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Look at this week’s schedule on paper and it may not seem that intriguing. Three of the B1G’s five ranked teams — Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan — are all off this week and Wisconsin is stepping outside conference play to host Army.
But there are some interesting storylines to watch this weekend.
Purdue is 3-1 against Iowa under Jeff Brohm. Nebraska and Minnesota are clearly battling for the coveted Bits of Broken Chair rivalry trophy. Michigan State and Indiana are fighting for the Old Brass Spittoon. Rutgers and Northwestern are both looking to get back in the win column.
There are some things to keep an eye on.
Before we get to the five-game slate on Saturday, let’s jump into some bold predictions for the weekend in the B1G.
Army beats Wisconsin
As good as Wisconsin’s defense has been this season, I’ve got no trust in the offense. Here’s a stat for you: Army has thrown more touchdown passes than Wisconsin this season. The Black Knights, who have thrown the ball 33 times, have 4 touchdown tosses and the Badgers have just 3. That’s not good. Plus, Paul Chryst’s team has the worst turnover margin in the country (-11) and one of the worst red zone touchdown percentages, as well. I don’t see Wisconsin’s offense making enough plays against an always-solid Army team.
Nebraska’s defense hold Minnesota to under 250 yards
With Trey Potts out the remainder of the season, Minnesota is on its third-string running back. The Gophers’ are completing just over 52% of their passes and key offensive lineman Curtis Dunlap Jr. is in the NCAA transfer portal. There are a lot of concerns about the offense. Conversely, Nebraska’s defense is playing at an incredibly high level right now. Where are the Gophers going to find their yardage. I expect the Blackshirts to take care of business against a depleted Minnesota team and hold the offense to fewer than 250 yards for the game.
David Bell doesn’t go off against Iowa again
In Purdue’s last two games against Iowa, Bell has hauled in 26 catches for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns. A lot of receivers don’t post that total for a season, yet the Purdue wideout has done it in two games against one of the better defensive teams in the B1G. But I don’t think it’ll happen in 2021. The Hawkeyes defense is on another level right now and the Boilermaker offense has been sputtering, scoring just 13 points in each of its last three games. Bell will be a factor in the game, but it’ll be a big step down from his previous performances.
Kenneth Walker III becomes the first RB with over 100 yards vs. Indiana
Believe it or not, Indiana actually hasn’t allowed a running back to hit the century mark this season. The closest was Iowa’s Tyler Goodson in the opener, rushing for 99 yards. That streak will end on Saturday when Kenneth Walker adds another stellar performance to his Heisman resumé. Walker has hit triple digits four times in six games and is averaging better than 7 yards per carry. I know the Hoosiers are rested after a bye week, but Walker is going to have his fifth 100-yard performance this weekend.
Rutgers suffers a fourth-straight loss
Before I continue, I think Rutgers is a better football team than Northwestern. However, the Scarlet Knights are just getting through a gauntlet of Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State in consecutive week. They’re without key players on both sides of the ball and have dropped three straight games. Northwestern has struggled this season, but it also hasn’t been smacked around that hard in consecutive weeks and is coming out of an off week. This might be one of the more surprising results from the 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