This weekend may not be stacked with marquee matchups, but it has a chance to sort out real business in the Big Ten and Big 12. In the Big Ten, eight of the 12 teams with two or fewer conference losses are facing one another, which should start trimming the title picture and lifting a few teams into better position. The Big 12 also gets a pair of games with weight after last weekend’s shake-up.
Ohio State heads into its game with USC in a favorable spot, and the Buckeyes are getting another break: the Trojans will be dealing with a new quarterback making his first college start. USC has not been strong enough to capitalize on the good fortune it has gotten this season, and Ohio State looks set to keep rolling toward a third straight playoff appearance.
Indiana’s trip to Minnesota carries its own odd edge. Outside of a rough outing against Rutgers, every Big Ten game for the Hoosiers has been decided by seven points or fewer, which makes the line feel strange.
The expectation here is that Indiana leans hard on the ground game, running the ball at least 40 times in an effort to take some of the pressure off Hoover. If Minnesota can slow that running attack, the game opens up.
Oregon, meanwhile, is trying to patch things together after firing offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer, but that move does nothing to solve a defense that was pushed around for 225 rushing yards by Illinois on Saturday. Chip Kelly is likely to keep hammering the run in familiar territory until the Ducks force him away from it, and that could take all day.
The Wisconsin-Iowa matchup could be another slog. The Badgers’ win over USC on Saturday featured zero scrimmage plays of 20 yards or more from either team, and this one could land in the same neighborhood.
Still, the Hawkeyes may have a little more burst. Luke Fickell is 0-3 against Kirk Ferentz since arriving at Wisconsin, and those losses have not been close, with a combined margin of 78 points.
In the Big 12, Utah is dealing with a Cincinnati team that can be dangerous as an underdog. Scott Satterfield’s Bearcats played very well against Texas Tech, but they also caught a fair amount of self-inflicted trouble from the Red Raiders. If the Utes keep things clean, they should get the job done.
Texas Tech enters another game on a short fuse after its wake-up call last week, while Kansas State is riding a five-game winning streak. The Wildcats have won their last three games by 21 points or more, and Texas Tech looked shaken after leaving Cincinnati.
Georgia’s trip to Florida is being played in Atlanta for the first time in series history. The rivalry’s history is rooted elsewhere, of course: the game has been held in six locations since 1904, including a disputed contest in Macon, Ga., in 1904.
Athens has hosted five times, Savannah twice, Gainesville twice, Tampa once, and Jacksonville 92 times. The Dash says it prefers the historic Jacksonville setup, but next year’s meeting will be in Tampa before the series returns to Jacksonville.
The Bulldogs are trying to put away whatever led to their home loss to Auburn, especially the errors from quarterback Gunner Stockton. Florida, for its part, is trying to carry forward the level it showed in upsetting Texas in Austin. Georgia is a 11.5-point favorite, and the pick here is Georgia 31, Florida 17.
Florida State and Clemson meet in a game that barely resembles the old attraction it once was. Both teams helped push against the ACC and now find themselves afterthoughts in the league race for the second straight year.
Over the past two seasons, their combined ACC record is 9-15, and Florida State’s 4-16 mark is the worst in the league since expansion to 17 teams. That was enough to get the Seminoles a theoretical relegation from The Dash two weeks ago.
The stakes are modest at best: mostly, this is about two coaches trying to steady the public mood around their programs. Florida State is a 6-point favorite, and the pick is Florida State 27, Clemson 20. That still would not be enough to convince the Big Ten to offer an invitation.
Illinois has managed to keep moving after losing starting quarterback Katin Houser to a broken hand against Michigan State on Oct. 10.
Since then, freshman quarterback Michael Clayton II has helped the Illini stay unbeaten, with wins over the Spartans in overtime and Oregon to move to 4-3. It has not been a sparkling season, but Bret Bielema and his team are hanging on instead of folding.
North Carolina’s loss to Syracuse was another painful swing. The Tar Heels were 4-2 and had just one conference loss when they hosted last-place Syracuse with a chance to improve their standing in the ACC race.
They took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, then unraveled on defense, allowing 175 yards and two touchdowns before the game went to overtime. Syracuse got the ball second in overtime, scored, and then went for two and the win.
For Carolina, it was a big step backward after a few baby steps forward in Bill Belichick’s second season.
In Other News...
Oregon's Season Just Became A Much Bigger Dan Lanning Problem
The disappointment has started to pile up around a Ducks season that was supposed to look very different, and the pressure is landing squarely on Dan Lanning. Oregon has already had to absorb the loss of starting quarterback Dante Moore for the rest of the year because of a head injury, a blow that would test any offense, and the ripple effects have been felt across a team that came in with far higher expectations.
Drew Mehringers removal as offensive coordinator only sharpens the spotlight on Lanning, who is now having to recalibrate the offense on the fly. Assistant quarterbacks coach Jay Johnson has been elevated into the job, giving Oregon a new voice in a critical role at a moment when the Ducks can least afford more instability. For a program built to contend, the question is no longer just how this season turns out, but how much of the burden falls on Lanning to steady it. [Read more 🡒]
Chip Kelly Still Looms Over Oregon In A Game Ohio State Fans Know Matters
Chip Kellys name still carries real weight around Eugene, and it gets another run at Autzen Stadium on Halloween when his Northwestern offense comes in to face Oregon. Now the Wildcats offensive coordinator, Kelly has helped turn Northwestern into one of the Big Tens more productive attacks, while drawing on traces of the fast-paced ideas that once defined his Ducks teams and layering in new wrinkles of his own.
Dan Lanning knows the challenge is bigger than nostalgia. Oregon will have to sort through an offense that is familiar in some ways but far from predictable, with Kelly continuing to evolve even as his old influence lingers. For Ducks fans, it is one of those games where the opponent on the schedule is only part of the story, because the architect in the opposing booth still has a way of making his presence felt. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New-Look Offense Faces A Huge Test Against Northwestern
The Ducks are getting a different kind of measuring stick this week, with a reshuffled offense heading into a matchup against Northwestern and its sturdy, well-schooled defense. Oregon made a change at offensive coordinator ahead of the game, and now the focus shifts to how quickly the new setup can settle in against a unit that likes to make life difficult from the first snap. Northwesterns defense usually lines up in a 4-2-5, and it brings an aggressive front seven with a secondary that can hold up behind it.
For Dylan Raiola and the Oregon offense, the challenge is finding room against a group built to squeeze plays at the line and limit clean throws downfield. Safety Robert Fitzgerald, linebacker Braydon Brus and cornerback Ore Adeyi give the Wildcats a spine on every level, which means Oregon will have to be sharp with protection, timing and any chances to create mismatches. It is the sort of test that can tell you a lot about a new-look attack, even before the final result tells the rest. [Read more 🡒]