As we near the end of this college football season, the number of games that will impact conference championship races begins to dwindle. In a top-heavy Big Ten, there will likely be only one such game remaining — next weekend's matchup between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana — making this a slower week around the conference.
Your undefeated No. 1 Oregon Ducks will head to Wisconsin this weekend as 13.5-point favorites before returning home for a bye and a rivalry-week contest with 5-5 Washington, giving them a straightforward shot to the Big Ten championship. One-loss Penn State currently sits fourth in the conference standings, essentially eliminating them from contention while making Ohio State-Indiana a play-in game for a title shot — barring a rivalry-week upset by either Michigan or Purdue. The Ducks play the final Big Ten game of the weekend, so let's look at the three other games around the conference that Oregon fans should be tuned into before the Ducks take on Wisconsin at 4:30 PM on NBC.
1. UCLA (4-5, 3-4) at Washington (5-5, 3-4) - 6 PM Friday on Fox
Following a slow start to the season, UCLA has since turned things around in recent weeks under new head coach DeShaun Foster. The Bruins began the year with a narrow win over Hawaii before dropping their next five games, including their first four as members of the Big Ten. But since then, UCLA has won its last three over Rutgers, Nebraska, and Iowa — all teams with winning records on the season. Additionally, if you look back at those five consecutive losses at the beginning of the season, they look far better in hindsight. That losing streak started against Indiana — at the time unranked but now 10-0 and the No. 5 team in the country. The Bruins then proceeded to lose to LSU (currently No. 22 in the CFP rankings), Oregon (No. 1), Penn State (No. 4), and Minnesota — who at 6-4 on the season and 4-3 in conference play, is just one of six Big Ten teams with a winning record both overall and in the conference. UCLA finishes the year with Washington, USC, and Fresno State, which are all winnable games, only needing to win two of three to reach bowl eligibility. The Huskies are also fighting for their bowl eligibility this week, likely needing a win over UCLA with their final game of the season coming on the road at Oregon. Washington, as expected, lost big on the road at Penn State last week, with the story of that game being the second-half benching of starting quarterback Will Rogers for true freshman Demond Williams. Rogers had totaled 59 yards and a pick through the air with -12 rushing yards and a fumble that he recovered on Washington's five scoreless first-half drives as the Huskies trailed 28-0. A fumble by star Penn State tight end Tyler Warren set Williams up with short field position on his first drive, which ultimately resulted in a field goal for Washington's first points of the game. After Penn State missed a kick, Williams would lead another field goal drive, this one lasting 15 plays while traveling 56 yards, though it would be the Huskies' final points of the game. Williams finished his day 6-of-10 for 60 yards passing while adding 38 yards on 10 carries. Despite the benching, head coach Jedd Fisch has been adamant that Rogers will remain the starter going forward. These are two teams that have been playing each other since 1933 in the Pac-12 before moving to the Big Ten together this season. UCLA last missed a bowl game in a full season in 2019, while Washington is trying to avoid 2023 TCU's fate of a losing record a year after finishing as the national championship runner-up.
2. Nebraska (5-4, 2-4) at USC (4-5, 2-5) - 1 PM Saturday on Fox
This is yet another game between two teams fighting to reach the bowl-eligible threshold of six wins. Nebraska hasn't played postseason football since 2016 while USC is trying to avoid a losing season for the first time in three years under Lincoln Riley. Nebraska has seen things cool down after its 5-1 start, dropping its last three games in a row (although two of those were to Indiana and Ohio State). Quarterback Dylan Raiola has looked much more like the true freshman he is, with only two touchdowns and six interceptions over the Cornhuskers' last five games. Nebraska still has a strong defensive unit that ranks top-25 nationally in both points and yards allowed per game and will need to rely on that side of the ball to win. The Cornhuskers close their season with USC, Wisconsin, and Iowa, only needing to win one of those to become bowl-eligible for the first time in eight years. USC has been in a similar slump, with only one win in its last five games. The Trojans started the year ranked as a top-25 team, reaching as high as No. 11 before things came crashing down against Minnesota. Since then they have failed to pull out close game after close game, with their average defeat this season coming by fewer than four points. USC's defense has improved to respectable levels, ranking as a top-50 unit in the country, but its offense has struggled with turnovers which has put the defense in disadvantageous positions. Over the last five games, the offense has coughed the ball up eight times compared to the defense's six takeaways — a losing battle in the turnover game. Riley isn't on the hot seat yet thanks to the 10-year, $110 million contract he signed in 2022, but could find himself there if similar results continue next year. USC has not missed a bowl game in consecutive seasons (except for the pandemic and their 2010-11 bowl ban) since 2000, the last year before the Trojans hired legendary head coach Pete Carroll.
3. Rutgers (5-4, 2-4) at Maryland (4-5, 1-5) - 3 PM Saturday on FS1
In case you haven't picked up on the theme yet this week, these are two more teams fighting for their bowl eligibility. At 5-4 right now, Rutgers is on track for back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2011 and 2012 — its final two years as a member of the Big East before it dissipated to become a basketball conference. After a 4-0 start, the Scarlet Knights hit a wall in October, losing their next four games in a row before finally picking up win number five at home against Minnesota last week. Greg Schiano is already the winningest coach in program history with 92 career victories and has led Rutgers to eight of its 12 bowl game appearances. He'll be looking to add to that with a win in one of the Scarlet Knights' three remaining games against Maryland, Illinois, and Michigan State. Maryland, meanwhile, is trying to reach a bowl game for the fourth straight season, which would make head coach Mike Locksley the first Terrapin coach to do so since Bobby Ross from 1982-85. Maryland hung with Oregon last week into the second half before the Ducks ultimately pulled away for a three-score win. The Terrapin offense has come and gone this season with the arm of quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who has averaged 319 yards with eight touchdowns and two picks in Maryland wins but just 249 yards with an even split of six touchdowns and interceptions in losses. Maryland finishes the season at Penn State, making this and next week against Iowa both must-win games for bowl eligibility.
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