Big Ten Football: A look at conference games week 5
Big Ten games on tap week 5.
The Big Ten schedule is underway and the race for the conference title is as well. We now have something to take away from how teams have performed against others within the conference so let’s look at Big Ten matchups in week 5.
First I want to take at what I think may be one of the most intriguing games of the day.
Maryland (2-1) at Minnesota (3-0)
Maryland looked strong out of the gate with a surprising win over Texas. The Terrapins averaged 57 points a game in their first two wins, then fell to UCF 38-10. Just what can you take from that start?
Minnesota is 3-0 and the average score in those games is 33-8, so it looks like the Gophers have actually found an offense. It may be a rough road trip for Maryland.
Northwestern (2-1) at Wisconsin (3-0)
I am a big Pat FItzgerald fan but why does his Northwestern Wildcats seem to lay an egg at least one time during the season? That’s just what they did in their 41-17 loss to Duke.
The Wisconsin Badgers are on a roll and they will be playing in front of their crazy home crowd so it should be an easy win, right? I’m not so sure, I think it will be a good game and may come down to the wire.
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Indiana (2-1) at Penn State (4-0)
Indiana’s only loss was the first game of the season to Ohio State. The Hoosiers won by an average score of 43-17 in their other two games.
Will the Penn State Nittany Lions play like world beaters as they did in the first three games or can Indiana stand up to them like Iowa did? I think this could be an interesting game.
Iowa (3-1) at Michigan State (2-1)
The Iowa Hawkeyes are playing well, and their last second loss to Penn State last week is the only blemish on their season. Michigan State is coming off a disappointing loss to Notre Dame last week.
I only know that this game will feature a lot of runs between the tackles and a lot of hard-hitting, and every player on both teams will be really sore on Sunday.
Ohio State (3-1) at Rutgers (1-3)
There are only a couple of things to watch for in this game as far as I am concerned. Will the Buckeye offense continue to improve and can Rutgers actually stand up physically against a strong team like Ohio State?
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Did you notice I didn’t mention the Nebraska-Illinois game? Big Ten teams shouldn’t play on Fridays, leave that to inferior conferences like the MAC. Big Ten games not played on Saturdays aren’t worth discussing.