Interesting Weekend Of Action This Week For Big Ten Football Fans

In the bible, the word “suddenly” appears 87 times. The definition of the word is “quickly” or “unexpectedly”, and those are good descriptive words for what’s happened in Big Ten Conference Football the last few weeks. 

Three short weeks ago, James Franklin was a play away from Penn State knocking off Oregon at home. This week, the Nittany Lions have lost three in a row, and James Franklin is no longer their Coach. 

Oregon was riding high until the Indiana Hoosiers played the role of party crasher last weekend and dumped the Ducks on their home field. Coming off of that game, Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti generated more work for his tax preparer after getting his second raise in a year. His starting salary was around $4 million and is now $11.6 million per year.  

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Things move quickly for sure.  

Last week was a fairly stellar week of action in the Big Ten. This week is a bit lackluster when it comes to match ups, but still some very important games. Let’s look at a few of the games on the schedule. 

Minnesota (4-2/2-1) vs Nebraska (5-1 / 2-1) Friday 7pm on Fox 

This Friday night matchup may be the second best “head-to-head” contest between two conference foes. This is a very important game for both teams. The Gophers want to win their second in a row and their third in the last four games. Plus, a win this week and Minnesota is one game away from bowl eligibility. 

For Nebraska, the Cornhuskers have won three of their last four and only have one loss thus far this season.  Nebraska has played in three 3-point games this season, and they are 2-1 in those games.  

The Cornhuskers are scoring 41 points per game while allowing only 17. Minnesota is putting up 29 points per game while giving up 21. This will be a big test against a potent offense, and Coach PJ Fleck’s team wants to show up better than they did against Ohio State a few weeks back. 

Washington (5-1 / 2-1) at Michigan (4-2 / 2-1)- 11AM Fox 

This is likely the best “head-to-head” game involving conference teams. These two teams still have playoff aspirations and need this week’s game to keep those hopes alive. A loss for Michigan and they will be left hoping for a really good bowl game.  

The Huskies are scoring 39 points per game, ten more than Michigan, but the Maze and Gold will have the power of “The Big House” on their side. Can Michigan conjure up ghosts of football past and keep on pace to flirt with the conference championship game? A win for Washington and they reach bowl eligibility. 

Other games to watch include: 

Indiana (6-0 / 3-0) hosting Michigan State (3-3 /0-3) 2:30 Peacock 

It’s been a week for Indiana with their win over Oregon and the extension and raise for their coach; some may call this a trap game. The Curt Cignetti I know will have his Hoosiers ready, and they will look to make a statement early. Or as Coach Cig likes to say “break their will” early. 

Purdue (2-4 / 0-3) at Northwestern (4-2 / 2-1) 2pm Big Ten Network 

This could be a sneaky good game. Purdue is on the verge of their season being all but over, and they need to play well. Northwestern has had their moments this season, but to be honest, neither team has dominant stats, and that could help make this a good one to watch. 

#20 USC (5-1) at #13 Notre Dame (4-2) 6:30 Peacock 

This is the best game involving a Big Ten Team. The Fighting Irish have won four games in a row after dropping their first two while the Trojans (which it’s still hard to believe USC is a Big Ten team) are coming off a 31-13 win over Michigan. That win came after USC fell 34-32 to Illinois.  

The Trojans are scoring a Big Ten leading 45.5 points per game. Notre Dame is scoring 40 points per game themselves and in the last four games, they have averaged 44 points per game. 

Even if the “sexy” ranked match ups aren't scheduled this week, it’s still college football and any day with college football is a really good day.