Though its game action occasionally might fall short of some other leagues this year, the Big Ten has been 2023’s unquestioned conference leader in off-the-field drama, intrigue and controversies.
Whether it’s a surprise No. 1 playoff ranking, alleged sign-stealing subterfuge or coaches and coordinators getting fired, the B1G has churned out headlines that have been alternatingly scintillating and scandalous but never lack for compelling twists and engaging main characters.
The past week was another prime example of the ongoing spectacle this season.
It started with the stunner of Ohio State, which consistently has been ranked third in national media polling, leap-frogging Michigan and Georgia to take the top spot in this season’s first edition of the College Football Playoff committee’s rankings.
The Buckeyes benefited from their sterling strength of schedule that includes victories over two top 15 opponents in Penn State and Notre Dame. (Georgia, which is top ranked in polling at 8-0, has no victories over a currently ranked opponent but will face No. 14 Missouri this week.)
Though the playoff rankings are mostly window dressing until the final evaluation Dec. 3 sets the four-team field for the national championship, the top billing was a nice boon for Ohio State heading into a deceptively tough road game against Rutgers.
On the flip side was Michigan, whose No. 3 playoff ranking underscored the maelstrom that the Wolverines will re-enter Saturday at home against Purdue (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock).
Each week brings new revelations about the NCAA investigation that Michigan staff member Connor Stalions conducted clandestine in-season scouting of opponents to glean their play-calling signals. It’s already resulted in Stalions being put on leave with pay Oct. 20 and a possible contract extension for coach Jim Harbaugh being placed on the back burner.
How to watch Purdue at No. 3 Michigan: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 10
College Football Playoff executives confirmed that the investigation didn’t factor into the committee’s ranking discussions about Michigan. “Fact of the matter is no one knows what happened,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. “The NCAA is dealing right now with allegations only. The committee’s judgments are based on what happened on the field. And clearly Michigan has been a dominant team.”
The NCCA’s investigation is unlikely to be completed this year, but Michigan reportedly could be punished earlier by the conference, which is feeling more heat to take action.
During a video call Wednesday, a majority of Big Ten coaches reportedly lobbied commissioner Tony Petitti for an hour (after Harbaugh had been excused) in a passionate conversation that was described as filled with anger and frustration. Harbaugh already had served a three-game Michigan-imposed suspension to start the season because of alleged recruiting violations.
Central Michigan University announced its own investigation earlier this week into whether Stalions was on the Chippewas’ sideline during a game against Michigan State (after an ESPN report that he allegedly had Venmo’d at least a thousand dollars to a former Division III coach and player to help record opponents on an iPhone).
While Michigan (8-0) should have no trouble handling Purdue (2-6) in a home rematch of last year’s Big Ten conference championship game, the mushrooming cloud over the Wolverines’ season threatens to become an all-encompassing distraction that could derail title hopes even without a draconian punishment that playoff.
“The biggest question about Michigan is not how good they are, it’s just how are they handling the stuff that is swirling above them and the program,” NBC Sports analyst Todd Blackledge said. “Because there’s a lot of noise in the system right now. When you’re in the football building, you can control the messaging and the things that kids hear and see. But when they get outside of that and go back to their dorms or their apartments and are on their phones and social media, it’s everywhere. It’s inescapable. It’ll be interesting to see. On one hand, the effect it might have on the team is like, ‘Screw this. Everybody is against us. Everybody thinks we’re not legit, let’s just go and pummel everybody even more than we have so far.’ ”
There’ll be motivation of another sort internally for Iowa, which has decided to make the 2023 season its last with offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz.
It’s an ignominious and sudden end to the “Drive for 325,” the 25-point scoring average over 13 games that was necessary to trigger an automatic extension for the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz.
More on how Iowa is handling the impending depature of Brian Ferentz
The Hawkeyes’ offense is ranked last in the nation at 232.4 yards per game, struggling mightily since losing quarterback Cade McNamara and tight ends Erick All and Luke Lachey to season-ending injuries.
With the Hawkeyes needing to average 33.5 points over their last five games (including a bowl), interim athletic director Beth Goetz conferred with president Barbara Wilson and then informed Brian Ferentz that the school would cut ties after the season.
The move was based as much on future results as the present for Iowa (which actually has strung together a bowl-eligible 6-2 record behind its top-shelf defense).
“Making that decision now rather than at the end of the season means they just wanted to make it clear as they are talking to recruits,” Blackledge said. “As they think about transfer portal additions next year, they needed to make it clear they are going in a different direction offensively. Because without it, they’d have a hard time attracting high-level skill players on offense to add to their roster. That’s why the timing of it now is just to give some clarity for the future.”
But it still wasn’t received well by Kirk Ferentz, who was miffed that the judgment was passed on his son during the season.
“I can say my policy has typically been to evaluate everything — players, coaches, all that — postseason because in-season, we’ve got a lot on our plates,” Ferentz said during his weekly media briefing (in which he struck a disappointed and terse tone), according to Hawk Central. “It’s been that way probably since I got started in 1981. There’s just not enough time in the day. Everything is precious in terms of time. To me, it’s a better time. It’s a less emotional time. I can give you a lot of reasons why we’ve done it that way. But it really doesn’t matter. It’s not significant right now because we’re dealing with something we have to deal with, and we will.”
Ferentz held players out of weekly media availability for the first time in his quarter-century as Iowa’s coach – protecting the team from reliving its offensive deficiencies while turning its focus to a matchup with upstart Northwestern (4-4) at Wrigley Field (3:30 p.m. ET, streaming exclusively on Peacock). Iowa will stick at starting quarterback with Deacon Hill, who has completed only 35 percent of his passes and committed four turnovers with a 2-1 record since taking over for McNamara. (Northwestern also will start former backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan, who is 2-1 in place of injured Ben Bryant.)
