We have finally made it to Week 10 and the second-most consequential game of this Big Ten season. While the Ducks will head to Ann Arbor to take on the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, the Buckeyes will pay a visit to Penn State for a showdown with the undefeated Nittany Lions.
This will be 2024's fourth matchup between two top-five teams — and the Big Ten's second — so let's break it down along with two more Big Ten games that Oregon fans should be paying attention to on Saturday.
1. No. 4 Ohio State (6-1, 3-1) at No. 3 Penn State (7-0, 4-0) - 9 AM on Fox
We'll start with the most important remaining game to the Big Ten title race, a matchup between two teams desperate for a win to prove themselves as national championship contenders. Both coaches have been haunted by the narrative that they can't win in big games, with Ohio State's Ryan Day dropping his last four games against top-five teams and Penn State's James Franklin dropping his last 10.
The Buckeyes survived a scare last week at home against Nebraska, pulling out a 21-17 win — their closest margin of victory this season. Ohio State generally looked sloppy and sluggish, totaling fewer than 300 yards for the first time since their 14-3 loss to Missouri in last year's Cotton Bowl. The teams traded punts across the game's first five drives before the Buckeyes eventually put together a six-play, 91-yard touchdown drive to close out the first quarter. Ohio State entered halftime up 14-6 but couldn't get any offense going after the break, with its first four drives resulting in a punt, an interception, a punt, and another punt. Meanwhile, the Buckeye defense allowed another field goal and a touchdown as Nebraska took a 17-14 lead with just over 10 minutes to play. Ohio State responded with a touchdown of its own to take the lead before a late Dylan Raiola interception would put the game away. While they did come out with a win, this was not the response the Buckeyes wanted to see in their first game after losing to Oregon, especially a week after Indiana's 56-7 beatdown of the Cornhuskers. With one of the nation's most talented rosters, Ohio State will likely be a playoff team regardless of this week's outcome. But a loss at Beaver Stadium would essentially eliminate them from the Big Ten title race and a chance at a first-round bye in the playoffs.
For Penn State, this is a chance for a signature win of the James Franklin era. In each of the last two years, the Nittany Lions have gone 7-2 in conference play, with their only losses coming to top-five Ohio State and Michigan teams, a trend Franklin will try to buck this year. Starting quarterback Drew Allar left last week's game against Wisconsin with an apparent knee injury late in the first half with Penn State trailing 10-7 before backup Beau Pribula led a second-half comeback to ultimately prevail 28-13, throwing for 98 yards and a touchdown while adding 28 yards on the ground. Allar practiced on Wednesday with a brace on his knee after Franklin said on Monday that the status of his availability against Ohio State may not be decided until kickoff. One injury advantage Penn State holds is on the Buckeyes' offensive line, where starting left tackle Josh Simmons' season ended with a knee injury against Oregon and his replacement Zen Michalski went down late against Nebraska. Day has said that Michalski is trending towards not playing, leaving the Buckeyes to most likely slide guard Donovan Jackson out to left tackle and replace his spot at guard with yet another backup. Jackson has played a total of four snaps at tackle in his collegiate career, all coming last week. This is an area that Penn State's ferocious pass rush can attack, led by projected first-round pick Abdul Carter — who has spent more than half of his snaps on the ball lined up against the opposing left tackle.
No matter which way this game goes on Saturday, it will have implications on the Big Ten title race, and could offer Duck fans a preview of their championship game opponent should they make it to Indianapolis.
2. No. 13 Indiana (8-0, 5-0) at Michigan State (4-4, 2-3) - 12:30 PM on Peacock
Even without starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke last week, Indiana still managed to handily defeat Washington 34-17 behind a rush-heavy attack. The Hoosiers ran the ball 52 times — their most in a game since 2016 — with running back Justice Ellingson leading the way with 29 carries for 129 yards and a score. Backup quarterback Tayven Jackson added a touchdown of his own on the ground to go with 124 passing yards, a touchdown, and a pick. Rourke is expected to make his return this week which will be massive for the nation's second-best scoring offense as his 91.8 QBR has been the best mark in the country this season. Still undefeated, Indiana could guarantee itself a spot in the Big Ten championship game and the playoffs if it were to win out, but a date with Ohio State on November 23 is still ahead. Michigan State snapped a three-game losing streak with a convincing 32-20 win over Iowa two weeks ago before dropping its third conference game of the year last week at Michigan. The Spartans had a chance to tie the game at 24 when they got the ball back at midfield with just over four minutes to play, but the drive would stall at the Michigan 16-yard line. The Wolverines took over with just under two minutes to play and sealed the game with an Alex Orji first-down run. Despite the loss, there were signs of improvement for quarterback Aidan Chiles, who finished with a touchdown and no picks — his first game with at least one passing touchdown and no interceptions against an FBS opponent this season.
3. Wisconsin (5-3, 3-2) at Iowa (5-3, 3-2) - 4:30 PM on NBC
Wisconsin held a 10-7 lead over Penn State midway through the third quarter before a backbreaking pick-six put the Nittany Lions back in front. The Badgers managed a field goal on their next drive, but those three points would be their last of the night, ultimately falling 28-13. Penn State shut down Wisconsin's rushing attack, holding the Badgers to just three yards per carry, their worst mark of the season. Since starting quarterback Tyer Van Dyke's season-ending injury against Alabama, Wisconsin has relied heavily on its rushing attack, which is how Penn State was able to shut down the Badger offense. During Wisconsin's three-game winning streak prior to last week, quarterback Braedyn Locke had played his best football of the season — averaging over 250 yards per game through the air with seven total touchdowns to four picks. If Wisconsin wants to remain competitive this season, Locke will need to get back to the passer that Badger fans saw against Purdue, Rutgers, and Northwestern. Iowa has been up and down recently, alternating between 40-point offensive explosions against Washington and Northwestern and duds against Ohio State and Michigan State. Last week, the Hawkeyes beat Northwestern 40-16 behind another strong performance by running back Kaleb Johnson, who toted the rock 14 times for 109 yards and three scores. This season, Johnson's 1,144 rush yards only trail Boise State's Ashton Jeanty for the most in the country while his 16 touchdowns and 7.8 yards per carry place him fourth. The Hawkeyes have now scored at least 40 points three times this season, their first time doing so since 2018. Oregon does not play Iowa this season but will visit Wisconsin on November 16.
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