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...
Wisconsins Rotation Is Taking Shape Around One Growing Concern
Wisconsins exhibition slate offered enough to feel encouraged and enough to keep the staff measuring the depth chart with caution. The Badgers finished 3-0, capped by a win over Oklahoma State, and Owen Foxwell looked like the guard most ready to steady things early. He brought efficient scoring and a clear presence in the backcourt, the kind of start that can settle a team while the rest of the rotation sorts itself out.
The bigger question now is what happens in the minutes around him. Other players have flashed, but nobody has yet locked down a dependable scoring role, which leaves the Badgers with a real sense of possibility and a lingering concern as the season approaches. Wisconsin has a workable foundation, but the way those non-Foxwell possessions are filled in may end up shaping how quickly this group finds its rhythm once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Badgers Showed Real Promise But One Issue Still Stands Out
The Badgers closed the preseason with a convincing 82-65 win over Oklahoma State, a performance that offered a cleaner snapshot of what this group can be when the offense is clicking. Owen Foxwell led the way with 19 points and three assists, and he was especially sharp from deep, going 3-for-3 from three-point range as Wisconsin shot 43.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Even with the strong shooting night and a defense that held the Cowboys to 65 points, there was still a familiar issue sitting in the background. Wisconsin turned the ball over 15 times, and while that did not spoil the result in an exhibition setting, it remains the kind of detail that can undercut a promising night once the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsin Faces Two Iowa Unknowns That Could Decide The Heartland Trophy
Wisconsin heads to Iowa this week with the kind of game that can turn on small details, and the matchup already has a little extra uncertainty baked in. The Badgers, now No. 25, are facing an Iowa team that slipped out of the AP Poll after its loss to Minnesota, but the bigger question is what the Hawkeyes will look like on offense with the quarterback situation still unsettled and Hank Brown set to start.
There is another layer of unpredictability around Iowas backfield, too, with star running back Kamari Moulton out for the season and the workload shifting elsewhere. For Wisconsin, that means preparing for a rivalry game in which the usual scouting report may not hold up for long, and the Heartland Trophy could come down to which side adapts fastest once the ball is kicked off. [Read more 🡒]