How to watch Iowa at Northwestern: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 10
After being noncommittal in Tuesday’s news conference, Ferentz also clarified Wednesday on social media and his radio show that he would coach Iowa for “hopefully a couple of years” in a job that he started in 1999.
“The intent was to try to steer this thing back to what is important right now,” Ferentz said on his radio show. “I enjoy coaching. Fortunately, I feel really good. The doctors tell me I’m OK; I hope they’re right. I hope to keep doing this for quite a while. I’ve always loved being here.
“I like our players. I like coming into our building. I like what I do. In a sick way, I like the highs and I like the lows. Everybody likes the highs, but the lows are tough on you. But that’s what makes the highs good, too, and that’s what I think you’re chasing. When you quit playing, your whole life you’re chasing that, and that’s why people are dumb enough to get into coaching or whatever it may be. Hopefully, you’re helping some younger people along the way, too.”
Other storylines for Week 10:
The wide-open B1G West
The Big Ten division without Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State always has been known for its parity, but this year is setting a new bar.
Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Wisconsin are all 3-2 in conference play, and the Golden Gophers are the only team to control their destiny. Running the table would give Minnesota its first berth in the Big Ten championship game (which started in 2011) in the hunt for its first conference football title since 1967.
But Minnesota’s remaining four games include matchups with Ohio State and Wisconsin, and though the Gophers have the tiebreaker over Iowa and Nebraska, they lost to Northwestern.
Lurking at 2-3, the Wildcats have become surprise contenders under interim coach David Braun, who took over in July after the firing of Pat Fitzgerald. It’s the first head coaching role for Braun, who had been slated to begin his first job as an FBS assistant as Northwestern’s defensive coordinator
Even without their third Big Ten championship game appearance in five years, the Wildcats are a win away from potential bowl eligibility with a remaining schedule that’s favorable despite featuring only one game at Ryan Field. (Saturday will mark the first Northwestern game at Wrigley Field since a 32-14 loss to Purdue in 2021; the Wildcats signed a multiyear agreement with the Chicago Cubs in 2013 for the ballpark to play host to several athletic events, including five football games).
After going on the road at Wisconsin, Northwestern will close at Purdue and home against Illinois – two teams 1-4 in the B1G.
Georgia’s test
The longest active win streak (25 games, 10 more than Washington, the next team on the list) in the FBS will get its first major test this year as top-ranked Georgia plays host to No. 14 Missouri.
The Bulldogs have ranked opponents (No. 11 Mississippi, No. 19 Tennessee) the next two weeks, but a victory over the Tigers would mean a two-game lead in the SEC East and a strong position for a Southeastern Conference championship game slot.
With an upset, though, Missouri would be positioned to play for the SEC title by winning out.
Rolling Tide
In another critical showdown of ranked teams (both coming off bye weeks), No. 8 Alabama will play host to No. 13 LSU as the Crimson Tide continue their rebound from a season-opening home loss to Texas.
At 5-0 in conference, Alabama is the only unbeaten team in the SEC West and is trying for its first 8-1 overall start since 2021.
It’s the 88th meeting in a series that dates to 1895 with typically big implications. Last year, LSU won in overtime on a two-point conversion that propelled the Tigers to the SEC championship game.
Heisman current and future?
Rebounding from a lackluster showing against Arizona State with a four-touchdown performance against Stanford, Heisman Trophy front-runner Michael Penix will lead No. 5 Washington into Los Angeles against No. 24 USC and defending Heisman winner Caleb Williams.
The Huskies, who are trying to improve to 9-0 for the first time since their college football playoff appearance in 2016, outscored opponents by an average margin of 32.8 points in the first four games this year. In the last four games, the average has been 6.8
More key games
--In the 118th edition of the Bedlam Series (which dates to 1904), No. 10 Oklahoma will travel to Oklahoma State in their final matchup as Big 12 conference foes (with the Sooners joining the SEC in 2024).
--With No. 25 Kansas State and No. 7 Texas among five teams tied atop the Big 12, their meeting in Austin will be pivotal.
--Clemson will try to avoid its first three-game losing streak in 13 years as No. 12 Notre Dame comes to Death Valley.
How to watch Big Ten football on NBC and Peacock this weekend
This Saturday’s featured Big Ten games are Iowa at Northwestern (at Wrigley Field, 3:30 p.m. ET, streamed exclusively on Peacock) and Michigan at Michigan State (7:30 p.m., NBC and Peacock).
Information for how to sign up for Peacock is available here. Peacock is available for streaming on several devices (view the full list of supported devices here). NBC Sports recently announced its schedules for Big Ten men’s basketball and women’s basketball on Peacock.
Below is the announced remaining schedule for Big Ten teams and Notre Dame on NBC Sports; more NBC Sports games will be announced during the season (all times are ET):
| Sat., Nov. 4 | 3:30 p.m. | Iowa at Northwestern (playing at Wrigley Field) | Peacock |
| Sat., Nov. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Purdue at Michigan | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat., Nov. 11 | Noon | Maryland at Nebraska | Peacock |
| Sat., Nov. 11 | 3:30 p.m. | Minnesota at Purdue | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat, Nov. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Michigan State at Ohio State | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat., Nov. 18 | 3:30 p.m. | Wake Forest at Notre Dame | NBC, Peacock |
| Friday, Nov. 24 | 7:30 p.m. | Penn State at Michigan State (Ford Field) | NBC, Peacock |
The remaining NBC Sports’ Big Ten Football games will be announced during the season.