Week 9 in the Big Ten comes with a heavyweight showdown in Los Angeles and a few other spots that could get interesting fast. Ohio State heads to USC with a new quarterback situation hanging over the Buckeyes, while Wisconsin tries to keep momentum after knocking off USC and Indiana hosts Minnesota with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town.
The trip to Kinnick is another tricky one for Wisconsin, even with Iowa dealing a major blow. Running back Kamari Moulton has been ruled out for the rest of the season, and that takes away the Big Ten’s second-leading rusher behind Rutgers’ Antwan Raymond.
Iowa’s path has to go through its defense, especially after last week’s 13-10 loss to Minnesota in a game that turned into a rock fight. The Hawkeyes can’t count on the offense to carry them, and losing Moulton makes that even harder.
Wisconsin hasn’t exactly been humming on that side either. Quarterback Colton Joseph has managed just 66 yards and 58 yards passing in the last two weeks, which doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Still, winning at Kinnick is never simple.
Final score: Iowa 17, Wisconsin 13
Then comes the game everyone will be watching: Ohio State at USC. It has all the feel of a turning point for both programs.
The Buckeyes already have a loss, and with Julian Sayin out, Ryan Day has to choose between true freshman Luke Fahey and sophomore Tavien St. Clair at quarterback.
That decision alone makes this trip a stress test.
USC is coming off another bruising setback under Lincoln Riley, falling to Wisconsin 24-7 last weekend. The Trojans’ remaining schedule looks rough, so this is the kind of game that can change the mood around the program in a hurry.
Jayden Maiava gives USC the better quarterback situation, but he’ll have to handle Ohio State’s defense after throwing at least one interception in both of USC’s biggest games this season. Clean football is the standard here.
Ohio State traveling across the country without a settled plan at quarterback is a real concern, and USC looks positioned to answer after last week’s loss.
Final score: USC 27, Ohio State 20
The rest of the slate is a quick-hit batch of predictions:
Illinois 27, Maryland 24
Michigan 24, Rutgers 3
No. 4 Indiana 27, Minnesota 10
No. 20 Northwestern 31, Oregon 17
No. 7 UCLA 38, Nevada 10
Penn State 27, Purdue 24
Nebraska 31, Washington 27
In Other News...
Wisconsin Gets A Huge Opening In Iowa Rivalry But One Problem Remains
Wisconsin heads into this weekends trip to Iowa with a chance to do something it has not done in four tries against its rival. Both teams arrive at 5-2, and the Badgers have built their case on one of the nations best run defenses, the kind of strength that usually travels well in a Big Ten game where possessions are precious and field position matters. Iowa, meanwhile, is coming off a loss and has already taken a hit to its backfield, giving Wisconsin a better opening than it might have expected in a series that has often tilted the Hawkeyes way.
Still, the matchup has the feel of another low-scoring slog, which helps explain why oddsmakers have only nudged Iowa ahead. The Hawkeyes remain built for defensive football, and that makes Wisconsins path clear in theory and frustrating in practice: survive the trenches, avoid mistakes and find a way to finally break the streak. The problem is that against Iowa, almost every possession turns into a test of patience, and the Badgers will have to prove their edge on the road before the rivalry turns in their favor. [Read more 🡒]
Wisconsins Quarterback Carousel Keeps Raising An Uncomfortable Question
Since Luke Fickell took over, the quarterback spot at Wisconsin has been anything but stable, and the ripple effects have reached well beyond Madison. A string of departures and injuries has pushed the Badgers into constant turnover at the most important position on the field, while former Wisconsin passers have scattered to new programs in search of better fits and clearer paths to playing time. Braedyn Locke, Cole LaCrue, Mabrey Mettauer and Nick Evers are among the names who moved on, each landing in a different situation with different levels of opportunity.
For Wisconsin, the more uncomfortable part is how familiar this has started to feel. Some of those transfers have found modest success elsewhere, others have seen limited action, and the churn only reinforces how much the Badgers are still trying to sort out the position under Fickell. The current quarterback picture is no easier to project than it was a year ago, and with former options continuing to surface in other places, the question hanging over the program is not just who starts next, but when the revolving door finally slows down. [Read more 🡒]
Kentuckys New-Look Roster Just Got An Encouraging Preseason Sign
The preseason conversation around Wisconsins perimeter game got a little more interesting this week when data analyst Evan Miyakawa released a ranking of college basketball teams with the most elite 3-point shooters on their rosters. In a sport where spacing can change everything, those kinds of lists tend to say as much about a teams ceiling as any early preview, and Wisconsin found itself grouped with some familiar names such as BYU, Kentucky, NC State and West Virginia in the broader top-end discussion.
For the Badgers, it is another reminder that shooting still matters in the Big Ten, especially with the roster landscape shifting before the season. Several of the players highlighted in the ranking, including Milan Momcilovic, Paul McNeil Jr., Finley Bizjack and Eian Elmer, are also being watched as potential 2027 NBA Draft prospects because of their shooting and long-term upside, which only adds to the intrigue around how quickly these teams can stretch the floor when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]