtime period, Kenny Bell caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Armstrong Jr. to give Nebraska its third win in four years over Iowa.
This season, Nebraska head coach Mike Riley will be looking to wrap up his first regular season in Lincoln with a home win against one of the Huskers' biggest rivals. This matchup could play a big role in the postseason destinations for both teams and should be a fun Friday showdown in the biggest weekend of the college football calendar.
14. Michigan at Utah, Sept. 3
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Head coach Jim Harbaugh won't be able to ease into things at Michigan at all.
Harbaugh's first game in charge will be a road game against a Utah program that won this matchup, 26-10, in Ann Arbor last season and a 2008 season opener against the Wolverines. The Utes return 14 starters from last season's squad, including first-team All-Pac-12 running back Devontae Booker and defensive lineman Hunter Dimick, who recorded 14.5 tackles for loss in 2014.
The anticipation to see how Michigan looks for the first time under its new head coach will be massive heading into the opening weekend of the season. A Thursday night prime-time slot will only make the spotlight bigger in Salt Lake City for the start of a new era in Michigan football.
13. Iowa at Wisconsin, Oct. 3
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New Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst's Big Ten opener has the potential to be an important one, as it will also be the first conference game in a crucial year for Iowa and head coach Kirk Ferentz.
This has been a close series recently, as the two schools have split their last 10 meetings. Last season, Wisconsin got another huge performance from running back Melvin Gordon—now off to the NFL—and held off a second-half charge from the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
The result in this one could set the tone for a season of great success or more disappointment in the Big Ten West. A new-look Wisconsin team will be going for its sixth win over Iowa in eight years, but keep in mind that all but one of those wins were one-possession games.
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12. Michigan State at Nebraska, Nov. 7
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Michigan State will most likely be the favorites heading into this matchup in Lincoln, but the Spartans learned in 2014 they can't let up against the Huskers.
Last October, the Spartans took a 27-3 lead into the fourth quarter at home and almost lost it. Nebraska rallied to make it a 27-22 game and got the ball back with a little over a minute left, but Trae Waynes picked off a Tommy Armstrong Jr. pass to prevent a historic collapse in East Lansing.
This year's game will kick off what will be a tough November for Michigan State, one that will determine if the Spartans have a shot at making this year's College Football Playoff. Will Michigan State finish Nebraska off decisively this year, or will Nebraska pull off the upset it narrowly missed in 2014?
11. Penn State vs. Maryland (in Baltimore), Oct. 24
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Maryland head coach Randy Edsall let reporters know what he wanted to see from the Penn State-Maryland series after last season's game, which included a pregame scuffle and a game-winning field goal for his Terrapins in the final minute.
"Let the rivalry begin now; let it begin," Edsall said after Maryland's 20-19 win, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "There should be a trophy for this game. It's a bordering state. Let's have some fun. Let's really make it competitive."
The Terps won't have a true home game against former head coach James Franklin and Penn State this season, as they'll play the 2015 matchup in Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium. But the atmosphere and on-field action should make for another tense clash in a budding rivalry.
10. TCU at Minnesota, Sept. 3
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Minnesota will be looking for some big-time revenge on the first night of the season as it takes on national title contender TCU on a Thursday night in Minneapolis.
While the Golden Gophers had a strong 2014 campaign and a shot at making it to Indianapolis for the conference title game, the Horned Frogs manhandled them for their biggest loss of the season. TCU held Minnesota to just 268 yards of offense, and the Golden Gophers turned the ball over five times in the 30-7 defeat away from home.
Minnesota might be a long shot in this season opener, but it will have the advantage of playing on its home field and having all of the pressure on what should be a highly ranked TCU team. A solid performance could be the start to another good season for this program, and an upset would be one of the school's biggest wins in a long time.
9. Wisconsin at Nebraska, Oct. 10
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Wisconsin simply had Bo Pelini's number during his tenure at Nebraska. Now the question is if Mike Riley will suffer the same fate.
The Badgers are 3-1 against the Huskers since their arrival in the Big Ten, and the Wisconsin wins have been lopsided on the scoreboard—48-17, 70-31 and 59-24. Last year, the Badgers took home the first edition of the Freedom Trophy series largely in part to Melvin Gordon's record-breaking 408-yard performance.
Pelini and Gordon are both gone from this series now, along with former Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen. This clash between two first-year head coaches will be vital to their individual successes in the 2015 season.
8. Michigan State at Michigan, Oct. 17
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With six wins in the last seven meetings, Michigan State has the upper hand and then some against Michigan, who desperately wants to change the momentum in this in-state series.
Jim Harbaugh's first big rivalry matchup will be a home game against the Spartans, who could be national title contenders this season. Sparty's last two wins against Michigan have been decisive, and another one this season would make head coach Mark Dantonio 7-2 against the Wolverines.
