This week's games by current
Power Ranking:
- #1 tOSU at #7 UMD
- #2 IU at #13 MSU
- #3 NU at #5 PU
- #4 UW at #8 M
- #6 Iowa at #9 MN
- #10 RU vs #14 IL
- #11 UNL vs #12 PSU
The thing that jumps out at me is that in five of this weekend's seven games the higher ranked team is on the road. We'll probably see some upsets.
IMHO the NU @ PU game is the GOTW but that is somewhat dependent on the status of Wisconsin. If the Badgers play and look particularly dominant in Ann Arbor then the NU/PU game might be a side-show. However, if the Badgers miss another game they are ineligible for the B1GCG (unless everyone else starts missing soon). If the Badgers play but lose or look shaky then we are back to NU@PU being the GOTW.
The games:
tOSU at UMD: Maryland looked horrible against NU then improved but still not good against Minnesota then they looked phenomenal against Penn State. If that trajectory continues they'll beat Ohio State this weekend and end up winning the B1G and the CFP. I don't think that it will . . .
IU at MSU: If the Hoosiers and Ohio State win then next week's IU@tOSU game will probably host Gameday. In that case it would be a top-10 showdown for a nearly unassailable lead in the B1G-E.
NU at PU: Covered above. This is huge for both because if UW misses another game the winner here is almost assured of a spot in the CG. Even if UW plays the rest of their games the winner of this will have a shot especially if it is Purdue because the Boilermakers missed UW.
UW at M: Who knows what to expect from either team.
Iowa at MN: I think that Iowa was very underrated last week and they still might be somewhat underrated.
RU vs IL: I would guess that it has been a while since RU was favored in a conference game.
UNL vs PSU: Nebraska hasn't looked terrible and if the wind has been taken out of PSU's sails . . . The losing coach might feel some warmth under their seat.