The Buckeyes will look for an easy win on Saturday in Columbus. Plus, picks for the five other Big Ten games this week.
Last week ATS: 8-7 (3-4 National, 5-3 B1G)
Season ATS: 83-87 (33-36 National, 50-51 B1G
My picks for this week’s interesting games outside the Big Ten can be found here.
Big Ten games (All games Saturday unless noted):
Iowa (-5.5) v. UCLA – Friday 9:00 p.m. ET – FOX
The Hawkeyes continued their recent strong form, scoring 40 points for the third time in the last four games. Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan started last week with Cade McNamara in concussion protocol. Sullivan didn’t have to do much since Kaleb Johnson continued his tremendous season, rushing for 135 yards and three scores in the blowout of Wisconsin.
Another team that has been playing better football of late is UCLA, who has won their last two contests. In those victories, Ethan Garbers has totaled seven touchdowns. Garbers won’t have as easy of a time this week since he’ll be going up against one of the stingiest defenses in the country. Linebackers Jay Higgins and Nick Jackson will give Garbers and the Bruins all they can handle.
In their recent wins, UCLA has played a couple head cases in Rutgers and Nebraska. Iowa is a lot more sound on both sides of the football. The Hawkeyes will grind out the Bruins with defense followed by Kaleb Johnson, who again rushes for at least 100 yards and multiple touchdowns.
Iowa 30, UCLA 17
Minnesota (-6.5) v. Rutgers – 12:00 p.m. ET – NBC
Will this be the Athan Kaliakmanis revenge game? The quarterback transferred to Rutgers after starting his college career at Minnesota. Kaliakmanis is coming off his best yardage performance of the season, throwing for 313 yards. Unfortunately for Rutgers, Kaliakmanis had to throw more since the Scarlet Knights lost to USC 42-20. Along with the blowout, running back Kyle Monangai left the game in the third quarter with a head injury.
Minnesota has been one of the hottest teams in the country over the last month, winning their last four games. Last week, the Golden Gophers went on the road and beat Illinois 25-17. Running back Darius Taylor recorded his third 100-yard game of the season, finishing with 131 yards in the win.
This is a game between teams headed in opposite directions. Minnesota has won four straight, while Rutgers has lost four in a row. Even though the Scarlet Knights had a bye last week, it’s hard to see them snapping their recent skid, especially with Monangai’s health in question. Minnesota wins by at least a touchdown in New Jersey.
Minnesota 31, Rutgers 20
Michigan v. No. 8 Indiana (-13.5) – 3:30 p.m. ET – CBS
This has been a dream season for the Hoosiers. Last week Indiana trailed for the first time this season, as Michigan State jumped out to a 10-0 lead. All the Hoosiers did was reel off 47 unanswered points to stay undefeated. After missing the Washington game, Kurtis Rourke returned to the field last week, tossing four touchdowns.
Photo by Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
At least Michigan showed a little bit of fight last week, pulling to within 28-17 in the second half before Oregon added 10 more points. The Wolverines should be encouraged that Davis Warren and Colston Loveland formed a bit of a connection, since Loveland is their biggest threat through the air.
Indiana comes into this game on a high after being projected into the College Football Playoff after the first reveal of the rankings. Curt Cignetti knows his team can’t let off the gas, especially with a trip to Columbus coming in a couple weeks. The Hoosiers stay perfect with another dominant performance against a Michigan team that is reeling.
Indiana 34, Michigan 14
Maryland v. No. 1 Oregon (-24.5) – 7:00 p.m. ET – Big Ten Network
The consistency of Oregon on offense has been incredible. Over the last six games, the Ducks have scored at least 31 points, but no more than 38. The Ducks did take a hit last week when Tez Johnson was injured against Michigan. Even without Johnson, Oregon still has plenty of weapons on offense.
Maryland is not a good football team. The Terrapins have lost three of their last four games, with their only win coming at home against a broken USC squad. Last time out, Maryland gave up 48 points to noted offensive juggernaut Minnesota.
I just don’t see how the Terrapins keep this one close. The defense of Oregon has been tough to crack this year, and I have no reason to think that Maryland will cause them any issues. The Ducks break 40 points for the first time since September.
Oregon 44, Maryland 13
Washington v. No. 6 Penn State (-13.5) – 8:00 p.m. ET – Peacock
Getting up for a game after playing Ohio State is always tough. Luckily for Penn State they’ll get some added juice from the “White Out” on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions can’t wallow after the loss to the Buckeyes since they are currently projected to host a first round playoff game.
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
Washington was able to earn a much needed win last week, beating USC in Seattle 26-21. The win doesn’t fix the struggles of the Huskies, though. Washington still has issues generating offense, and those struggles will be magnified by a hungry Penn State defense.
The Nittany Lions are going to take out their frustrations on Washington on Saturday night. The atmosphere in State College is going to be too much for Jedd Fisch’s team to handle as Warren rebounds with a big game after Ohio State slowed down the talented tight end.
Penn State 35, Washington 17
Purdue v. No. 2 Ohio State (-37.5) – 12:00 p.m. ET – FOX
Ohio State enters this game coming off a huge win at Penn State last week. The Buckeyes desperately needed the win because it would have been a tough argument for the Buckeyes to be a part of the College Football Playoff with two losses, especially with the insanely soft non-conference schedule they played. Ohio State now controls their own destiny when it comes to earning a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game next month.
While the defense has stepped up following the Oregon game, the Ohio State offense has been lacking, scoring just 41 points over the last two games. Some of those issues can be attributed to the play of the offensive line against Nebraska, and last week the Buckeyes went up against a very tough Penn State defense.
At least last week the rushing attack was more productive than they were against Nebraska. Chip Kelly needs to continue to put the ball in the hands of Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson to try and capitalize off of last week’s positive performance.
Purdue has really fallen on hard times after Jeff Brohm left for Louisville following the 2022 season. The Boilermakers have only scored more than 20 points in two of their eight games this season. The lack of offense has been a huge reason why Purdue has lost seven straight games.
Despite having two productive running backs in Devin Mockobee and Reggie Love III, the offense of the Boilermakers seems to favor the pass. Quarterback Hudson Card could be in trouble on Saturday since the Buckeyes can tee off on the Texas transfer because Ohio State knows Purdue wants to throw the football.
I always feel bad when I talk bad about Purdue since my uncle is a Boilermaker. Unfortunately it is unavoidable this year since Purdue has been so bad. The Buckeyes need to jump out on the Boilers early and leave no doubt so they can protect their starters since they close out the regular season with Indiana and Michigan.
There’s no reason this game should be close with these teams being on opposite ends of the Big Ten standings. This contest should have about as much suspense as the non-conference games for Ohio State did this year.
Ohio State 51, Purdue 10