The Big Ten eases many of its marquee teams into the league slate.
Whereas the SEC presented Georgia/Tennessee and Florida/LSU to college football fans last week — to great TV viewership numbers — the Big Ten had Oregon and USC visiting two of the worst teams in the league for what it turned out to be monsoon games.
And this week, Ohio State and Penn State have bye weeks while the Ducks, in playing 0-3 rival Oregon State, may as well have a bye.
The top Big Ten games, thus, split in two directions: Michigan/Nebraska is the helmet game on CBS, while Illinois/Indiana, two preseason Big Ten darlings, goes to the NBC slot.
The latter is, according to the rankings, a marquee league game. The Illini are ninth nationally — an AP top 10 team for the first time since 2001. IU is 19th, one year after making the College Football Playoff.
Do viewers care? That’s one question. NBC’s game will go head to head with Florida’s trip to Miami on ABC and South Carolina’s trip to Missouri on ESPN. Indiana’s embarrassing nonconference schedule has kept it off the radar so far. Illinois, at No. 9, is a 6 1/2-point underdog.
The programs almost seem like mirror images of each other. Spread offenses. Aggressive defenses with good pass rushes. Outspoken head coaches in Curt Cignetti and Bret Bielema, who can tell a joke as well as they wear a chip on their shoulders.
“We probably compete against Indiana, in high school recruiting and portal windows, as much as anybody else in the Big Ten, with the kind of systems we both run and the kind of players we look for,” Bielema said at his press conference this week. “That’s unique.”
Cignetti, at his presser, said the two programs are “very much” the same.
“They know what it takes, the success they had last year,” Cignetti said. “Return a good nucleus of guys. Added some new ones.”
IU added a quarterback, California transfer Fernando Mendoza, who has been effective enough against Old Dominion, Kennesaw State and Indiana State. He’s benefited from an excellent run game, although one of the three backs already at 200 yards this season, Lee Beebe, is out for the year with a knee injury.
The Illini, meanwhile, cleaned up in the portal with defensive players. Former Wisconsin lineman James Thompson is currently one of the highest-graded players in the Big Ten; so is Florida State transfer Tomi Durojaiye. They supplement the production of pass rusher Gabe Jacas, who already has four sacks this season.
If defense was a slight question mark coming into the year for Illinois, it hasn’t been so far. Illinois’ seasoned offensive line has been an issue, allowing nine sacks in three games. Quarterback Luke Altmyer has escaped a few bad situations, too.
Altmyer has hit big plays, too, to receivers Hank Beatty and Justin Bowick. Mendoza has his top receivers, too, in Omar Cooper and Elijah Sarratt.
Two legit teams that aren’t necessarily brand names. It’d probably benefit the Big Ten if Illinois marched into Bloomington and won, thus improving the resume that doesn’t get its first bye week until Oct. 18, right after the big Ohio State game.
Something tells me it won’t happen; that Indiana benefits from home field advantage, has equal skill and quarterback play, and gets enough from its defensive stars, linebacker Aiden Fisher and edge rusher Mikail Kamara, to win.
For Husker fans, it’ll be a good comparison piece after whatever happens in the NU/UM game, to sit back and see if Illinois and IU, which beat Nebraska last year, look more appealing to the eye test.
We’ll see what viewers nationwide think, too.
My pick: Indiana 28, Illinois 24
Nebraska vs. Michigan
Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: CBS
Line: Michigan by 1 1/2
Sam’s Take: The Huskers roll in as the slight underdog but have too many variables slanting in their direction. Home field advantage. More experienced quarterback. Their head coach will be at the stadium. The fundamentals, so to speak.
Pick: Nebraska 24, Michigan 20
Iowa at Rutgers
Time: Friday at 7 p.m.
TV: Fox
Line: Iowa by 2 1/2
Sam’s Take: In the four games played by these two teams since the Scarlet Knights came to the Big Ten, they’ve scored all of 21 points and been shut out twice. Styles make fights, and the Hawkeyes have the better style for this one.
Pick: Iowa 21, Rutgers 14
Purdue at Notre Dame
Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: NBC
Line: Notre Dame by 26 1/2
Sam’s Take: It’s the 88th meeting in the series and the Boilermakers haven’t won in it since 2007. That’s not changing Saturday, but this could be more competitive than the betting line suggests
Pick: Notre Dame 35, Purdue 17
Wisconsin vs. Maryland
Time: 11 a.m.
TV: NBC
Line: Wisconsin by 9 1/2
Sam’s Take: This might be the last game on the Badgers’ schedule where they’re favored to win. The Terrapins’ offense has been as inefficient as the their defense has been effective. Something has to give in a early morning, late-arriving Camp Randall Stadium crowd.
Pick: Wisconsin 24, Maryland 14
USC vs. Michigan State
Time: 10 p.m.
TV: Fox
Line: USC by 17 1/2
Sam’s Take: Expect points, lots of ‘em, that take this contest into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Husker fans should gird for this timeslot next year, when they travel to Oregon.
Pick: USC 42, Michigan State 31
Oregon vs. Oregon State
Time: 10 p.m.
TV: BTN
Line: Oregon by 34 1/2
Sam’s Take: A true look at the haves and have nots of the sport, with the Ducks soaring in the Big Ten while the Beavers, a really bad 0-3, prepare for what might be a coaching change, since Trent Bray — so briefly NU’s interim head coach after Mike Riley got fired — has blasted his team in halftime interviews twice already this year.
Pick: Oregon 45, Oregon State 10
Washington at Washington State
Time: 6:30 p.m.
TV: CBS
Line: Washington by 20 1/2
Sam’s Take: The Cougars got blasted at North Texas last week, 59-10, in what might have been a cautionary tale in looking ahead. They’ll be ready to welcome the Huskies to the Palouse on a warm evening.
Pick: Washington 28, Washington State 21
Sam’s record
Last week straight up: 13-2 | Last week against the spread: 3-6
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Sam McKewon
Sports Editor
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