No. 16 Michigan State at No. 15 Ohio State
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Place: Columbus, Ohio
Line: Ohio State, -6.5
TV: ABC
Records: Michigan State (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten), Ohio State (3-2, 1-1)
What’s at stake: Both teams need to bounce back from losses that have damaged their chances at the Big Ten title.
Overview: Michigan State had two weeks to stew over an overtime loss to Michigan, but the Spartans don’t have a pushover to fall back on after their bye week. Instead they get Ohio State which seemed like it was the class of the conference until a loss last week at Penn State. The Buckeyes’ chances at a BCS bowl have now taken a blow with their second loss. Ohio State will be itching to get back on the winning side, but it won’t be easy against the No. 2 offense in the country.
Big Ten Overall
Team Record Record
Penn State 3-0 6-0
Minnesota 2-1 6-0
Wisconsin 2-1 5-1
Iowa 2-1 4-2
Indiana 1-1 4-1
Michigan State 1-1 4-1
Northwestern 1-1 3-2
Ohio State 1-1 3-2
Michigan 1-2 3-3
Purdue 0-2 2-3
Illinois 0-3 2-4
Last Week
NU 51, Wisconsin 48
Iowa 34, Purdue 17
Minn. 23, Michigan 20
Indiana 36, Illinois 13
Penn St. 13, Ohio St. 7
No. 23 Wisconsin at No. 22 Minnesota
Time: 11: a.m.
Place: Minneapolis, Minn.
Line: OFF
TV: ESPN
Records: Wisconsin (5-1, 2-1), Minnesota (5-1, 2-1)
What’s at stake: Minnesota needs to ride the momentum of winning the Little Brown Jug and keep its hopes of a conference title alive. Wisconsin tries to recover from last week’s upset loss in Evanston.
Overview: Last week Minnesota claimed the Little Brown Jug, only to find that now they have Paul Bunyan’s Ax to play for. Wisconsin had its perfect record shattered and its defense torn up for 674 yards. Now both teams are in almost the same spot with identical records. After being run over by Northwestern’s Tyrell Sutton the Badgers face Laurence Maroney who returned to form last week with 129 yards against Michigan. The Gophers will have an equally rough task against an offense that still scored 48 points in a losing effort.
No. 8 Penn State at Michigan
Time: 2:30 p.m.
Place: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Line: Michigan, -3.5
TV: ABC
Records: Penn State (6-0, 3-0), Michigan (3-3, 1-2)
What’s at stake: The suddenly dominant Nittany Lions are looking to keep their conference lead. Michigan is trying to avoid its worst start in 38 years.
Overview: At the start of the year Penn State wasn’t expected to be among the conference elite, but now there doesn’t seem to be anyone better. After a close call against Northwestern they rolled over Minnesota and pulled out a gutsy win last week against Ohio State. This week they face a team that looks lost in the unusually mediocre Wolverines. Penn State could prove the perfect malady for Michigan who has won the last six contests between these two, but Penn State’s suddenly dynamic offense and its staunch defense could prove too much for a team that is quickly falling off the radar.
Indiana at Iowa
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Place: Iowa City, Iowa
Line: Iowa, -14.5
TV: ESPN Gameplan
Records: Indiana (4-1, 1-1), Iowa (4-2, 2-1)
What’s at stake: Iowa is looking for its third win in a row in its slow climb up the standings. Indiana is trying to dream for one more week.
Overview: After a blowout loss to Ohio State, Iowa looked like its dream of a conference title was done, but convincing wins against Illinois and at Purdue might mean Drew Tate and company are on the rise. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, beat up on Illinois last week and are still living large at 4-1, but they could be brought back to Earth as they enter a brutal stretch which starts on the road at Kinnick Stadium.
Reach David Kalan at [email protected].
