When the Big Ten schedule came out, Minnesota at Penn State felt for all the world like it was going to be the premier game of Week 8.

Shoot. That much seemed true as recently as Oct. 1.

Both teams were likely to be ranked. With any luck, they’d both be undefeated, too.

It would require a Penn State upset at Michigan, but the Nittany Lions appeared capable of such a task. They’d proven themselves road warriors with wins at Purdue and Auburn. Last year, a much worse Penn State team gave a much better Michigan team all it could handle in Happy Valley.

ABC likely felt it had a potential dream Saturday night matchup lined up.

Instead, it’s got something between a dream and a nightmare: the bleakness of reality. Both teams are backsliding into this prime-time meeting.

The Golden Gophers are rusting before our very eyes.

Minnesota started out of the gates looking like a different animal from its Big Ten West counterparts — one capable of hanging with the elite in the East after a blowout win over Michigan State put the Gophers at 4-0.

Consecutive losses to Purdue and Illinois have squelched that notion. The Gophers scored a combined 24 points in those defeats.

Minnesota is a game behind the Illini and Boilers in the standings, and doesn’t have a tiebreaker over either. If Minnesota runs the table, it needs both Illinois and Purdue to finish 3-2. With another loss, the Gophers would need both of them to close out 2-3.

Thus seemingly ends the second straight year in which things lined up for it to be the year for PJ Fleck’s Gophers.

Last season, Minnesota had veteran quarterback Tanner Morgan and running back Mohamed Ibrahim coming back behind the nation’s most experienced offensive line.

Unfortunately, Ibrahim was lost for the season in Game 1. You couldn’t ask for a tougher break. But Minnesota headed into November with a 4-1 Big Ten record, and the lone defeat was to Ohio State. The Gophers overcame adversity and looked perfectly capable of reaching Indianapolis.

Then they choked.

Perhaps peeking ahead a week, Minnesota inexplicably lost 14-6 to an Illinois team still finding its way under first-year coach Bret Bielema. The Gophers followed it with a 27-22 loss at Iowa, dropping to 0-5 against the Hawkeyes under Fleck.

This year, the Gophers simply got a month head start on the back-to-back losses that effectively cook their division title hopes.

There was some bad luck involved with the Purdue loss. Ibrahim was scratched with an ankle injury. But scoring 7 points on 3 trips in the red zone was just as much a factor.

Luck and mistakes weren’t a factor in Minnesota’s loss at Illinois. The Illini are simply better.

And that fact must really get the goat of Gophers fans.

Bielema, a long-time Minnesota nemesis, needed just one offseason to get the Illinois program in a better position than Minnesota in Year 6 under Fleck. And the program Fleck inherited from Tracy Claeys was in phenomenal condition compared to the husk Bielema picked up from Lovie Smith.

So it merits asking if 2019 will remain the peak of what Minnesota can achieve under Fleck. Those Gophers dropped 2 of their last 3 to miss the Big Ten championship game, but beat Auburn in the Outback Bowl to finish 10th in the country.

With the core of sixth-year veterans leaving the program this offseason, a drop-off is inevitable. After that, Minnesota could potentially be stuck in a division or a scheduling pod with USC.

Fleck’s best shots to take Minnesota to the Big Ten title game may already be behind him. And the same could be true of his Penn State counterpart.

Little Game James

“Big Game James” was the nickname earned by former Los Angeles Lakers star James Worthy, who proved it with a triple-double in Game 7 of the 1988 NBA Finals.

The sobriquet does not apply to Penn State coach James Franklin.

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Following Saturday’s 41-17 beatdown at Michigan, Franklin is 2-14 against Top 10 teams in his coaching career. Against Top 25 teams, his record is 11-18.

Franklin can win the little games. But the Nittany Lions tend to shrink under the spotlight.

Franklin’s signature win remains an upset of No. 2 Ohio State in 2016 that gave Penn State the Big Ten East title. Since then, Penn State’s most impressive victory relative to where teams finished the season is over No. 15 Iowa in 2019.

Penn State’s 2016 is feeling a lot like Minnesota’s 2019 — the high-water mark under its high-energy head coach who talks a better game than he calls.

The difference for Franklin is in what he has arriving compared to Fleck.

Penn State’s stellar freshman class highlighted by quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen will be good enough to compete against Michigan and Ohio State if comparable talent follows in their footsteps.

It will take until 2024 for this potential Penn State Death Star to fully form, but at least the pieces are accumulating.

Maybe it’ll even give Franklin enough time to prove he can win another big game.

Around the B1G horn

Couldn’t watch every game? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

No. 5 Michigan 41, No. 10 Penn State 17

When Penn State took a 14-13 second-quarter lead despite having only 1 first down, you got the sense this game was going to get really weird. Like, Michigan’s botched punt against Michigan State weird.

Instead, it turned out that Penn State’s lone first down was telling the real story. There was only one Top 10 team on the field Saturday.

No. 24 Illinois 26, Minnesota 14

With time winding down in the first quarter, Fleck burned a couple timeouts with the intention of forcing Illinois backup kicker Fabrizio Pinton to attempt a field goal into the wind. So rather than kicking, Bielema elected to go for it on fourth-and-6 from the 24 — and picked it up.

Cue DJ Khaled:

Minnesota may be feeling this loss for a long time.

Morgan was carted off the field after taking a punch to the helmet from Illinois linebacker Gabe Jacas. Jacas was attempting to punch the ball away from Morgan in the style of former Chicago Bears corner Charles “Peanut” Tillman, but with horrendous aim.

