In one week, the Big Ten sees three of its team ranked in the top four of the AP Top 25 Poll and six of its teams ranked top 25. Needless to say there is a lot to watch out for in the only conference giving the SEC any true competition.
No. 2 Ohio State (5-0, 2-0) at No. 3 Oregon (5-0, 2-0) Saturday, kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC
There are a few games within the conference that could be interesting, but none bigger than the matchup between the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 3 Oregon Ducks.
Both teams are undefeated, and both seem to be living up to the preseason hype that saw both squads have similar projections.
The Buckeyes blew out the Iowa Hawkeyes 35-7 last week and have yet to be in a close game as the 28-point win vs. Iowa was Ohio State’s smallest margin of victory on the year.
Oregon destroyed a solid Michigan State team 31-10 in its last outing, but the Ducks have struggled more despite facing similar opponents to Ohio State thus far. Oregon’s smallest margin of victory being 3 points in a 37-34 win in its 2nd game vs. Boise State.
Prediction: Ohio State welcomes Oregon to the Big Ten in the form of a 31-17 win as the road squad in Eugene.
Statistically, the Buckeyes are the significantly better team on both sides of the ball. Ohio State averages 510.2 yards per game and 46 points per game to Oregon’s 458.6 and 34.4. Defensively, the Buckeyes hold their opponents to just 202.4 yards per game (ypg) and 6.8 points per game (ppg) while Oregon allows 263.4 ypg and 17 ppg.
I am very inclined to agree with the stats here. From what I have seen, the Buckeyes are simply the much better team, and they will prove that despite being separated by only 1 ranking spot while the Ducks are not on the same tier. Ohio State’s defense won’t be as dominant here as they have been up to this point, but the sheer talent at every position on the field on both sides of the ball will prove to be too much for the Ducks to handle.
Penn State (5-0, 2-0) at USC (3-2, 1-2) Saturday, Kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
The No. 4 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are looking to capitalize on a schedule that is void of a matchup vs. Michigan, Indiana, and Oregon, but doing so requires beating a few scrappy teams like this USC squad.
The Trojans have underperformed this year, losing 2 of their last 3 games and losing both by only 1 score to Big Ten opponents. Their last outing was a 24-17 loss vs. Minnesota, and 2 weeks prior to that the Trojans were handed a 27-24 loss by what has also been an underwhelming squad in the Michigan Wolverines.
The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, have handled their competition this year as their only close call came in a 34-27 win over Bowling Green in their second game of the year.
Prediction: Penn State handles USC with its customary “Big Ten” brand of football in a 27-17 win in LA.
Penn State is simply the better team, and the Nittany Lions will destroy this USC defense. And unlike when Caleb Williams was at the helm, this USC offense does not have the firepower to make up for its defensive lapses. Penn State averages a whopping 217.8 rushing yards per game and holds its opponents to just 233.2 total yards per game and only 11.4 points per game.
The Nittany Lions will run the air out of the ball and make life very difficult on this USC offense on the other side with its pass rush dominance and talent at all 3 levels defensively.
Washington (4-2, 2-1) at Iowa (3-2, 1-1) Saturday, Kickoff set for Noon ET on Fox
Although neither team is ranked, this matchup between the Washington Huskies and Iowa Hawkeyes could be a very interesting one in the Big Ten landscape. As things currently sit, Washington is just behind the big dogs of Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Indiana who has been shockingly good this season, in the Big Ten standings.
The Huskies have taken some tough losses this year, losing 21-18 on the road at Rutgers and losing 24-19 at home vs. Washington State, but thanks to big wins against Michigan and Northwestern, Washington hasn’t moved down the standings.
Iowa’s only big loss this year came in last week’s 35-7 blowout at the hands of Ohio State, but the Hawkeyes did lose in a 20-19 fight to the Iowa State Cyclones back on September 7.
Prediction: Washington beats Iowa in a dogfight, beating the Hawkeyes 27-21.
Iowa has yet to beat any true competition as its only notable win to this point was Minnesota, who is near the bottom of the Big Ten standings with a 3-3 overall record and 1-2 conference record. Iowa did give Iowa State a run for its money early in the season, but the Hawkeyes will simply be no match for Washington.
The Huskies are better on both sides of the ball, averaging 462.7 yards per game and allowing only 256 to opponents while the Hawkeyes average just 363.4 and allow 300.6 to opponents. Both the numbers and the eye test support my prediction here that Washington will continue to show that it is a solid squad in what is proving to be a loaded Big Ten this year.
