Illinois: The Illini’s best NC opponent in 2021 is a team out of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Virginia Cavaliers. In 2020, the Cavaliers were 5-5 in, with their best win being a 44-41, a shocker over North Carolina!
Indiana: The Hoosiers are hosting SCFP’s #1 ranked Group of 5 (G5) team, Cincinnati Bearcats, who were 9-1 in 2020, losing to Georgia, 24-21, in the 2020 Peach Bowl! This match up features the best QB’s in the B-10, IU’s Michael Penix & the best QB in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Cincy’s Desmond Ridder!
Iowa: The Hawks annual in-state battle with Iowa State is heating up! ISU’s Coach, Matty Campbell, has the Cyclones widely regarded as the 2nd best team in the B-12, behind only the mighty Sooners (OU) (whom they split with in 2020, winning, 37-30, in the regular season & losing in the B-12 Championship Game, 27-21)! Iowa has beaten the Cyclones 5 straight! The game is in Ames this year and ISU means to get this one in the win column! Big game for the B-12!
Maryland: Opens their 2021 season against a B-12 opponent, the West Virginia Mountaineers, a team that has beaten the Terps 9 times in their last 10 meetings. WV is clearly their best NC game, as they play Kent State (1-20 vs the current B-10) and an FCS team, Howard University (MEAC), a team they have played and beaten twice (2), 52-13, in 1950 & 79-0 in 2019! Maryland is recruiting better, we’ll see how/if it translates into playing better?
Michigan: The Wolverines best NC tilt is @ home, in the Big House vs Washington (P-12), in 2021! UM hosts all three of their NC games, the other two (2) are against the Mid-American Conference’s (MAC), Northern Illinois & Western Michigan. UW is picked, by many, to win their division (P-12 North) and the P-12 championship vs USC (projected P-12 South Champ). Coach Harbaugh needs to win this game, for all kinds of reasons. In 2021, the Wolves play league games @ MSU, @ Wisconsin, @ IU, @ Nebraska ( Frost best team since his return) & @ PSU! Oh yeah, don’t forget that ‘Team down South”! Michigan can easily lose four (4) games in the B-10. They absolutely need this one!
Michigan State: The Spartans best NC game is @ Miami and I don’t mean the one in Ohio! Phil Steele has MSU finishing last in the B-10’s East Division, not a place where you find the Spartans, projected or finishing, in recent memory (2020 / Covid aside)! New Coach, Mel Tucker, will line up vs the Canes, with an MSU program that has not beaten Miami in any of the four (4) games the teams have played (last in 1989)! That said, the Spartans have lost the last 3 games to the Hurricane by a total of 14 points / 6 or less in each of those battles! For all intent and purpose, this is Mel Tucker, 1st season in East lancing; he did not have a spring practice in 2020 and in his first full recruiting season, the Spartans are ranked 22nd in the class of 2022 (17 recruits in the house)!
Minnesota: The Gophers schedule mimics the Wolverines, in that their best NC game is against a P-12 club, Colorado (4-2 in 2020) and then, they play two (2) MAC teams at home, Miami OH & Bowling Green. A significant difference is the Colorado game is in Boulder and the Buffalos are, put, simply, not the Huskies. The last time the Golden Gophers traveled to Bolder was in 1991, Goldy was annihilated, 58-0, however, the following year (Minnesota was a 20 point dog) the game was a fist fight with the Buffs escaping with a 1 point win, 21-2. Colorado leads the series 3-0!
Nebraska: The Huskers would like to have their 1971 team as they are traveling to Norman to take on the Sooners! In fact, the game was schedule to commemorate the 1971 battle in Norman (The Game of the Century, actually it was), #1 Nebraska and Johnny Rogers vs #2 OU & Greg Pruitt, a game won by the Huskers, 35-31! The Cornhusker’s other NC games are with Buffalo & Fordham, so pretty sure there is no argument about Nebraska’s toughest NC tilt! These teams last played in 2010 for the B-12 title, a game won by OU, 23-20 & the last time the Huskers were in Norman was 2008. Nebraska would like to forget that road trip, as they were hammered, 62-28, by the Sooners! OU leads the series, 45-38-3!
Northwestern: I, for one, think it is about time that we recognize that the best coaches in the B-10 are not in Columbus, Ann Arbor, or Happy Valley, but are actually roaming the sideline in two (2) other B-10 venues, Iowa City (Kirk Ferentz) & Evanston (Pat Fitzgerald). Ferentz is 168-106 while Fitz is 108-81 at schools that are clearly, no question about it, developmental programs. These guys recruit to a system, coach to a philosophy, and hold players to a standard! Impressive! This year NW’s best NC opponent is the ACC’s Duke University. The Wildcats other two (2) NC games are vs Ohio (MAC) & the Indiana State Sycamores (Larry Bird forever), a program that plays in the best conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVSC)!
