Ohio State and Indiana have the Big Ten's biggest game of the year looming on October 17 in Bloomington. At least it could be the biggest.
Before that, there are a pair of conference matchups that each must get past to maintain the game's stakes.
The Buckeyes have Maryland on the docket. The Hoosiers have Nebraska to contend with in Cornhusker country.
One of those is a major trap game. The other is too uncompetitive to label that.
Ohio State is worrying about the score's margin, not the result
You can't look past any Division I program. Especially a Power 4 program with a strong foothold in a talented DMV region.
The closest you can get to doing that is what Ohio State will think of Mike Locksley's program this coming Saturday.
The Buckeyes could well get Locksley fired with another blowout. Maryland has lost its last two games by a combined 76 points.
Meanwhile, Ohio State is coming off perhaps its most satisfying win of the season over Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. After knocking off TTUN the previous week, the Hawkeyes didn't have much to offer against an overpowering Buckeyes squad.
Ohio State could be the grim reaper for an era in College Park that peaked three years ago.
Nebraska could spoil OSU's top-10 showdown with Indiana
IU has another thing coming this weekend if it thinks it has a tune-up before facing the Buckeyes.
Big Red's home record under Matt Rhule against the Big Ten isn't where it needs to be yet, but this is arguably the best Cornhuskers team he's had since taking the Nebraska job. The offensive line is highly experienced, and UNLV transfer quarterback Anthony Colandrea is proving to be a much better system fit than Dylan Raiola was.
The Hoosiers have not yet delivered the dominant defensive repeat of last year. Missed tackles and a pass rush that hasn't inspired fear like the championship roster allowed Northwestern to hang around.
There's upset potential in Lincoln this Saturday. Curt Cignetti recognized that while speaking about the matchup on Monday.
"We've got a tremendous challenge this week in Nebraska," Cignetti said. "Very impressive team on tape. A lot of respect for Coach Rhule, what he's accomplished throughout his career, the kind of person he is, what he represents, and what they put on tape.
"Impressive football team. We'll have to play really well."
Cignetti forewarned that the Wildcats were a greater challenge than they were perceived to be, and Northwestern has since knocked off Penn State. The Nittany Lions might not be world-beaters, but the Wildcats are clearly better than most gave them credit for. Some even peg them as a CFP sleeper. We'll see about that one.
All that said, Cignetti understands when a team is better than they appear. The Cornhuskers are unranked despite being 5-0. Nebraska may have many talking heads putting respect on its name with an upset this Saturday.
If that happens, Indiana will have its back against the wall the following week with the Scarlet and Gray as guests.
In that case, Ohio State has the pressure to end the Hoosiers' two-year win streak off its shoulders, and the potential to be Indiana's executioner in its hands. IU's CFP resume would need a perfect record the rest of the way after consecutive losses.
The Huskers would then become the Buckeyes' real late-November challenge, since the Wolverines seem to have no interest in being that, based on their 3-2 start.
Add us as a preferred source on Google