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Trap music is more of an SEC soundtrack, but it’s a fitting genre for this week’s Big Ten slate of games.
With marquee matchups filling the Week 9 and Week 11 schedules, Week 10 looms as the ultimate trap weekend for Big Ten contenders.
Danger looms for Michigan State when it visits Purdue, which is looking for its second win over a Top-5 foe this season. And Ohio State will face its first serious road test since Week 1 when it visits a talented buy poorly coached (or is it well-coached but not really talented?) Nebraska team that’s come within a score of beating Oklahoma and Michigan State.
Here is what we are looking to see from each B1G team this week.
Ohio State — Will the Buckeyes clean it up?
Ohio State was uncharacteristically sloppy against Penn State. Ten penalties for 74 yards, many of which were of the procedural variety. A fumble. A handful of missed assignments.
It was not what we’ve come to expect from a Ryan Day team in his short tenure. And if it happens again, the Bucks could be in hot water in front of a hostile crowd at Nebraska.
Nebraska — Will Scott Frost save himself?
It feels like this is the ultimate moment of truth for Scott Frost at Nebraska.
Win out against Ohio State, Wisconsin and Iowa to reach a bowl game and there’s no question he’s earned a shot to take the next step forward in 2022. Anything less, and the Huskers seem destined to join the ever-growing list of programs searching for a new leader.
Illinois — Can the Illini win the game of keep-away?
The Illinois defense ranks 13th in the B1G against the run, allowing an average of 4.22 yards per carry. That gives the Illini very little chance of slowing down Minnesota’s run-dominated attack.
The key to beating the Gophers will be keeping the ball away from them. The Illini pulled it off in their win at Penn State, holding the ball for over 36 minutes while rushing 67 times.
It will be tougher to pull off this time around. Minnesota ranks 5th nationally in time of possession.
Minnesota — Don’t think about the pig
Minnesota is alone in first place in the Big Ten West. The Floyd of Rosedale game at Iowa looms next week. And based on what happened against Bowling Green, we know the Golden Gophers are capable of overlooking a lesser foe.
It can’t happen again.
Penn State — New month, new Lions?
October was brutal to the Nittany Lions, who opened the month in the Top 5 and ended it on a 3-game losing streak.
However, there were encouraging signs in a 33-24 loss at Ohio State. The offense topped 300 yards for the first time since a 24-0 win over Indiana.
Maryland seems like an ideal opponent to get the season back on the right track, even if the season is now lost.
Maryland — Can the Terps go back-to-back?
Maryland desperately needs a rival. No football schedule is complete without a team you can hate.
The Terrapins haven’t had one since relocating from the ACC. But with 44 all-time meetings against Penn State, the Nittany Lions are the closest thing that qualifies.
Granted, an all-time record of 3-40-1 against Penn State isn’t much for Maryland to hang its hat on. But a win this year would make 2 in a row. And you can’t match Penn State’s streak of 24 straight wins over Maryland from 1962-1988 without getting to 2 first.
Wisconsin — Can clean football continue?
The Badgers are minus-5 in turnover margin this season, but have gone plus-6 over their past 3 wins. Saturday’s 27-7 win over Iowa was a watershed moment for Wisconsin — its first game all season without a turnover.
We’ll see if the new-look Graham Mertz can bring that act to Jersey.
Rutgers — Can it keep Badgers out of the backfield?
This game is a clear mismatch in the trenches.
Wisconsin is second in the Big Ten with 56 tackles for loss. Rutgers is next-to-last with 57 tackles for loss allowed. And we saw what the Badgers did to now-dead-last Iowa.
The Scarlet Knights will need to scheme creatively to have a shot.
Michigan State — Will Sparty avoid the Purdue trap?
This script has already been written. Michigan State is trying to avoid appearing in a sequel.
Iowa, riding high off of a Top-10 home win against Penn State, fell into the Ross-Ade trap. Now the Spartans run the risk of having the same thing happen after their Top-10 home win over Michigan.
Fortunately, they have something Iowa did not possess — Kenneth Walker III.
Purdue — No. 2 deja vu?
An interesting wrinkle to this one — it’s possible, if not probable, that the CFP committee will rank Michigan State No. 2 in Tuesday night’s rankings.
No program in the country has more wins over Top 2 programs while being unranked than Purdue. The voodoo may be back in the Boilers’ corner Saturday.
Iowa — Can the Hawkeyes run against anyone?
The moveable object meets the stoppable force.
Northwestern’s run defense allows an abysmal 229 yards per game. Iowa can barely run out of a paper bag, combining for 100 rushing yards in consecutive losses to Purdue and Wisconsin.
If the Hawks can’t move it on the ground against this team, they can’t get it done against anyone.
Northwestern — Will Fitz’s Iowa ownership continue?
Pat Fitzgerald has Kirk Ferentz’s number.
Northwestern has beaten Iowa in 4 of their last 5 meetings, including last year. Overall, Fitz is 9-6 against Ferentz in the battle of the Big Ten’s longest tenured coaches.
Indiana — What can Donaven McCulley do?
Indiana’s offense finally took a step forward once it had a full week to prepare true freshman Donaven McCulley for the starting job. Granted, that’s what offenses do against Maryland. But scoring 35 points was a major step forward after failing to hit that total in the previous 4 Big Ten games combined.
The degree of difficulty rises considerably at Michigan. We’ll see if the young quarterback is up to the task.
Michigan — Let Cade McNamara continue to sling it
Lost in the disappointment of the loss at Michigan State is the fact that Michigan’s offense is far more dynamic than we were led to believe. The Wolverines threw for 406 yards — their highest passing total since 2015.
Though the cause seems hopeless at the moment, there is still a path back into the Playoff picture for Michigan. It requires finally beating Ohio State, and Michigan State slipping up against some combination of Purdue, Ohio State and Penn State. But it exists.
If the Wolverines are going to traverse down that path, they need to continue showing signs of a balanced offense. Indiana makes for ideal target practice for Cade McNamara to grow.
Alex Hickey is an award-winning writer who has watched Big Ten sports since it was a numerically accurate description of league membership. Alex has covered college football and basketball since 2008, with stops on the McNeese State, LSU and West Virginia beats before being hired as Saturday Tradition's Big Ten columnist in 2021. He is an Illinois native and 2004 Indiana University graduate.