The Big Ten East and path to the playoffs are at stake in Ohio State-Michigan. Iowa goes for 10th win at Nebraska
The Big Ten East champion, provided it wins comfortably as a strong favorite against Iowa in the conference championship game the following week, will almost certainly earn a position in the College Football Playoff.
Against the Buckeyes, Michigan has won two straight games, and the results weren’t close. Last week, the Wolverines faced Maryland in their closest game of the season, and Jim Harbaugh won’t be on the sidelines when he serves out his three-game suspension.
After recovering from injuries, Ohio State defeated overmatched Michigan State and Minnesota 75-6 in the previous two weeks.
Nebraska ended a seven-game losing streak in the series last year with a victory at Iowa City. To be eligible for a bowl, the Cornhuskers must triumph in Lincoln in the yearly Black Friday game.
The West Division-champion Hawkeyes are trying to win a fourth game in a row to carry momentum into next week’s Big Ten championship game. They are also going for a 10-win season.
Brendan Sorsby of Indiana, who has scored 14 touchdowns in the previous five games, is headed to Purdue for the Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket. For the first time since 2002, Purdue has had two games with 300 yards of rushing in a single season.
Over the past two seasons, Maryland has defeated Rutgers by a total of 77-16, winning 40-16 in Piscataway the year before and 37-0 in College Park last year.
With a traveling trophy up for grabs, Wisconsin takes on Minnesota in the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe, having won 27 of its previous 34 games.
When Northwestern’s total offense surpasses 300 yards, they are 6-0. at all but two of the Wildcats’ games at Champaign, Illinois, has given up at least 300.
At Ford Field in Detroit on Saturday night, Michigan State is a 21-point underdog against Penn State, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
When the Spartans last played in prime time on NBC, they lost to Ohio State 38-3, and things didn’t go as planned.
Michigan State will play in the 1993-created Land Grant Trophy rivalry game as their bowl game after a turbulent season that saw Mel Tucker dismissed for alleged sexual harassment and Harlon Barnett named interim coach.
Out of the last three games, the Spartans have won two. Although he was knocked out of Penn State’s game against Rutgers last week, quarterback Drew Allar is anticipated to play.
In order to ensure bowl eligibility and snap a three-game losing run, Minnesota quarterback Jonathan Kaliakmanis, who was a hero in the team’s victory over Wisconsin the previous year, will need to perform at the highest level once more.
Minnesota ranks first among five-win teams to fill available slots based on its Academic Progress Rate, so even if it loses to the Badgers at home, it would still have a good chance of going to a bowl game.
In the 23-16 victory from the previous year, Kaliakmanis passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns, including a game-winning 45-yard pass to Le’Meke Brockington.
