4 Big Ten football teams with something to prove in Week 6

We’re starting to see some separation in the Big Ten with some clear contenders emerging. Nebraska clearly isn’t ready; Penn State clearly is. Ohio State showed it is undoubtedly the team to beat in the Big Ten.

The Week 6 schedule is highlighted by two marquee games: No. 14 Iowa at No. 19 Michigan and No. 25 Michigan State at No. 4 Ohio State. It also features some other potentially interesting games.

That in mind, here are four teams with something to prove on Saturday:

1. Michigan

I think we’ll find out a lot about Michigan in this game against Iowa. Are the Wolverines still a contender in the Big Ten? Are they going to go 6-6? Maybe it’s somewhere in the middle, but how Michigan plays in this game will likely spark sharp opinions in one direction or the other.

While Michigan has surely had its struggles on the road against ranked teams — the latest being that debacle at Wisconsin two weeks ago — it has won these sorts of games in the Harbaugh era. Against non-Ohio State teams, Michigan is 5-1 at home against ranked teams under Harbaugh, with the only loss being that game against Michigan State in 2015 that Michigan fans would probably rather not rehash. The point is, Michigan usually comes to play in these games.

So if Michigan were to lose this game, it would be an indicator that this season isn’t even on par of recent seasons that didn’t live up to expectations. And if it’s ugly for Michigan in the same way it was at Wisconsin, then this season has really gone off the rails. It could potentially be the beginning of the end for Harbaugh at Michigan.

At the same time, Michigan can really gather some positive momentum and jumpstart its season by beating a very good Iowa team.

2. Michigan State

Michigan State’s game at Ohio State is the only game on the slate with two undefeated teams in conference play. It’s a de facto elimination game for the Spartans in terms of making the College Football Playoff. They certainly have CFP-worthy defense, but is the offense good enough? Credit Mark Dantonio and the Spartans, they’ve really gotten the offense on track the last two weeks with back-to-back games of 30 or more points. In their previous 12 games, they had done that once, and it was against Western Michigan.

Was that the product of playing a good-but-not-great Northwestern defense and a subpar Indiana defense? Or has Michigan State figured something out?

The Spartans will be up against it with Ohio State, which boasts one of the best defenses in the country. In terms of high-end talent, it just may be the best. Edge rusher Chase Young and cornerback Jeffrey Okudah could both go in the top 10 of the 2020 NFL Draft. Okudah was Pro Football Focus’ No. 2-rated defensive back through Week 4, and teammate Damon Arnette was No. 3. The Buckeyes were the top-rated secondary, which isn’t surprising considering all of the corners they have had drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Michigan State shouldn’t be expected to get a third-straight game of 30 points against a fearsome Ohio State defense, but it is going to have to score some to keep up with the Buckeyes’ potent offense.

3. Nebraska

Nebraska probably would’ve liked to play last Sunday just to get that Ohio State game out of its mind. The Buckeyes, who have arguably been the most compete team in the country, will do that to a lot of teams. But Nebraska flopped in front of a national TV audience with College GameDay in the house. It wasn’t losing; it was the way the Cornhuskers lost.

That sets the stage for Saturday against visiting Northwestern. How will the Cornhuskers rebound? How is it possible that they look worse this year than they did at the end of last year when they had so many core players returning? Adrian Martinez, who threw interceptions on three of the first four possessions against Ohio State, has been maddeningly inconsistent.

Northwestern, with one of the worst offenses in the country (119th out of 130 FBS teams according to ESPN’s Team Efficiency rankings), is very beatable. But it is just good enough to put a scare into a good team, as it did at Wisconsin last week. Nebraska will have to play well to win.

4. Maryland

Maryland’s flop against Penn State caught me off guard. I wasn’t surprised Penn State won, but 59-0 just wasn’t on my radar. Like Ohio State, I think Penn State has a ton of talent and will do that to a few teams this season.

That said, this is a gut-check week for Maryland, which plays against a Rutgers squad that just fired head coach Chris Ash and is arguably the worst Power Five team in the country. After that sparkling start in which it put up 142 points in two games, Maryland has been outscored 79-17 the last two games. Are teams catching on to Mike Locksley and the Terrapins? Maybe.

This is the type of game that Maryland needs to win, and it needs to win big. Rutgers was the cure for Michigan’s woes last week, and Maryland needs a similar performance here. Josh Jackson has thrown an interception on the opening drive the last two games and has come back to Earth after two very good opening games.

Over the last four seasons, Maryland is 8-0 in the first two weeks (including wins over two ranked Texas squads and a ranked Syracuse team). The rest of the season, though, Maryland is just 9-24 – including losses to Temple and Penn State this season. Maryland needs to get back on track, and Rutgers is the perfect team to help it do just that.