November 16, 2024

Big Ten schedule has No. 1 Oregon visiting Wisconsin while Nebraska faces off with USC

By Steve Megargee

Things to watch this week in the Big Ten Conference:

Game of the week

No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP ) at Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

In an uninspiring week on the Big Ten calendar, this is the only game matching two teams with winning records.

A victory would make Oregon 11-0 for just the second time in school history, joining the 2010 squad that lost to Auburn in the BCS championship game. Wisconsin is 2-14 in its last 16 games against Top 25 teams.

BetMGM Sportsbook has Oregon as a 14-point favorite.

The undercard

Nebraska (5-4, 2-4) at Southern California (4-5, 2-5), Saturday, 4 p.m. (Fox)

After winning five of its first six games, Nebraska has dropped three straight and still needs a victory to become eligible for its first bowl appearance since 2016. The Cornhuskers host Wisconsin and visit Iowa (6-4, 4-3) after this game.

USC has dropped four of its last five. The Trojans’ five losses have been decided by a total of 19 points.

BetMGM has USC as an 8 ½-point favorite.

Impact players

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel is responsible for 180 total touchdowns (147 passing, 32 rushing, 1 receiving) in his career to set the NCAA record in that category. He broke Case Keenum’s record of 178 by throwing three touchdown passes in a 39-18 victory over Maryland.

Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis, a Minnesota transfer, threw three touchdown passes against his former team in the Scarlet Knights’ 26-19 triumph over the Golden Gophers.

UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger had his first two career interceptions in a 20-17 victory over Iowa. He has a Big Ten-leading 10.2 tackles per game.

Inside the numbers

The Big Ten has four of the top five teams in the AP Top 25 and the CFP rankings with Oregon at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Penn State at No. 4 and Indiana at No. 5. … Penn State TE Tyler Warren’s two touchdown runs in a 35-6 blowout of Washington gave him three this season. The only other Big Ten tight ends to have at least three touchdown runs in a season since 1956 were Wisconsin’s Stu Voigt in 1968 and Maryland’s Chigoziem Okonkwo in 2018. … Illinois is seeking its sixth home victory of the season when it hosts Michigan State. The Illini, who are 5-1 at home, haven’t won at least six home games in a year since their 2001 team went 6-0 at home and reached the Sugar Bowl. … Michigan (5-5) is at risk of becoming just the fourth defending AP, coaches’ poll, BCS or College Football Playoff national champion to finish .500 or below. The others were TCU in 1939 (3-7), Ohio State in 1943 (3-6) and LSU in 2020 (4-4), according to Sportradar. … According to Sportradar, since the start of the BCS era in 1998, the only teams to finish .500 or below a year after reaching the national championship game were Nebraska in 2002 (7-7), Texas in 2010 (5-7), LSU in 2020 (5-5) and TCU in 2023 (5-7). Michigan and Washington (5-5) could join that list.

Now don’t get upset

Maryland has lost four of its last five games but enters Saturday’s home game with Rutgers as a 5 ½-point favorite, according to BetMGM. Rutgers can become bowl eligible with one more win. Don’t be surprised if this game comes down to a late field-goal attempt.