Ohio State: The Bucks take on Oregon (P-12) @ the Horse Shoe, in week two (2) of the 2021 season. Brutus has ‘kicked it off’ to the Oregon Ducks 9 times and had duck for dinner 9 times! That’s right, as good as Oregon has been, they have never beaten OSU! The last time the teams played was in the 1st CFP Championship Game, a 42-20, Buckeye victory! The Bucks other NC games are vs Tulsa, an American Athletic Conference (AAC) team and Akron (MAC), a team out of the East Division of the Mid-American! This is a huge game for Oregon, win here coupled with a P-12 Championship and the PAC-12’s CFP drought is likely over!
Penn State: Anytime the B-10 has a shot at beating an SEC team, the game is BIG, BIG BIG, & that includes Vanderbilt (if nothing else but by SEC association)! The Lions & Tigers have played twice (2), the teams split the two (2) games, PSU won in 1995, 43-14, in the Outback Bowl & Auburn won in the 2002, 13-9, in the Capital One Bowl! Last SEC team to venture into happy Valley, was Alabama, in 2011, a 27-11 winner over the lions! The Nittany Lions other NC games are vs a MAC team, Ball State & an FCS opponent, Villanova, Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
Purdue: No question about who the Boilers best NC game is with this year, an old rival, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. Purdue trails in the series, 26-56-2 The Irish have won nine of the last 10 and 7 in a row. The last time Purdue Pete’ (Boiler Mascot) wandered into South Bend was 2014, the Boilers trailed by only 3 at halftime, but were shutout in the 2nd half, losing, 30-14! The last time the Boilermakers were able to act on, the their Mantra “Boil up” @ Notre Dame Stadium, was in 2007, a 33-19, win. Purdue’s other NC games are against Oregon State (P-12) & U-Conn, an Independent (IND).
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights are heading to New York for their best NC opponent, the Syracuse Orange from the ACC’s, the Atlantic Division! These teams are former Big East rivals, playing every year from 1980 through 2012! Syracuse leads the series, 30-12-1, however, the Knights have won 6 of the 8 games, including their last meeting in 2012, 23-15! Rutgers’ other two (2) NC games are with, Temple (AAC) & Delaware, an FCS team out of the CAA!
Wisconsin: A game that should be played a least twice (2) in a decade, has gone 56 years w/o the University of Wisconsin playing Notre Dame. The teams were scheduled to play in 2020 (Green Bay) but Covid forced the game’s cancellation! This year, the teams are scheduled to play on Sept. 25th in Chicago’s Soldier Field! The Badgers trail in the series, 6-8-2, with the last meeting in 1964, an Irish win, 31-7 (ND coach Ara Parseghian). The last time the teams played at a neutral site, was also @ Soldier Field, a 19-0 ND Win, Oct 19, 1929 (ND Coach Knute Rockne). The Stock Market would crash in a few days (Black Thursday, Oct. 24th & Black Thursday, Oct. 29th) These teams 1st played in 1990, UW destroyed ND 54-0, the teams played again in 1904, Bucky got nastier, winning 58-0, and again in 1905, the Badgers shutout the Irish, 21-0 (the 04 & 05 games were played in Milwaukee)! Then in 1917, the schools played to a, 0-0, tie in Madison( the U.S. entered WWI that same year! Then in 1924, the Irish finally were able to beat the Badgers, 38-3, this game was also played in Madison! Bucky won in 1928, 22-6, once again in Madison. Then the Irish won 6 in a row, three (3) in South Bend & three (3) in Mad Town! UW got it going again in 1962 & 63 winning, 17-9, @ Camp Randall & 14-9 (closest game) 14-9 @ Notre Dame Stadium! As mentioned, ND won the last time the schools met, 31-7!
The Game Simulator: Go to Head to Head compare teams https://sullyscollegefootballpage.com/Football_Stats/Matchup.cfm
Big Ten 2021 Schedule or any of the 23 Conferences: Bighttps://sullyscollegefootballpage.com/Football_Stats/Conference_Listings.cfm?MCID=1&DVID=3
TOP 25 P5 / Top 20 G5 / Top 15 FCS https://sullyscollegefootballpage.com/wordpress/sullys-top-25s-p5-g5-fcs/
Power 5 Programs & their Recruiting Rankings thru 2021 https://sullyscollegefootballpage.com/content.cfm?PageID=14
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