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This could be a fun weekend of football in the B1G.
The past few weeks haven’t been overly entertaining, with a lot of lopsided finishes and a lack of marquee matchups. But all that changes in Week 6. No, there aren’t any top 10 clashes just yet, but there’s a rivalry game, a few sneaky-good matchups and interesting games at every timeslot.
What more could the college football fan ask for?
Before Saturday arrives, I’ve made my bold predictions for the sixth week of the season. After nothing came to fruition last week, here’s hoping something plays out this Saturday.
I have a strong suspicion a few of them will.
Minnesota bounces back vs. Purdue
The Gophers have a tough task on Saturday. Not only are they battling a much-improved Purdue team on the road, it’ll be an emotional day in West Lafayette as the Boilermakers honor the memory of former head coach Joe Tiller, who past away last weekend. All that considered, Minnesota should still be able to score its first win of the P.J. Fleck era.
Minnesota’s defense has done well against the run and Fleck’s squad is the least penalized team in the conference. In other words, the Gophers don’t beat themselves. Purdue will put up a fight, but Minnesota’s discipline and talent should be enough to score a win against the Boilers.
Jonathan Taylor is held to his lowest rushing total of the season
Considering how much success the Badgers have had running on Nebraska’s defense, this one might seem laughable, especially as Taylor is averaging more than 125 yards per game. But if there’s been one upside to the Huskers this season, it’s come on that side of the ball.
Nebraska is allowing 105.8 yards per game on the ground, good enough for fourth-best in the B1G. Sure, they gave up over 200 to Oregon in Week 2, but the offensive mistakes forced the defense to be on the field a long time in that game.
This is do-or-die time for Mike Riley and the Huskers. It’s a night game at Memorial Stadium and the 1997 championship team is being honored. If Nebraska wants a chance to win, it’s going to have to shut down Taylor.
The final score between Michigan State-Michigan will come in under 40
Arbitrary score total? No, that’s the over/under for Saturday’s game. And that 40-point total might be a little too high.
Both offenses have struggled while both defenses have been fairly prolific in the early part of the season. This has the potential to be one of those classic, smash-mouth B1G games that ends with a 10-7 score. OK, maybe it won’t be quite that low. Still, Michigan State-Michigan is going to be all about defense.
Oh, and making sure fans treat each other with respect.
Peyton Ramsey will earn B1G Freshman of the Week honors
Earlier this week, Indiana head coach Tom Allen announced that redshirt freshman Peyton Ramsey would be starting under center for the Hoosiers moving forward. He’s been a sparkplug for an otherwise bland offense.
Ramsey is a dual-threat quarterback capable of making big plays with his arm and his legs. He’s already had one big-time outing this year, throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-20 passing in a 34-17 win over Virginia. The freshman also rushed for 32 yards and a score in the game.
As the Hoosiers host Charleston Southern, expect Ramsey to post a stat line solid enough to bring home B1G Freshman of the Week honors at the end of Week 6.
One of the four ranked teams will fall
Nobody is really talking about an upset this weekend, which is exactly why this is the perfect weekend for one — or a couple — of the top teams to take a hit.
Maryland won’t have much chance against Ohio State, but the other three teams are in some dangerous situations this weekend. Here’s just one quick note for each of those three games:
- No. 4 Penn State vs. Northwestern – James Franklin is 0-2 against Northwestern, both losses at Ryan Field.
- No. 9 Wisconsin vs. Nebraska – The Huskers have won 20 straight night games at Memorial Stadium.
- Michigan State vs. No. 7 Michigan – The Spartans have won seven of the last nine meetings of the in-state rivalry.
Pretty interesting tidbits, no?
The odds aren’t great, but one of the three underdogs could sneak up and surprise the country this weekend.
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