In addition to its recent success, Michigan State also has history on its side, as Sporting News' Bill Bender notes the last Michigan head coach to beat the Spartans in his first season was Bennie Oosterbaan all the way back in 1948. If Harbaugh can break that streak, he would have his first signature win back in Ann Arbor.
7. Ohio State at Virginia Tech, Sept. 7
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Ohio State's lone loss in its 2014 national championship run was an ugly one, a 35-21 defeat to a Virginia Tech team that only finished 7-6 on the season.
So, on Labor Day night, the Buckeyes will definitely be fired up for revenge and what they hope will be the start of another title-winning campaign.
This matchup in Blacksburg will be the first chance the country gets to see the defending champions in action and to see how they resolved their three-headed quarterback drama. The atmosphere in Lane Stadium should be rocking for this prime-time matchup as Ohio State shoots for a big road win to kick off its 2015 season.
6. Wisconsin at Minnesota, Nov. 28
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The last 11 battles for Paul Bunyan's Axe have gone to Wisconsin, but the Badgers don't have as much of a dominant advantage over Minnesota anymore.
Case in point: Wisconsin had to rally from an early 17-3 hole to win this matchup, which determined the winner of the Big Ten's West Division. That's a long way away from some of the blowouts in the last decade of this series.
The Badgers will be wrapping up a regular season of transition when they face the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis this November. If there was a perfect time for Minnesota to snap its long losing streak and claim the ax, this season might be it.
5. Wisconsin vs. Alabama (in Arlington, Texas), Sept. 5
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Like Jim Harbaugh, Paul Chryst doesn't get a cupcake to start his head coaching tenure in Wisconsin. And, no disrespect to Utah, but the Badgers' opening draw for 2015 is a lot tougher—defending SEC champion Alabama.
For the second straight season, Wisconsin opens the season in the Lone Star State with a neutral-site game against a SEC West power. The Badgers blew a 24-7 lead to LSU in Houston last year and will be looking for a different kind of start to the season under their new leadership.
This game should be an entertaining one in Jerry World between two programs that love to run the ball and exert their control up front. The Badgers will hope to have a performance against an SEC program more like their 2014 finale, an overtime Outback Bowl win against Auburn, instead of their opener.
4. Penn State at Ohio State, Oct. 17
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Ohio State's closest call in the Big Ten last season came against Penn State, who fell 31-24 to the Buckeyes in overtime at Beaver Stadium—and the rematch has all the makings of another tight one.
This year's game will be at the Horseshoe in Columbus, a place where Penn State won two of its last four meetings with Ohio State. To make this game even more of a potential blockbuster, both teams could easily be undefeated heading into this one thanks to a pair of favorable early-season schedules.
The 2015 meeting between Ohio State and Penn State could be the first marquee Big Ten game of the season. A win for Ohio State would be the passing of a major conference test, while a Penn State upset could give the Nittany Lions huge momentum in the Big Ten race.
3. Oregon at Michigan State, Sept. 12
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The second half of this home-and-home series between the Spartans and the Ducks should be another incredible top-10 matchup. And, this season, Michigan State will have the upper hand on Oregon after last season's loss in Eugene.
The contrasting styles of these two programs should make for a fun nonconference clash in Spartan Stadium. While the Ducks will be without Marcus Mariota, who guided them to a comeback victory last year, the Spartans return their starting quarterback and a host of veteran starters on both sides of the ball.
All eyes will be on this matchup in the second weekend of the season. This game should determine how serious of a national championship contender Mark Dantonio has on his hands in East Lansing.
2. Ohio State at Michigan, Nov. 28
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This one has been talked about since Jim Harbaugh was first rumored to become the new head coach at Michigan—his first meeting with Urban Meyer and Ohio State.
"Harbaugh vs. Meyer I" could be the start of another star-studded series between these two fierce rivals. To make things even more intriguing, Michigan will have home-field advantage at The Big House and could have the extra motivation to derail the Buckeyes' chance at a second consecutive national title.
Few rivalries are as big as Ohio State-Michigan, and the presence of these two big-name coaches should crank up the anticipation even more as the year continues. Although Ohio State has won 11 of the last 13, this game is always a must-watch.
1. Michigan State at Ohio State, Nov. 21
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Only one game could knock the first Harbaugh-Meyer meeting off the pedestal as the most anticipated Big Ten game of the season—Michigan State vs. Ohio State, a battle between the conference's top two programs.
The last few games between these two schools have been tight. Michigan State won a 10-7 game to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Buckeyes. Ohio State countered with a 17-16 win in 2012. And the Spartans ended the Buckeyes' title dreams in 2013 with a 34-24 victory in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Last season, J.T. Barrett led an offensive explosion in East Lansing as Ohio State held off Michigan State for a 49-37 victory in a title-winning season.
This game should determine who goes to Indianapolis as the Big Ten's East Division champion and who stays alive in the national title hunt. The biggest game on the conference's schedule just got a lot bigger this year.
Justin Ferguson is an on-call college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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