A full slate of Big Ten Football awaits on Saturday as the season enters its sixth week. On the card is a juicy matchup between Northwestern and Michigan, and the West Division’s second- and third-best teams, Iowa and Illinois, go head to head.
Hands up, those who can’t wait.
Illinois (4-1) at Iowa (5-0), 12 p.m. ET, ESPN2
That these two teams are near the top of the West Division is a shock to, well, pretty much everybody. This is Iowa’s first 5-0 start since 2009 and Illinois' best start to a season since 2011. If Northwestern come unstuck at Michigan, then the division will become even more intense.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit's remembers the wonderful things that happened the last time the Hawkeyes started 5-0:
How bout Kirk Ferentz and the @HawkeyeFootball program?!? 5-0 for first time since 09 when they went on to win the Orange Bowl! #IOWAvsWIS
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 3, 2015A new Kirk Ferentz is emerging as head coach in 2015, one that the Big Ten has never seen before. “New Kirk,” as he’s being dubbed, has switched practice times from the afternoon to the morning, has made Thursday the day off instead of Monday and, as the Wisconsin State Journal’s Tom Oates points out, is more bold with his play-calling:
I like the new wild and crazy Kirk Ferentz. The old Kirk Ferentz would never have gone for it on fourth-and-2 at the 8. #Badgers#Hawkeyes
— Tom Oates (@TomOatesWSJ) October 3, 2015And the changes are clearly paying dividends, as noted by Iowa's official game-day account:
Iowa is the only school in the country yet to allow a rushing touchdown. #Hawkeyes
— Gameday Live (@IowaFBLive) October 4, 2015Combine that stat with Illinois running back Josh Ferguson’s absence due to a shoulder injury, and it doesn’t look good for the Illini.
Indiana (4-1) at Penn State (4-1), 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
Indiana will look to fix their luck at Beaver Stadium, having lost in each of its last eight trips to the home of Penn State.
Hoosiers quarterback Nate Sudfeld left last week’s loss to Ohio State with an ankle injury, but judging by this tweet from the Indianapolis Star’s Zach Osterman, the 22-year-old is expected to start:
Wilson said Nate Sudfeld was cleared to return last weekend, but was "gimpy," didn't want to risk him. "He's our guy." No controversy. #iufb
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) October 7, 2015As for the Nittany Lions, their pregame plans have been more on the humorous side:
Yes, that is Penn Stat alum Keegan-Michael Key impersonating head coach James Franklin. The resemblance is uncanny.
Maryland (2-3) at Ohio State (5-0), 12 p.m. ET, BTN/BTN2Go
Maryland's numbers are wretched. A league-high 17 turnovers. Quarterback Caleb Rowe has 12 interceptions for the season. The defense ranks 13th in the Big Ten, relinquishing 449.4 yards per game.
And soon they’ll be without a head coach, according to ESPN.com’s Joe Schad:
Decision that Randy Edsall will be out has been made, as InsideMDSports and Yahoo! also reported earlier. Discussions now about how/when.
— Joe Schad (@schadjoe) October 8, 2015Randy Edsall is 57 years old, but he remains hip enough to quote rapper Wiz Khalifa:
"Worrying is stupid. It's like walking around with an umbrella waiting for it to rain."- Wiz Khalifa
— Randy Edsall (@RandyEdsall) October 9, 2015Apparently Edsall can get down with the players, though maybe that’s the issue.
If this does prove to be Edsall’s last game, he’s in for a tough one. The Buckeyes are on fire, as The Buckeye Nut pointed out:
Ohio State Buckeyes: Longest active winning streak in FBS (18 Games) #GoBuckspic.twitter.com/kURvlKA8uv
— The Buckeye Nut (@TheBuckeyeNut) October 8, 2015Is anyone playing better football at the moment than OSU running back Ezekiel Elliott? The Mike and Mike Show provided a look a his recent run of form:
NERD NOTES Ezekiel Elliott Rushing in Last 8 Games: • 1,425 yards • 16 TD • 8.1 yards per carry pic.twitter.com/L9xPbXtBS9
— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) October 5, 2015Between Elliott, LSU's Leonard Fournette and Georgia's Nick Chubb, there’s a good chance we’ll see a running back win the Heisman Trophy this year, a feat last achieved by Mark Ingram in 2009.
Minnesota (3-2) at Purdue (1-4), 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
After he was pulled from last Saturday’s 27-0 drubbing at the hands of Northwestern for freshman Demry Croft, Minnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner may have feared his starting position was on the line.
