Power Rankings
- Oregon – Top team in the country. Way to represent.
- Ohio State – Ryan Day is the only person in America who’s scared of Michigan.
- Penn State – I hope James Franklin survived such an exhausting charter flight.
- Indiana – I’d light one up with Coach Cig any night.
- Illinois – Best throwbacks I’ve seen in a while.
- Michigan State – I had no idea Kirk Gibson played football there – and was an All-American.
- Wisconsin – The strength coach should’ve jumped in the Chicago River. Now that’s a challenge.
- Nebraska – How the mighty has fallen. Clinching a bowl game will have to wait another week.
- Iowa – I could say the same for the Hawks. Get ready for some tackling drills.
- Washington – This is where the mediocrity starts.
- Minnesota – Don’t break your sunglasses when you crowd surf on your team, PJ Fleck.
- Maryland – Make Terpsville its own district. Who needs this Columbia?
- Michigan – “Who has it better than us?” Um, a lot of other people.
- USC – I trust Snoop Dogg has a handy way to forget about losses.
- Northwestern – You know, Guaranteed Rate Field is an option to play at. Would be fitting.
- UCLA – Guess it wants to win, or at least ruin my bets.
- Rutgers – So much for East Coast bias.
- Purdue – “We have the world’s largest drum!” OK, and?
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: Rutgers (4-3, 1-3) @ USC (3-4, 1-4)
Los Angeles, CA
Where/when to watch: Friday at 10 p.m. on FOX | Line: USC -13.5 | O/U: 56.5
A matchup of the ages for history nerds. Knights against Trojans? Please both wear red for this late-night bloodbath.
Matchups
Ohio Stadium: Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) @ No. 4 Ohio State (5-1. 2-1)
Columbus, OH
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 11 a.m. on FOX | Line: Ohio State -25.5 | O/U: 47.5
Is it the Republican National Convention with all this red? Plus, it seems to be agriculture-focused. Just can’t imagine “Ave Maria” being played though.
Memorial Stadium: Washington (4-3, 2-2) @ No. 13 Indiana (7-0, 4-0)
Bloomington, IN
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 11 a.m. on BTN | Line: Indiana -6.5 | O/U: 54.5
Who’s more intelligent: a Husky or the average Hoosier business (read: party) major? Give me the dog, but Bloomington still looks like a blast – just not for education.
Autzen Stadium: No. 20 Illinois (6-1, 3-1) @ No. 1 Oregon (7-0, 4-0)
Eugene, OR
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS | Line: Oregon -21.5 | O/U: 54.5
Champaign, meet Eugene. Two fancy-sounding places, but one with a lot more scenery. I mean no disrespect to Mia Za’s pizza on Green St. though.
Kinnick Stadium: Northwestern (3-4, 1-3) @ Iowa (4-3, 2-2)
Iowa City, IA
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on BTN | Line: Iowa -14 | O/U: 37.5
One of these schools rejected me, so I just might have a rooting interest here. Not a soul touched grass when I visited that campus.
Huntington Bank Stadium: Maryland (4-3, 1-3) @ Minnesota (4-3, 2-2)
Minneapolis, MN
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on BTN | Line: Minnesota -4.5 | O/U: 45.5
Both of these teams should play in domes, but that’s wishful thinking. Just imagine: The Shell and The Burrow. No, not you Joe – but keep it up in fantasy for me.
Camp Randall Stadium: No. 3 Penn State (6-0, 3-0) @ Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1)
Madison, WI
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on NBC | Line: Penn State -6.5 | O/U: 47.5
I can walk into Camp Randall 10 minutes before kickoff and grab front-row seats in the student section. Is that really a home-field advantage?
Michigan Stadium: Michigan State (4-3, 2-2) @ Michigan (4-3, 2-2)
Ann Arbor, MI
Where/when to watch: Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on BTN | Line: Michigan -5 | O/U: 39.5
These teams have identical records, but not moods. Ceding the Paul Bunyan Trophy to the Spartans would be just another chop to the Wolverines’ season.