Welcome back, folks! It’s time for Week 7 and I could not be more excited.
There are some fascinating matchups this weekend and even though they may not look great on paper, the Big Ten conference is always susceptible to weird and unforeseen outcomes. Let’s get into it.
1. Iowa at Wisconsin, 3:00 PM on Fox (Wisconsin -9.5)
The battle for the West!
There are still plenty of Big Ten West games remaining, but it feels fair to say this one means more than the rest and it’s only Week 7. The winner will have a clear path to the Big Ten Championship game in December.
This is by far and away the best matchup of the weekend and even the casuals should show up to experience the true form of Big Ten football. I can’t wait!
Go check out our preview coverage on our site’s home page!
2. Ohio State at Purdue, 11:00 AM on Peacock (Ohio State -19)
This one jumps out because Purdue has beaten Ohio State in West Lafayette a few different times, most recently in 2018 when Purdue won 49-20. Could something like that happen this time? Probably not, but weirder things have happened.
Another reason it feels like we should prioritize watching this game is because it may give us a little taste of how good Ohio State really is relative to Wisconsin. It won’t be apples to apples but if this game is similar to what Wisconsin did to Purdue 3 weeks ago, I’d feel a little better about our chances in a few weeks. If it’s worse, well, then we can start mentally preparing.
Ohio State seemed to start putting it together last weekend against Maryland and it’ll be interesting to see if that continues.
3. Illinois at Maryland, 2:30 PM on NBC (Maryland -13.5)
This game probably shouldn’t be ranked this high but if you look at the rest of the slate, it makes a little more sense. Illinois needs a win in the worst way.
They're 2-4 and their fans are becoming impatient with Bert. Maryland is 5-1 coming off a loss to Ohio State. I expect Maryland to take care of business here but I could see Illinois muddying the waters enough for this to be a game for the first half.
4. Indiana at Michigan, 11:00 AM on Fox (Michigan -33)
If you haven’t watched a Michigan game yet this year, the only thing you’ve missed is Michigan boat racing their opponents. They’ve only given up 30 points total in their six games thus far, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Indiana suffers a similar result.
They are the best team in the Big Ten thus far and I don’t see them facing a challenge until November.
5. Michigan State at Rutgers, 11:00 AM on BTN (Rutgers -4.5)
This game is the closest spread in the Big Ten of the weekend slate, but it is also a game that is irrelevant at this point of the Big Ten season. I’d take Rutgers here.
Michigan State is very broken and I don’t see that changing even if they are coming off a bye.
6. Massachusetts at Penn State, 2:30 PM on BTN (Penn State -41.5)
I don’t think this is the time to start watching Penn State. We can just skip this one.
See you all next week!
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