The Big Ten once again has an interesting weekend ahead of it. A shift has occurred in the college football landscape. As of right now, the Oregon Ducks are the best team in college football, being chosen as number 1 by all but two voters in this week’s AP Poll. The Big Ten also has two other top-five teams in Penn State and Ohio State, all three teams will be taking the field on Saturday. The Big Ten has several pivotal matchups this weekend. Three of them stand above the rest.
Top Three Week Nine Games In The Big Ten
No.1 Oregon vs No.20 Illinois
This very well could be a trap game for Oregon. After beating Ohio State and breezing through Purdue, it is easy for a team to get ahead of themselves and start buying their own stock. Oregon will have to bring its best because Illinois will, most likely, throw everything at them. Illinois is ranked for a reason, they have beaten good teams. The one game they lost was against Penn State 21-7. Not a super close game but definitely not a blowout either. Illinois hung around for a while against one of the best teams in college football. Oregon shouldn’t forget that fact.
No.13 Indiana vs Washington
Indiana seems to be on a warpath to establish that they belong in the College Football Playoff. They haven’t beaten a ranked team yet this year, however you can only beat who you play. As for those they have played? The Hoosiers crushed them. The closest game Indian has played this season was decided by two touchdowns. The lowest amount of points Indiana has scored in Big Ten play this season is 41.
Washington themselves are no pushover. They are one of the most complete teams that Indiana will play up to this point in the season. Indiana will most likely be without its starting quarterback, Kurtis Rourke. It will be interesting to see how Indiana respond in the face of this adversity.
No.3 Penn State vs Wisconsin
No.3 Penn State traveling to play in Camp Randall? Get your popcorn out and put your earplugs in because it is going to be fun and loud. This could absolutely be considered a trap game for Penn State, having to play in a very hostile environment against a very solid and hungry Wisconsin team. Over the past few weeks, Wisconsin has been steamrolling their opponents with a combined score of 117 points for and only 16 points against.
Penn State still has a lot to prove themselves as well. A few times this season, Penn State had to dig themselves out of huge holes after halftime to win. Penn State needs to prove that it can dominate for four quarters. Make no mistake, this is one of the biggest games Penn State has had on their schedule so far.
For More Big Ten and College Football Content