Big Ten Football: 16 Most Anticipated Games for 2016 Season
The Big Ten hasn't been hesitant to play in marquee nonconference showdowns, and while that will continue in 2016, the highly anticipated rematches between Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State headline a loaded slate for the league this fall.
The conference's reputation took a huge leap forward during the 2014-15 postseason, when Michigan State beat Baylor in the Cotton Bowl, Wisconsin outlasted Auburn in the Outback Bowl, and Ohio State bulldozed its way through Alabama, as well as Oregon, to win the first-ever College Football Playoff.
But the league took a step back last year as Alabama and Stanford absolutely hammered its two championship participants (Michigan State and Iowa, respectively) by an average of 33.5 points.
Can the Big Ten continue to push forward and challenge the SEC for college football supremacy? These 16 games will shine the brightest spotlight on the league this fall and will go a long way in shaping the conference hierarchy across the board.
No. 16: Northwestern vs. Nebraska
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Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, it's annual showdown with Northwestern has been one of the season's most riveting, pulse-pounding matchups.
The unranked Wildcats stunned the No. 10 Cornhuskers in their first showdown in 2011, scoring 15 fourth-quarter points to secure a 28-25 win on the road. A year later, Nebraska got even when it rallied from 12-points down in the fourth quarter to steal a 29-28 win in Evanston.
The wildest finish came in 2013, when backup Nebraska quarterback Ron Kellogg threw a desperation Hail Mary with his team down three points, which Jordan Westerkamp hauled in, as time expired to register a bizarre 27-24 win.
The last five meetings between these two schools have been decided by an average of six points—a number that Nebraska's 21-point victory in 2014 deceivingly bolstered.
No. 15: Pitt vs. Penn State
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Conference realignment spoiled one of college football's fiercest rivalries when Penn State joined the Big Ten and Pitt found a new home in the Big East.
The Nittany Lions and Panthers had squared off dating back to 1893, but when the two schools joined their respective leagues, the rivalry fizzled and was last played in 2000—a game Pitt won 12-0.
After a 15-year hiatus, the in-state rivalry is set to renew when Penn State invades Heinz Field for a showdown against Pitt. And as Jesse Temple of ESPN.com pointed out, via Brian Bennett, there's no love lost between either school.
"This is a rivalry that features genuine animosity among the two fan bases. ...
This will be a big game for [Penn State head coach] James Franklin, who can't afford to lose to another in-state rival after Penn State fell to Temple last year. It's Big Ten vs. ACC, a grudge match that will have Pennsylvania's full attention. The countdown to Sept. 10 is in full force.
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No. 14: Iowa vs. Nebraska
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Nebraska had a chance to spoil Iowa's perfect regular season last year, but the Hawkeyes made enough plays down the stretch to seal a closer-than-expected 28-20 victory in Memorial Stadium.
That game was knotted up at seven midway through the second quarter when Tommy Armstrong tried to dump off a quick pass to the outlet. That pass was tipped and intercepted by Iowa's Parker Hesse, who returned it four yards to give the Hawkeyes a lead it wouldn't surrender.
"I gave them seven points and put them in great position to, honestly, win the game," Armstrong said, according to Eric Olsen of the Associated Press. "That's something I've got to fix and something I'm going to fix. Don't put the blame anywhere else. The team played well. I didn't. I felt like I let the seniors down."
On November 25, Nebraska will be looking to return the favor and spoil Iowa's senior day when the two teams square off in Kinnick Stadium.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 13: Iowa vs. Wisconsin
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How do two teams with nearly identical football identities find an edge when they meet on the field?
That's the question that will be posed on October 26 when Iowa hosts Wisconsin for a Big Ten West Division showdown.
The Hawkeyes had enough of the answer to pull out a 10-6 win over the Badgers last year. It was an absolute defensive slugfest that featured just 551 total yards between the two teams and only three second-half points.
Fans on both sides shouldn't be surprised by another low-scoring affair—neither team in this series has eclipsed the 30-point mark since the 2010 meeting.
This year's edition will go down in Iowa City, Iowa, and will certainly have huge implications in the race for the West Division title.
No. 12: Michigan State vs. Wisconsin
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The last three times Michigan State and Wisconsin met on the field, they produced instant classics that are routinely replayed on the Big Ten Network.
