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There are plenty of questions to get answered around the Big Ten this week as we head into Week 3. Here’s what’s on my mind as another Saturday rolls around:
1. Can Ohio State win on the road against a quality opponent?
The No. 4-ranked Buckeyes have looked good so far, but they’ve played Oregon State and Rutgers, quite possibly the two worst teams in the Power 5 conferences. Now comes a showdown with No. 15 TCU in Arlington, Texas, in Ohio State’s first game away from home.
TCU coach Gary Patterson is considered to be one of the best in the business at devising game plans, so it’s going to be interesting to see what he has in store for the Buckeyes, who are playing their last game without coach Urban Meyer. This one is in primetime for a reason. It should be fun to watch.
2. Is Purdue about to go 0-3 with a third-straight home loss?
Jeff Brohm was supposed to be on the verge of turning the Purdue program around, but then all of a sudden the Boilermakers have lost twice at home as favorites, stumbling against Northwestern and Eastern Michigan.
Missouri is 2-0 and has won eight straight regular season games. They have a first-round draft pick at quarterback in Drew Lock and the Boilers have all sorts of issues in the secondary, which has given up an average of 291 yards passing so far this season. If Lock lights them up, things could start to get real ugly around West Lafayette.
3. Will Iowa’s much-maligned offense finally show up?
Iowa is 2-0 and winning can oftentimes smooth over some obvious issues. There’s no doubt that’s the case with the Hawkeyes offense, which has been pretty bad so far, especially in the first half.
There doesn’t seem to be an enormous amount of concern, because they rallied for 30 points in the second half in the opener against Northern Illinois and then put together a nice fourth-quarter drive to seal the deal last week in the 13-3 win over Iowa State. Still, it would be nice to see a complete four-quarter effort against Northern Iowa, especially with the Big Ten West showdown with Wisconsin just a week away.
Will Michigan’s offensive line continue to show improvement?
If Michigan is going to compete for a Big Ten East title — and that’s still a big if right now — it needs continued improvement from its oft-maligned offensive line. They were much better last week in the rout of Western Michigan and they need to keep it up this week against SMU.
The line opened up huge holes in the running game, and Karan Higdon took advantage with 156 yards rushing in the first half alone. And new quarterback Shea Patterson looked great when he had time to throw. They all just need to keep getting better so they’re prepared for the big tests that are coming down the road. They’re coming.
Can Maryland continue its surprising start with a third straight win?
Kudos to the Terrapins for putting all their off-season issues on the back burner and starting out with two wins. That’s eased a lot of pain, to be sure. Now comes Temple in Week 3, and Maryland should be able to make it three wins in a row in their first true home game on campus.
Maryland’s offense has featured a balanced attack thus far in wins over then-No. 23 Texas and Bowling Green. The defense has stepped up to make big plays, too. It would be nice for this team to get bowl eligible, so this is one game they can’t let slip away. Look for 3-0 to happen.
Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.