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B1G storylines for Week 7: Oregon wanted in. Now comes the big challenge: Ohio State

Dave Miller

By Dave Miller

Published:

Week 6 was insane.

Vanderbilt beat No. 1 Alabama 40-35 for its first win against a top-5 team in 61 tries. And 5 teams ranked No. 11 or higher lost — including 2 from the B1G. Wild times.

No. 11 USC lost to Minnesota and defending national champion Michigan may have knocked itself out of College Football Playoff contention after falling to unranked Washington. Michigan, now 4-2, fell from No. 10 to No. 24.

What’s in store in Week 7? Let’s take a look at the B1G’s biggest storylines …

B1G game No. 1: No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon

This is their first meeting as B1G opponents and it obviously has huge implications for the conference race and Playoff pecking order.

The Buckeyes are giving up just 6.8 points per game, best in the country, but have you seen their schedule? It’s been soft. Meanwhile, Dan Lanning’s Ducks have started to round into form in recent wins over Oregon State and UCLA.

This past week Ohio State eased past Iowa 35-7 behind the efficient play of quarterback Will Howard, who went 21-of-25 for 209 yards with 4 touchdowns and an interception. Oregon beat Michigan State 31-10, though quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw 2 red-zone picks while also throwing for 257 yards and 2 scores. Both ground attacks are lethal with the Buckeyes’ pair of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson and the Ducks’ Jordan James.

Both teams have some tough tilts left on the schedule: Oregon plays Illinois Oct. 26 and still travels to Michigan; Ohio State has Penn State, Indiana and rival Michigan. But this is the marquee matchup for both, with the winner having the edge for the top spot in the league.

B1G Game No. 2: No. 4 Penn State at USC

This game lost a bit of its luster after USC fell 24-17 at Minnesota, falling out of the Top 25 and suffering a brutal blow to their CFP hopes. Meanwhile, Drew Allar threw for 237 yards with a touchdown and ran for another score to lead the Nittany Lions past UCLA 27-11. But Penn State failed to rush for 100 yards for the first time this season, and it is unclear when star rusher Nick Singleton will be back after missing the game against the Bruins.

Lincoln Riley oversaw yet another slow start on offense, and the Trojans were penalized 8 times for 59 yards, including an unnecessary roughness call in the fourth quarter that helped fuel the Golden Gophers’ game-winning drive. The setback to the Gophers was a brutal blow to a team that had CFP dreams. A win here, though, sets up a manageable rest of the way before ending the season with Notre Dame at home. Anything is possible: We just witnessed ‘Bama lose to Vandy. So don’t count out the Trojans quite yet.

Other notable B1G nuggets

Northwestern at Maryland: The Terrapins host the Wildcats on Friday night after enjoying a bye week. This is a huge spot for Mike Locksley’s team as he tries to steer it in the right direction after starting 0-2 in league play. Meanwhile, the Wildcats showed improvement on offense, particularly through the air with quarterback Jack Lausch. But the defense allowed 529 total yards of offense in a loss to Indiana last week.

Purdue at No. 23 Illinois: The Boilermakers’ woes continued this past weekend at Wisconsin. After Purdue cut the deficit to 14-6 in the second quarter, Wisconsin finished the game with 38 consecutive points. Things are rough in West Lafayette, where noise is growing around Ryan Walters’ tenure. And that was before he told reporters that Purdue was a “bad football team.” Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini had a bye following their first loss of the season at Penn State. Expect Bret Bielema’s squad to get back to its winning ways this week before playing Michigan and Oregon in back-to-back weeks.

Washington at Iowa: The Hawkeyes trailed Ohio State just 7-0 at halftime before the Buckeyes took control over the final 30 minutes. Quarterback Cade McNamara struggled, going 14-of-20 for just 98 yards and an interception. It would not be a surprise if Kirk Ferentz made the move to Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan against the Huskies, who gave Jedd Fisch his first signature win against Michigan. Quarterback Will Rogers is playing very well (12 TD passes, 270.8 yards passing per game), but this is a tricky game in Iowa City.

Minnesota at UCLA: Can the Golden Gophers beat former Pac-12 foes in consecutive weeks? PJ Fleck’s team has lost some tough games but has shown resilience along the way and now play the Bruins for the first time since 1978. Meanwhile, UCLA showed a little spark with Justyn Martin at quarterback against Penn State.

Wisconsin at Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights came up on the wrong end of a 14-7 defensive battle against Nebraska last week. We know the identity of this team: It’s not a sexy brand of ball, but it gets the job done. And the Scarlet Knights match up well with the Badgers.

Dave Miller

Dave Miller has covered the college football landscape nationally since 2009 with stops at National Football Post and Campus Insiders. In addition to contributing to Saturday Tradition, he can be seen on Stadium Network.