According to national media pundits, a loss to Ohio State should knock Indiana out of the playoffs. Let us tell you why it shouldn’t matter, plus more news and games across the Big Ten Conference!
Welcome to a new episode of Land-Grant Podcast Network’s I-80 Football Show. On this show, we travel down I-80 to talk all things Big Ten Football. After every week of action, we will catch you up on all the conference’s games and look ahead at the matchups, storylines, and players you should be paying attention to for the next week. My name is Jordan Williams, and I am joined by my co-host Dante Morgan.
The guys are back, but before they get into the Big Ten they hit a massive traffic jam in the traffic update.
As a Kent State alum, there is not a major expectation of a successful football program, but after Sean Lewis there was at least hope. New head coach Kenni Burns is on his way to a 1-23 record in his first two seasons. On top of that, rumors are swirling in the media about character issues. It’s time for Kent State to let Kenni go and find a coach who can at least fight for a bowl game.
In other news, Wisconsin fired their offensive coordinator, and Oregon has secured a spot in the Big Ten championship game. The full game could be decided this weekend after the Ohio State-Indiana game.
Speaking of Ohio State-Indiana, the guys break down the game including the impact of the Buckeyes losing their starting center three days before the game. The Hoosiers are coming off a bye week, but in their win over Michigan they were bullied on the line of scrimmage and had their worst offensive showing. Now down two starting offensive linemen, Ohio State will need to rely on Jim Knowles and its defense to win the game.
One of the biggest keys of the game is how Ohio State’s struggling corners hold up against the Indiana wide receivers. If you follow the national media, you will see a lot of talk about how this game could be an elimination game for Indiana as they could get jumped by a two-loss SEC team. This game is huge because there is a spot in the Big Ten championship on the line, but both teams, win or lose, should make the 12-team field.
The Mapquest segment is pretty barren, as the Friday night game is awful and there is not a primetime matchup this week, but Ohio State-Indiana should make up for it at noon. In the mid-day slot, there are two games between 5-5 teams hoping to make a bowl game as Wisconsin plays Nebraska and Michigan plays Northwestern. The after-dark game is a rivalry matchup for USC and UCLA as the Trojans, with Notre Dame next week, need this win to finish the season with six wins. UCLA has a chance to upset their rival and go into the last week of the season against Fresno State with a chance to go from 1-5 to 6-6.
In their weekly pitstop, Jordan and Dante discuss Cleveland’s bids to bring the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to the city. With both leagues many have teams on the East and West Coast with few teams in the mid-west. Cleveland should be an ideal spot for both leagues. Here’s hoping we have women’s professional sports back in Cleveland by 2028.
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You can also find Jordan’s article B1G Thoughts on Land-Grant Holy Land.
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