Ranking Best Big Ten Football Matchups of Week 6
After a wild Saturday that featured a Top 10 showdown, some bizarre upsets and a pair of overtime thrillers, the Big Ten proved itself as one of the more unpredictable conferences in the country.
That makes a Week 6 slate that looks relatively cut and dried on paper much more interesting.
Ohio State and Michigan have established themselves as the class of the league and currently rank inside the Top Four in the Associated Press poll. But Maryland and Indiana have shown they're capable of making some noise, as the Terrapins are a perfect 5-0 and the Hoosiers are coming off a 24-21 overtime upset of Michigan State.
With Wisconsin and Northwestern on a bye week, here are the five best matchups in the Big Ten.
5. Iowa @ Minnesota
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Iowa's season is hanging by a thread after a stunning 38-31 loss to Northwestern at home, and on Saturday, head coach Kirk Ferentz will take his team on the road to play an angry Minnesota squad.
The Hawkeyes came into the year with sky-high expectations after last year's undefeated regular-season run, but they've lost two of their first five games and haven't looked particularly impressive in two of their three wins. The bottom seemed to fall out after Week 3's 23-21 loss to North Dakota State, and now they need their best performance of the year to stay above the .500 mark in conference play.
That'll be tough against the Gophers, who were just a few plays away from beating Penn State on the road. A last-second 40-yard field goal from Nittany Lions kicker Tyler Davis forced overtime, where Minnesota ultimately fell, 29-26.
Oddsmakers expect a close game in Minneapolis, as the Hawkeyes check in as 1.5-point favorites, per Odds Shark.
4. Michigan @ Rutgers
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Michigan won its Top 10 bout with Wisconsin, 14-7, but the score doesn't convey the sense of control Jim Harbaugh's squad had the entire game.
The Badgers managed just 159 yards against Michigan's stingy defense, which is thriving thanks to Jabrill Peppers' move to linebacker. And on Saturday night, under the lights in Piscataway, New Jersey, that defense will be in the spotlight when it faces off against Rutgers.
That's because the Scarlet Knights are coming off a 58-0 obliteration at the hands of Ohio State. Quarterback Chris Laviano was thwarted by the Buckeyes defense as Rutgers gained just 116 total yards in the shutout loss.
Can Michigan, which is on the heels of Ohio State in the national rankings, be as impressive against the same Scarlet Knights team?
It could be tough to discern, as Hurricane Matthew may disrupt the game if the forecast holds up.
3. Maryland @ Penn State
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Penn State bounced back nicely from the 39-point beating it received from Michigan in Week 4, coming from behind to snag a 29-26 overtime victory over Minnesota. But for the Nittany Lions to completely turn the page from that embarrassing loss two weeks ago, they'll have to beat the surprise team of the Big Ten, Maryland.
The Terrapins look much further along in their rebuilding project than most had expected. New head coach D.J. Durkin has his defense playing excellent football, as the unit ranks No. 10 nationally in points allowed and No. 24 in yards surrendered.
The Maryland defense is complemented by an offense that's getting big plays from a pair of running backs—sophomore Ty Johnson and freshman Lorenzo Harrison—who have combined to run for an impressive 619 yards and seven touchdowns through four games.
The undefeated Terrapins travel to Happy Valley, where they'll have to stop the Big Ten's most productive running back, Saquon Barkley, who leads the league with seven rushing touchdowns.
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2. Indiana @ Ohio State
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Ohio State has been the Big Ten's most dominant team, ranking third nationally in scoring offense and fourth in total offense, while its relentless defense ranks first in points allowed and third in total yards surrendered.
So why is Urban Meyer so concerned with Indiana?
"Indiana is real," Meyer said earlier this week, according to Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors. "The players are engaged, and really good players come in and watch video tape and we respect every opponent, but sometimes when the film is not very good, that's where you have to create scenarios or maybe not even show them much film."
That isn't the case with the Hoosiers coming to town. After upsetting Michigan State in prime time last weekend, Indiana has Ohio State's full attention, which would've been the case regardless of last week's outcome.
Over the last two seasons, the Hoosiers have played the Buckeyes surprisingly close. The eventual national champion team in 2014 needed a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Hoosiers, and last year's game came down to a last-second Indiana Hail Mary that was batted away by the Buckeyes.
Everything was setting up for this to be a trap game for the Buckeyes, who will be making back-to-back road trips to Wisconsin and Penn State following the Indiana game. But the Hoosiers have proved more than capable of ruining a contender's season.
1. BYU @ Michigan State
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It's incredible how fast things have changed for Michigan State.
Just two short weeks ago, the Spartans were riding high after what looked like a marquee win on the road over a ranked Notre Dame team. They had climbed to the No. 8 ranking in the AP poll and entered their home matchup with Wisconsin with a ton of momentum.
The Badgers halted that momentum in dramatic fashion with a 30-6 thumping, and then the floor completely fell beneath the Spartans when they were upset by Indiana in prime time Saturday night.
Now, instead of chasing a conference championship and a potential berth in the playoff, head coach Mark Dantonio has to figure out how to get his team out of its current last place standing in the Big Ten East Division.
Before Michigan State can do that, though, it has to get past a pesky BYU team.
The Cougars are just 2-3 on the year, but they've played one of the hardest schedules in the country and have been in every game they've played. Their three losses have come to heavyweights Utah, UCLA and West Virginia by a combined seven points.
This is a much better team than its record would indicate.
That's why the Spartans only come in as five-point favorites, according to Odds Shark. And if the Dantonio can't figure out a way to turn things around against BYU, the Cougars are plenty capable of putting Michigan State in an even bigger hole.
Rankings courtesy of CFBStats.com.
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