Ranking Best Big Ten Football Matchups of Week 4
Week 3 was the Big Ten's showcase week on the national stage, and it started off disastrously, as West Division contenders Iowa and Wisconsin struggled. The Hawkeyes fell to FCS foe North Dakota State 23-21, while the Badgers barely squeaked past a winless Georgia State team, needing a fourth-quarter rally to earn a 23-17 victory.
But the conference made a lasting impression on Saturday evening, as Michigan beat a peskier-than-it-looks Colorado team, Nebraska bested Oregon in an upset at home and heavyweights Ohio State and Michigan State notched huge road wins over Oklahoma and Notre Dame, respectively.
It was a "statement Saturday" that propelled the Big Ten into the same conversation as the SEC for conference supremacy. The league has four teams inside the top 11 of the AP Poll (No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 11 Wisconsin), while Nebraska checks in at No. 20.
Four of the Big Ten's ranked teams will be in action this week while Ohio State enjoys its bye week. With most teams wrapping up their nonconference slates last Saturday, league play officially kicks off for the Big Ten this weekend.
Here are the Big Ten's top matchups for Week 4.
5. Iowa at Rutgers
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Iowa was one play away from winning the Big Ten and making the College Football Playoff a season ago, and with 15 starters back this fall, Kirk Ferentz's squad came into the season with aspirations of finishing what it started in 2015.
All was well through two weeks, as it posted victories over Miami (OH) and Iowa State by an average of 31.5 points, but the Hawkeyes' playoff hopes were dashed when they fell in a 23-21 upset to North Dakota State last Saturday.
The Bison defense shut down the Iowa offense. C.J. Beathard completed just 50 percent of his passes for 152 yards, and a rushing attack that should've had a huge advantage managed just 34 yards on 25 carries (1.4 yards per attempt).
The Hawkeyes will aim to get back on track this weekend when they hit the road for a showdown with Rutgers.
After getting dumped 48-13 by Washington in the season opener, the Scarlet Knights have started to trend in the right direction offensively, scoring 52 and 37 points in wins over Howard and New Mexico, respectively.
4. Wake Forest at Indiana
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No one expected an undefeated showdown between Indiana and Wake Forest in Week 4, but that's what we'll be getting when the Hoosiers (2-0) and the Demon Deacons (3-0) kick off at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
It was 10 years ago when Wake Forest triggered a resurgence under former head coach Jim Grobe. After a 4-7 campaign the previous year, the Demon Deacons bulldozed their way to an ACC championship and an Orange Bowl bid in 2006. But they've regressed since reaching that peak and have won a combined 15 games over the last four seasons.
If they want to make a bowl game this winter, they'll need to overcome the injury to quarterback John Wolford and a rested Hoosiers squad that's coming off a bye week.
Indiana came into the season needing to replace two of the most productive offensive weapons in school history, quarterback Nate Sudfeld and running back Jordan Howard. Richard Lagow has picked up where Sudfeld left off, throwing four touchdowns against no interceptions, while Devine Redding leads the Big Ten with 122.5 rushing yards per game.
3. Nebraska at Northwestern
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Was Nebraska's 35-32 victory over Oregon last Saturday the breakthrough win Cornhuskers fans have been waiting for?
Nebraska went through the Bo Pelini era feeling like a team that was one big win away from breaking into the national conversation and legitimate Big Ten contention. That win never materialized, which is why the Cornhuskers went after Mike Riley. And after one transition year, the Cornhuskers look primed to compete in a wide-open Big Ten West Division.
But waiting for them in the first week of conference play is Northwestern, which has spoiled a number of big moments for Nebraska. The two teams have played some nail-biting thrillers since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten, with four of their five matchups producing an average margin of victory of just 2.25 points.
In 2015, the Cornhuskers held the Wildcats to just 333 yards of total offense, but a pick-six thrown by Tommy Armstrong Jr. and a failed two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter helped Northwestern to a 30-28 victory.
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2. Penn State at Michigan
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Michigan enters league play 3-0 and ranked fourth in the latest AP Poll, but despite the lopsided victories it's produced through three weeks, there are still questions surrounding Jim Harbaugh's squad.
Many of those questions were on full display in the first quarter of last Saturday's game against Colorado, when quarterback Sefo Liufau carved up the Wolverines secondary to help the Buffaloes build a 21-7 lead. The running game still looks like a concern as well, as the Wolverines ran for just 168 yards on 41 carries, averaging a hair over four yards per carry against an overmatched defense.
Can the Nittany Lions expose any of those potential weaknesses?
Oddsmakers are having a hard time believing so, as the Wolverines opened as 15.5-point favorites, and that number has steadily grown throughout the week, according to Odds Shark.
There's a good chance that Penn State will be without three starting linebackers against the Wolverines, which is the last thing the defense needs after giving up an incredible 341 rushing yards to Pitt two weeks ago.
That'll put pressure on a young Nittany Lions offense against a playmaking defense in a hostile environment. Quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley will have to be at their bests to keep this one close.
1. Wisconsin at Michigan State
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After a three-year hiatus, one of the Big Ten's best matchups will be rekindled when Wisconsin makes the trip to East Lansing for a showdown with Michigan State.
The Badgers and the Spartans carried the Big Ten flag from 2010-13, when each team won or shared a win of the conference championship. The budding rivalry reached its peak in 2011, when the Spartans beat the Badgers with a last-second Hail Mary in the regular season before Wisconsin returned the favor with a thrilling 42-39 win in the Big Ten title game.
On Saturday, the undefeated pair will meet with serious conference title implications hanging in the balance. A win for the No. 8 Spartans is vital, as they play in the loaded East Division that also features Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. The No. 11 Badgers have a little more room for error in the West Division but not much, as they have a cross-divisional game against Ohio State looming in October.
Michigan State will come into the contest with more momentum after a season-defining 36-28 upset win over Notre Dame on the road. Wisconsin will be looking to bounce back from an ugly performance in the form of a come-from-behind 23-17 win over Georgia State.
That and home-field advantage are the biggest reasons why Michigan State is favored to win by six, according to Odds Shark.
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