Tuesday, November 04, 2025
37.0°F

Bluebloods Penn St., Michigan enter game with case of blues

Eric Olson | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 11 months AGO
by Eric Olson
| November 24, 2020 11:12 PM

Things to watch during the sixth week of play in the Big Ten Conference:

GAME OF THE WEEK

Penn State at Michigan

This isn't a game of the week in the traditional sense, but it's sure to draw lots of eyeballs. Penn State is 0-5 for the first time, the quarterback situation is murky and coach James Franklin doesn't appear to have any answers. The state of Michigan's program is summed up by the fact it needed three overtimes to beat Rutgers and improve to 2-3. Jim Harbaugh has one more year left on his contract. The question is whether he'll be at Michigan after next month.

BEST MATCHUP

Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa vs. Indiana's pass defense. Tagovailoa has thrown for 676 yards in the last two games, the most by a Maryland quarterback in back-to-back wins since Scott Milanovich passed for 692 in 1994. The Hoosiers are in bounce-back mode after losing to Ohio State, and their secondary must be up to the task against a quarterback who has completed 72% of his passes and thrown six TD passes in his last two games.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Division leaders Ohio State and Northwestern are big favorites in their road games. The Buckeyes are giving 28 points against an improving Illinois. The last time Ohio State lost as a double-digit favorite was in 2018, a 49-20 defeat at Purdue. Northwestern is favored by two touchdowns against Michigan State. The Wildcats' last loss as a double-digit favorite also was in 2018, a 39-34 defeat to Akron at home.

LONG SHOT

Nebraska is a 14-point underdog at Iowa on Friday and should be eager to atone for its embarrassing 18-point home loss to Illinois. The Hawkeyes are on the rise following a slow start. They've won five in a row in this rivalry, the last two on field goals with 0 and 1 second remaining.

IMPACT PLAYER

Purdue WR Rondale Moore, if his hamstring is right, could be in line for a big follow-up to his 15-catch game against Minnesota. Moore is a rare talent, and Rutgers' pass defense has given up 8.1 yards per attempt and 15 touchdowns and has just two interceptions in five games.

___

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

ARTICLES BY ERIC OLSON

Iowa's Garza, Badgers' Gard take AP All-Big Ten top honors
March 10, 2020 11:58 a.m.

Iowa's Garza, Badgers' Gard take AP All-Big Ten top honors

Iowa's Luka Garza is The Associated Press player of the year in the Big Ten Conference and Wisconsin's Greg Gard is its coach of the year.

For these athletes, this is a spring break they don't want
March 14, 2020 7:55 a.m.

For these athletes, this is a spring break they don't want

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton right-hander Ben Dotzler was supposed to be in the bullpen at TD Ameritrade Park this weekend, readying himself to pitch against Northern Colorado.

Huskies to face No. 15 Baylor in Alamo Bowl
December 6, 2011 8 p.m.

Huskies to face No. 15 Baylor in Alamo Bowl

UW in bowl for second straight year

No. 15 Baylor has accepted an invitation to play Washington in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Dec. 29.