Ranking Best Big Ten Football Matchups of Week 8
After a week of big games last Saturday, the Big Ten hierarchy is starting to solidify.
No. 2 Ohio State went into Madison, Wisconsin for a showdown with the Badgers and escaped with a 30-23 overtime win. No. 8 Nebraska continues to pile up wins and is coming off a hard-fought 27-22 win over a much-improved Indiana team.
Iowa continued to bounce back from disappointing upsets to North Dakota State and Northwestern with a victory over Purdue, and the Wildcats pushed Michigan State further down the totem pole by hanging 54 on the Spartans in East Lansing.
What's in store for the Big Ten this week?
No. 5: Michigan State @ Maryland
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How far will the Spartans fall?
It feels like Michigan State (2-4) has descended to a new low every week since beating Notre Dame in what looked like a huge win at the time.
Mark Dantonio's squad was manhandled by Wisconsin in a 30-6 blowout loss a week after beating the Irish. They followed that up by losing to Indiana, getting pushed around by BYU and then being gashed for 54 points by a Northwestern offense that had managed just seven points in a loss to Illinois State in Week 2.
Is there anything Dantonio can do to salvage the Spartans' season?
They have an opportunity to turn a corner this week against a slumping Maryland squad that has averaged just 12 points in back-to-back losses to Penn State and Minnesota.
But with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State still on the schedule, Michigan State absolutely needs this win to jeep there hopes of bowl eligibility alive.
No. 4: Purdue @ Nebraska
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If not for Michigan State's complete and utter collapse, Nebraska would be the surprise of the Big Ten in 2016.
The No. 8 Cornhuskers seemed to turn a corner last season when they upset UCLA 37-29 in the Foster Farms Bowl last December. They rode that momentum into the 2016 season as they've ripped off six straight victories, but only one of those wins have come against a team above .500 (Wyoming).
The toughest tests for Nebraska are in the weeks ahead with back-to-back road trips to Wisconsin and Ohio State, but a unique challenge awaits Mike Riley's squad this Saturday when it hosts Purdue.
The Boilermakers have been a Big Ten bottom-dweller for years and have won just nine games since the start of 2011, prompting the university to part ways with former head coach Darrell Hazell.
But that's why Purdue is such a wild card for the Cornhuskers. It's hard to game plan for a team with a new head coach—wide receivers coach Gerad Parker will take over an interim role—and Purdue is plenty explosive with a passing offense that ranks 19th nationally.
Nebraska should roll—it's favored by 24, according to Odds Shark—but this will be the final tuneup before the conference slate ramps up in difficulty.
No. 3: Illinois @ Michigan
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After a week away from the action, Michigan is set to return to the field and resume its march toward a potential playoff berth when it hosts Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
The last time the Wolverines were on the field, they were beating Rutgers in one of the most complete displays of domination in the Big Ten this season. Jim Harbaugh's squad piled up 600 yards of total offense and limited the Scarlet Knights to an unbelievable 39 yards in a 78-0 walloping.
That was Michigan's first road game of the season, but it'll be back in the Big House this Saturday when an Illinois squad that's still trying to find its bearings under new head coach Lovie Smith comes to Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines opened as 28-point favorites, but the line has swelled to 36 throughout the week, according to Odds Shark.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 2: Wisconsin @ Iowa
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How will Wisconsin bounce back from a crushing overtime loss to Ohio State?
The Badgers had the No. 2 Buckeyes on the ropes and led 16-6 midway through the third quarter, but J.T. Barrett and a stubborn Buckeyes offense scored 24 of the game's final 31 points to escape with the win. It felt like Wisconsin just ran out of gas under the lights.
T.J. Watt and Co. will have to refuel quickly, though, as they head to Iowa City for a noon ET showdown with a surging Iowa team.
The 10th-ranked Badgers can't afford another loss in a surprisingly competitive Big Ten West Division. They're already behind two games in the win column to both the Hawkeyes and the surprising Nebraska Cornhuskers, because they were a bit unlucky in drawing Michigan and Ohio State as cross-divisional opponents this year.
To get back on track and keep their division title hopes alive, Wisconsin will have to take this game against the Hawkeyes, who have won back-to-back games against Minnesota and Purdue and seem to be rounding back into shape.
No. 1: Ohio State @ Penn State
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For the second straight week, Ohio State will be on the road, under the lights and playing in the prime-time, nationally televised slot on ABC.
The No. 2 Buckeyes are fresh off an absolute slug-fest against Wisconsin, and that could show early on in one of college football's most hostile and well-known environments—Penn State's White Out. The Nittany Lions will be gunning for their first win over Ohio State since 2011, and they (unlike the Buckeyes) will be fresh and well-rested after a perfectly timed bye week.
Does James Franklin have enough momentum to register his signature win at Penn State?
Before their bye week, the Penn State had produced the two best performances of their young season. They squeaked out a 29-26 overtime victory over a tough Minnesota team in Week 5, then obliterated an improved Maryland team in a 38-14 rout that wasn't as close as the score would indicate.
That should count for something, and Penn State should get a boost from its raucous crowd. The last time the Buckeyes were in Happy Valley for a White-Out was in 2014, when the eventual national champions needed double overtime to put away the feisty Nittany Lions.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
