Wisconsin 3-1 @ Nebraska 3-1 The Badgers have gone to Lincoln twice over the years with not very good results. In 1965, they got hammered 37-0 and went back for more in 1973, only to lose a close game, 20-16! Further, the Badgers do not do well in Big Ten road openers, just 1-6 the past seven years. Michigan State has done the damage the past two years, 34-24 in 2010 & 37-31 in 2011. Last year, the Huskers came to Madison for their angural Big Ten game and were pounded by the Badgers, 48-17. Nerbraska is 34-3 in conference openers … played anywhere … home or away! The series is tied at 3-3. One last thought on this game… the Big Ten officials dropped the ball on this game… it should be played on the Friday after Thanksgiving and Billed as the BIG RED GAME! This could have become part of the Thanksgiving Experience and, in time, a rival of the Michigan / OSU showdown!
Ohio State 4-0 @ Michigan State 3-1 Sully’s CFP has identified this contest as the Best Game in the Big Ten in week five! In their last seven games @ Spartan Stadium, OSU is 6-1 with the last three wins being by an average of 27 points. That said, last year the Spartans marched into the Horseshoe and stopped the Bucks, 10-7, with OSU scoring a late, meaningless, touchdown. MSU has not beaten OSU in back to back seasons sinse the 1998 -99 campaigns. This should be an interesting game …. watch for the Spartans to get Le’Veon Bell going early and often with the Buckeyes having the exact opposite perspective on defense.
Penn State 2-2 @ Illinois 2-2 There will be no lost love in this game as Illini coaches were on PSU campus after the NCAA announced the sanctions against Penn State officials. These individuals were involved in the attack (1) or cover up of the sexual assults on children that took place @ Penn State. Illinois is 2 -16 in Big Ten openers while the Lions are 7-3 vs the Illini in Champaign. Last year in Happy Valley, Penn State prevailed in a hard fought game, 10-7! The Lions are 3-2 in the last five games against the Illini!
Indiana 2-1 @ Northwestern 4-0 Indiana has not won a game in Evanston since 1993, this includes 6 straight losses to the Cats … although the last 4 have been close! In the last five games the Hoosiers are 1-4 against Wildcats and the Cats have won 11 of the last 14 games played in this series. The three wins the Hoosiers did manage were all in Bloomington. Northwestern travels to Penn State & Minnesota the following two weeks… a solid shot to run their record to 7-0…. if they stay focused in this week’s game.
Minnesota 4-0 @ Iowa 2-2 This is the biggest game the Golden Goprers have played in years. A win here and the Gophers move to 5-0 going into their bye week. The good news is they have beaten the Hawks two straight, 27-24 in 2010 and 22-21 last year. The bad news is they have lost 5 in row to the Hawks in Iowa City and are 1-9 in their last ten visits! Iowa is coming off a tough loss to Central Michigan, 32-31 while Minnesota beat Syracuse last week @ home, 17-10! This is an old rivalery, played every year since 1931 and the winner is awared the Floyd of Rosedale Trophy ( A Bronze Pig) established in 1935!
Marshall 2-2 @ Purdue 2-1 Purdue steps out of the conference this week to take on C-USA member, Marshall. This is the first meeting of these teams. The Boilers have a winning record when coming off a bye week and have been better than advertised. In fact, it would be fair to say they are playing as well as or better than any team in the Leaders Division!. Meanwhile, the Thundering Herd most recent gridiron experience was a wild overtime win, 54-51, @ Rice. That said, Marshall has never beaten a Big Ten team, 0-6 all time, with the average score being a negative 41-12!
Michigan 2-2 has a Bye Week! Next up for the Wolves.. @ Purdue
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