It wasn’t a dirty play, but it was a dumb play given the physics of that particular tackle. And the rulebook needs to be adjusted to provide more risk vs. reward for punching out the football.

If you miss the ball and actually hit a player in the head, that’s 15 yards. It seems silly that a punch doesn’t carry the same standard as a tackle.

Maryland 38, Indiana 33

The potential of losing Taulia Tagovailoa to a season-ending knee injury overshadows the grit the Terrapins displayed rallying to win the game in his absence.

Everything was setting up nicely for the Terps to finish 9-3 and earn their most prominent bowl bid since joining the Big Ten. Backup quarterback Billy Edwards proved himself a dangerous running threat, but didn’t complete a pass against the Hoosiers. If he’s a one-trick pony, Maryland’s potentially special season could derail.

Michigan State 34, Wisconsin 28 (2OT)

After an impossibly bad finish to regulation, the Spartans pulled off one incredible play after the other to snap their 4-game losing streak in a double-overtime thriller.

First, the ugly ending.

Michigan State burned its final timeout, threw a pass to the wrong hash that lost a yard, then rushed the field goal unit onto the field. The holder ended up throwing an interception after the botched operation prevented a kick from even getting off.

It was fiasco. In a loss, you remember it forever. Like Michigan’s 2015 punt attempt against the Spartans.

But it also proved there’s no such thing as momentum in overtime. Every Spartan became a playmaker in the two extra frames.

A nice showing for a team that looked ready to fold it in. This final stretch of the season will say a lot about Mel Tucker’s leadership.

Purdue 43, Nebraska 37

In the same Big Ten Network time slot that gave us Illinois’ 9-6 win over Iowa last week, we saw the likely Big Ten shootout of the year.

The Huskers and Boilers combined for 1,084 yards of total offense. (And since you’re wondering, no, that’s not more yards than Iowa has gained this season. The Hawkeyes have 1,433 in 6 games.)

Nebraska receiver Trey Palmer set a program record with 237 receiving yards on just 7 receptions. He also added a 60-yard carry.

But the Huskers couldn’t stop Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who had 391 yards and 4 touchdowns. Or running back Devin Mockobee, who had 178 rushing yards. Or receiver Charlie Jones, who had 132 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 catches.

Purdue’s Nov. 15 meeting at Illinois now looms as the game of the year in the West.

Week 7 MVPs

1. WR Trey Palmer (Nebraska)

Every time Palmer touched the ball, you wondered how there wasn’t a Boilermaker within 10 yards. He was just zooming past everybody.

BTN commentator Matt Millen simply saying “Oh-ho-ho, sick!” while the ball is still in the air on Palmer’s second touchdown reception says it all.

Palmer is the first FBS player in the 21st century with 225 receiving yards and 50 rushing yards in the same game. It’s a shame it came in a loss. But Nebraska fans should remember the valiant effort for a long time.

2. WR Jayden Reed (Michigan State)

Big-time players make big-time plays.

Reed scored both of Michigan State’s overtime touchdowns, highlighted by his ludicrous third-and-12 grab in the front corner of the end zone. He had 7 total catches for 119 yards.

3. The Offices of Corum & Edwards (Michigan)

Michigan running back Blake Corum made another Heisman statement, carving Penn State for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries. His 61-yard touchdown run will be played if he makes it to New York City.

Wolverines No. 2 back Donovan Edwards showed he’s also capable of being a No. 1. Edwards actually outgained Corum, getting 173 and 2 touchdowns on 16 carries.

4. OLB Jacoby Windmon (Michigan State)

Windmon really is this year’s version of Kenneth Walker III — a transfer to MSU who is the best player in the conference at his position.

Windmon’s forced fumble in double overtime was not just a huge moment, it was his sixth forced fumble of the year. That’s already the second-most for a Michigan State player in a single season.

On top of that, Windmon had 11 tackles, 2 TFL, and dropped into coverage for an interception inside Michigan State’s red zone.

The consensus seems to be that CJ Stroud will be the first Big Ten player drafted next year. Fellow Buckeye Jaxon Smith-Njigba won’t be far behind. But Windmon could be giving himself a chance to be called pretty early, too.

5. QB Aidan O’Connell (Purdue)

I went to Indiana, not Purdue, so I can’t count. But O’Connell’s first of 4 touchdown passes against Nebraska goes through like 20 bodies before somehow landing in TJ Sheffield’s hands in the back of the end zone.

O’Connell’s 391-yard performance was his second-highest of the year behind a 424-yard showing at Syracuse. And it could have been higher. As Millen noted on the broadcast, there were at least 5 drops.

Honorable mention

Choo-Choo Charlie Jones, who caught 12 of O’Connell’s 35 completions and gained 62 of his 132 yards after the catch. … Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who became the first player with 100 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Illinois defense this season. 127 yards, to be exact. … Illinois running back Chase Brown, who had 233 total yards (180 rushing, 53 receiving) against what was the nation’s top defense. The Gophers dropped to 6th after Brown got through with them. … Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen for his 129 yards and 2 touchdowns. … Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey, who had 10 tackles, 2 TFL and 2 forced fumbles.

Play of the week

Jayden Reed’s game-winning touchdown catch is one of the best you’ll ever see given the situation. And Michigan State’s razzle-dazzle halfback pass to score the first overtime TD is No. 2.

But the top play you haven’t seen yet … well, it didn’t end up mattering. But Curtis Jacobs’ double-doink pick-6 off of JJ McCarthy was one of the craziest plays of the season.

The somersault into the end zone is a nice touch, too.

Blooper of the week

I may classify this as a blooper, but it was really a magisterial scene in the upper deck of Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.

There’s even half-hearted choreography!