During the last meeting in 2012, the Spartans handed the Badgers their first home loss in three years with a 16-13 overtime win. It served as the rubber match between the two programs, which split a pair of incredible games the previous year.
In 2011, Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins connected with Keith Nichol on a desperation Hail Mary on the game's final play to steal a 37-31 win in the regular season. Quarterback Russell Wilson got the last laugh in the Big Ten title game six weeks later, rallying the Badgers past the Spartans for 42-39 win and a trip to the Rose Bowl.
The two teams will reunite in the Big Ten season opener on September 24.
No. 11: Nebraska vs. Oregon
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One of the Big Ten's marquee nonconference matchups will come in Week 3 when Nebraska hosts Oregon.
The Cornhuskers are coming off a surprisingly slow start to the Mike Riley era in Lincoln, but the last time they were on the field was in the Foster Farms Bowl. They were huge underdogs against UCLA, but quarterback Tommy Armstrong piled up 250 total yards and two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).
Armstrong is back for Nebraska, and he'll need to be even better against Mark Helfrich's high-flying Oregon Ducks.
No. 10: Wisconsin vs. Ohio State
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It wasn't that long ago when Ohio State and Wisconsin had the Big Ten's best and most heated rivalry.
The Buckeyes and the Badgers have played some close, back-and-forth games in their last few meetings. In 2010, Wisconsin derailed Ohio State's otherwise perfect season with a stunning 31-18 victory that kept the Buckeyes from the national championship game.
Ohio State has won the last three games, including a last-minute, come-from-behind 33-29 victory in 2011 and a 21-14 overtime win on the road in 2012.
This year's edition will take place in Camp Randall Stadium, under the lights with an 8 p.m. kickoff.
No. 9: Penn State vs. Michigan State
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When Rutgers and Maryland joined the Big Ten and the conference reshaped its divisions in 2014, Michigan State and Penn State became a natural, season-ending showdown.
The Spartans have ruled that last week, beating the Nittany Lions 34-10 in 2014 and then walloping them 55-16 last season. Michigan State, of course, was coming off its playoff-propelling upset win over Ohio State, and it played like a team destined for an incredible postseason run in the 39-point win.
The game was such a laugher, even Spartans center Jack Allen got in on the scoring, taking a handoff and racing around the right side for a nine-yard touchdown.
Head coach James Franklin will hope his young team can grow up throughout the season and get some revenge in Happy Valley on November 26.
No. 8: Iowa vs. Michigan
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Jim Harbaugh's first year at the helm of Michigan didn't include a matchup with Iowa, but he'll get a crack at the Hawkeyes when the Wolverines travel to Iowa City for a Week 11 showdown on November 12.
The Wolverines got an indirect bump from Kirk Ferentz's program with the graduate transfer of former Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock, who had a career year at Michigan, completing 64 percent of his passes for 3,017 yards and 20 touchdowns against just nine interceptions.
The Wolverines need to find a new quarterback with the departure of Rudock, but they don't need much else with nine starters back on offense and six on defense.
Iowa could be in the midst of another run at the Big Ten title, and the late-season date with Michigan could determine whether the Hawkeyes win the West Division or not.
No. 7: Penn State vs. Ohio State
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The Penn State-Ohio State rivalry has been decidedly one-sided during Urban Meyer's reign in Columbus as the Buckeyes have won each of the last four meetings.
Last year's meeting got out of hand quickly as Ohio State rattled off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to secure a 21-3 lead at halftime. The Buckeyes ultimately cruised to a 38-10 win that didn't feel that close.
But on October 22, Ohio State will have to travel to Happy Valley for a prime-time showdown Penn State has already dubbed its White Out game for the 2016 season.
The last time the Buckeyes made that trip was in 2014, when the eventual national champion needed double overtime and a Herculean performance from quarterback J.T. Barrett to steal a 31-24 victory.
No. 6: Wisconsin vs. LSU
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The best game of the Big Ten's opening weekend will take place in an NFL stadium when the Wisconsin Badgers play a makeshift host to the LSU Tigers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
These two teams last met at the beginning of the 2014 season in Houston. The Badgers rode running back Melvin Gordon's steady legs to a 24-7 lead through two-and-a-half quarters, but that's when the Tigers started chipping away. They eventually marched off 21 unanswered points to seal a 28-24 win.
