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SI’s Pat Forde highlights 2 B1G teams as potential CFP spoilers
By Paul Harvey
Published:
A number of teams have been eliminated from contention for the College Football Playoff, but some of those teams will get an opportunity to wreck the season of other contenders.
Two B1G teams, in particular, Iowa and Indiana, were recently highlighted by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde. With multiple losses on the year, the Hawkeyes and Hoosiers do not have a chance at the CFP, but they will play CFP hopefuls this weekend.
One game Saturday is in Iowa City when the Hawkeyes host undefeated Minnesota. At 9-0, the Gophers are three wins away from an undefeated regular season and trip to the B1G Championship Game. However, a road game against the Hawkeyes is no easy task, given their history and the tough game Minnesota is coming off of.
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Forde even pointed out that Vegas is favoring the Hawkeyes:
The trap game: Minnesota in Iowa City on Saturday. The line: Iowa by three. Vegas doesn’t just see this as a trap; it sees it as a Hawkeyes win up front…Iowa has taken down some highly ranked opponents in Kinnick Stadium in recent years, most notably Michigan in 2016 and Ohio State in ’17.
The other trap that Forde highlighted was Indiana’s visit to Penn State this weekend. While Minnesota is looking to keep its momentum, the Nittany Lions are trying to regroup from a hard-fought loss on the road.
Penn State will have to try and rebound against a hot Hoosiers squad coming off of a bye week:
The hottest team in the Big Ten other than Ohio State and Minnesota is the Hoosiers, riding a four-game winning streak into Happy Valley. They also had an open date while Penn State was battling for 60 minutes at Minnesota, and that rest-and-recovery advantage can be really useful at this time of year…Penn State can’t afford a letdown in a natural letdown spot.
How do you see these potential “spoilers” playing out?
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.