However, Gophers head coach Jerry Kill confirmed Thursday that Leidner will start under center this weekend, per Minnesota radio station KFAN:
Kill says Mitch Leidner will start at Purdue this Saturday #Gophers
— KFAN1003 (@KFAN1003) October 8, 2015Despite their 1-4 record, there’s reason for Purdue to be optimistic, according to college sportswriter Phil Steele:
Jerry Kill said that the Gophers will be missing 8 starters for this weeks matchup with Purdue. OLine and DB's hit hardest.
— Phil Steele (@philsteele042) October 9, 2015In eight attempts, the Boilermakers are yet to win a Big Ten home game under Darrell Hazell, but after nearly upsetting Michigan State in Week 5, and with Minnesota’s lengthy injury list, Saturday could see an end to that stat.
Jeff Washburn, who covers Purdue for the Associated Press, is assured Purdue will get its first conference win:
Purdue will get its first B10 home victory of the Hazell era next Saturday against Minnesota. Boilers improving, Gophers' offense is awful.
— Jeff Washburn (@JeffWashburnJC) October 3, 2015
Northwestern (5-0) at Michigan (4-1), 3:30 p.m. ET, BTN/BTN2Go
Defense should reign supreme in the showpiece matchup of Week 6. Northwestern’s seven points conceded per game leads the nation, immediately followed by the Wolverines, who have allowed 7.6 points per game.
So this should be a low-scoring affair. This stat from Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman shows just how dominant Michigan’s defense has been:
More Jim Harbaugh magic: #Michigan has had back-to-back shutouts & outscored its opponents 119-7 in the last 15 quarters.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 4, 2015The Wolverines are seeking a third successive shutout. The last time an FBS team achieved that? 1995, according to ESPN.com’s Josh Moyer.
But doesn’t the sporting world want to see more of this?:
Northwestern wins, 27-0. This calls for Macarena and hip thrust. https://t.co/cWSSiyCe2r
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 3, 2015No, come to think of it. Probably not.
Northwestern leads the Big Ten with 248.8 rushing yards per game. Unstoppable force, meet the immovable object.
Wisconsin (3-2) at Nebraska (2-3), 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2
Has Nebraska recovered from that third down yet?
The sickening loss to Illinois is likely to stick in Cornhusker memory for a very long time, as the team is off to its worst start to a season since 1959.
There can’t be three more debilitating ways to lose a football game, as detailed by ESPN Stat and Info:
Nebraska’s three losses: -Hail Mary vs. BYU -In overtime at Miami -Gave up winning TD with :10 left at Illinois
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 4, 2015Neither Wisconsin nor Nebraska expected to be fourth and sixth, respectively, in the West Division after five weeks.
After last week’s 10-6 loss to Iowa, in which quarterback Joel Stave had four turnovers, the Badgers at least had some good news to announce Friday, per former college coach Jed Hughes:
#UnderArmour signs a 10-year, $96 million deal with Wisconsin. Deal to begin July 1, 2016 via @darrenrovell. http://t.co/cHUIhEWInQ#NCAA
— Jed Hughes (@JedHughesKF) October 9, 2015If they’re going to play bad football, Wisconsin may as well look good.
Michigan State (5-0) at Rutgers (2-2), 8 p.m. ET, BTN/BTN2Go
Rutgers couldn’t welcome Leonte Carroo back at a better time.
The first-team All-Big Ten receiver had his assault charges dropped by a judge Tuesday and was reinstated to the team Wednesday.
It means Carroo, who served a 25-day suspension, will feature against a team beset with injuries to the defense, as noted by Michigan State reporter Mike Wilson:
MSU now up to three season-ending injuries (Davis, Copeland, Finley) and one long-term (Williamson).
— Mike Wilson (@MikeWilson247) October 4, 2015Still, the Spartans remain lethal on offense. Connor Cook surpassed Kirk Cousins as the program's winningest quarterback Saturday, notching his 28th win against Purdue, per the team's official Twitter account:
Connor Cook is now MSU's winningest quarterback after notching his 28th in the Spartans' 24-21 victory over Purdue. pic.twitter.com/jH2UIK8zwR
— Spartan Football (@MSU_Football) October 3, 2015However, Fox Sports’ Stewart Mandel isn’t quite convinced by Cook:
If Connor Cook is really a first-round pick someone's going to have to explain why he throws for 139 yards vs. teams like Purdue.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) October 3, 2015Rutgers head coach Kyle Flood had some menacing words for the Spartans after Michigan State attempted a fake field goal while up 35-0 against Rutgers last year, per MLive.com’s Kyle Austin:
Rutgers coach Kyle Flood told his team last year that MSU would "have to answer" for its late fake field goal http://t.co/6d8ADVFJHq
— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) October 8, 2015It’s a shame Flood won’t be on the sidelines to witness the Scarlet Knights try to exact revenge. He’s serving the last of a three-game suspension for violating a university compliance policy.
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