Gordon is gone, but running back Corey Clement is hoping to bounce back from last year's injury-riddled season to challenge LSU and one of the country's best ball-carriers in Leonard Fournette.
No. 5: Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
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The Notre Dame-Michigan State matchup was one that fans on both sides of the fence looked forward to every year, but when the Fighting Irish semi-joined the ACC in football, their annual battles with the Spartans (and Michigan) faded.
Fortunately for both programs, the series is set to resume this fall when the Spartans travel to South Bend, Indiana, in Week 3.
The game will serve as an opportunity for redemption for Michigan State, which is spending its offseason agonizing over the humiliating 38-0 defeat to Alabama in the College Football Playoff. A showdown like this against a Notre Dame team that should be ranked in the Top 10.
No. 4: Oklahoma vs. Ohio State
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The 2015 Ohio State football team that bolstered one of the most loaded and experienced rosters in all of college football wouldn't have flinched at an early road date against Oklahoma.
The 2016 Buckeyes are nothing like the '15 edition, though, after losing 16 total starters, including superstars such as running back Ezekiel Elliott, defensive end Joey Bosa and linebacker Darron Lee.
J.T. Barrett is back at quarterback, and he'll be expected to lead an offense that's breaking in eight new starters into a hostile environment and against an excellent Sooners defense.
On the other side of the ball, middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan will anchor a defense that's also replacing eight starters, and he'll be challenged with stopping Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender Baker Mayfield.
No. 3: Michigan State vs. Ohio State
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This has been the best (and, arguably, most significant) rivalry in the Big Ten since Meyer took over the Buckeyes in 2012, and the latest installment will come in Week 12 when Ohio State hits the road to visit Michigan State.
Meyer and the Buckeyes will be looking to avenge last year's shocking 17-14 upset loss at home that knocked Ohio State out of the College Football Playoff race. And by the end of November, when the two teams meet, both squads will have had plenty of time to break in their young rosters and should be firing on all cylinders.
The two teams have gone back and forth since 2012. Ohio State won Meyer's first matchup on the road that year, then the Spartans got even a year later in the Big Ten title game. The Buckeyes got revenge in 2014, winning a 49-37 shootout that catapulted them into playoff contention.
Will Ohio State answer Michigan State's win in 2015, or will the Spartans prove too strong at home?
No. 2: Michigan vs. Michigan State
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Last October, Michigan was 10 seconds away from its first win over rival Michigan State since 2012.
The Wolverines were up 23-21, needing only to execute a routine punt to seal the deal against the Spartans. The snap was bobbled by Michigan punter Blake O'Neill, and Michigan State's Jalen Watts-Jackson plucked it out of the air and returned it 37 yards for the walk-off touchdown and 27-23 win.
It was one of the most bizarre and improbable finishes in college football history, and it kept Michigan State's playoff hopes alive.
"Football is a crazy, crazy game," Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio said, per the Associated Press, via the team's official website. "You can't hardly explain it."
Michigan dominated the game, but it didn't show on the scoreboard. The Wolverines will try to get their payback when they travel to East Lansing on October 29.
No. 1: Michigan vs. Ohio State
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The only thing that could surpass the anticipation for Michigan and Michigan State's rematch is the Round 2 showdown between Meyer and Harbaugh.
Meyer and the Buckeyes convincingly took the first round last November, when a hungry and angry team invaded Ann Arbor and demolished the Wolverines in a 42-13 rout. Ohio State, of course, was a week removed from its lone loss of the season to Michigan State and played the inspired, dominant football that most college football fans had been waiting for all year.
The 2016 edition of The Game could see the script flipped. This time around, it'll be Michigan with the loaded team, as it returns 15 starters, nine of which are on the offensive side of the ball. On the other sideline, Ohio State will have 16 new starters getting their first real action in the rivalry.
Harbaugh has a knack for getting back at rival coaches—he was a thorn in USC head coach Pete Carroll's side during his days at Stanford—and you can bet he's been brewing about the 29-point throttling Meyer and the Buckeyes dished out last November.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
