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This weekend marks the opening week of B1G football in the 2020 season. There are plenty of intriguing matchups to get the year kicked off, which begins Friday night with Illinois taking on No. 14 Wisconsin and ends with No. 18 Michigan traveling to No. 21 Minnesota.
Here are some fast facts about each of the seven matchups on the Week 1 docket in the B1G:
Illinois vs. #14 Wisconsin (8:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
Fast Fact: Illinois has not won a B1G opener since 2015 (vs. Nebraska) and Wisconsin has not lost a B1G opener since 2015 (vs. Iowa). Could a pair of 5-year streaks come to an end on Friday night?
Nebraska vs. #5 Ohio State (12:00 p.m. ET, FOX)
Fast Fact : The two storied programs have met just 8 times on the field, with Ohio State owning a commanding 7-1 lead in the all-time series. The Buckeyes have won 5 straight meetings, including last year’s 48-7 drubbing in Lincoln. Nebraska’s lone victory came in 2011.
Rutgers vs. Michigan State (12:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
Fast Fact: Michigan State is a perfect 6-0 against Rutgers since it joined the B1G in 2014. The Spartans’ average margin of victory in those 6 games in 27 points. Saturday’s game will also be the first for both Mel Tucker (MSU) and Greg Schiano (RUT) as head coaches in the B1G.
#8 Penn State vs. Indiana (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
Fast Fact: Of the 23 times Penn State and Indiana have played, 9 games have been decided by a touchdown or less, all of which have been won by the Nittany Lions. The Hoosiers have won just one game in the all-time series (2013).
Iowa vs. Purdue (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
Fast Fact: Purdue has not won a season opener under head coach Jeff Brohm, going 0-3 with losses to Louisville, Northwestern and Nevada. Kirk Ferentz is 18-3 in Week 1 games during his career at Iowa, but has dropped just one season opener since the start of the 2001 season (2013 vs. Northern Illinois).
Maryland vs. Northwestern (7:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)
Fast Fact: Saturday will mark the first time in program history that Maryland has ever traveled to Evanston to play Northwestern. The two teams have played just once, with the Wildcats winning a 37-21 game in College Park in 2017.
#18 Michigan vs. #21 Minnesota (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Fast Fact: The first meeting between Michigan and Minnesota was in 1892, a game the Golden Gophers won 14-6. The Wolverines own the all-time series lead 75-25-3, and they’ve won all but two games since the 1987 season. Michigan claimed the Little Brown Jug in 2017, with a 33-10 win over Minnesota in Ann Arbor.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB