Formidable defenses are the core of unbeaten seasons for Ohio State and Penn State, so Saturday’s midseason showdown in Columbus could hinge on the other side of the ball.
The major question marks for both 6-0 teams are on the offenses, whose relative efficacy could determine the outcome of a pivotal matchup with massive implications for the Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff. Among the top defenses, Penn State is ranked second nationally (8 points per game allowed) just ahead of Ohio State (9.7) in third (Michigan, the Big Ten’s third undefeated team, is No. 1 at 6.7).
“I don’t think it’s going to be a high-scoring game,” NBC Sports analyst Todd Blackledge said on the B1G Talk podcast with Noah Eagle (watch the video above). “I think both defenses are playing at a very high level. Ohio State’s defense is playing remarkably well, and the thing they’re doing a great job of is that they struggled at the end of last year giving up big plays. They are not allowing big plays. They’re keeping everything in front. They don’t have huge sack numbers or takeaway numbers but they’re playing really, really good team defense.
“Penn State is way more aggressive, attacking, blitzing and pressure. It’ll be a low-scoring game and determined in the trenches who controls the line of scrimmage. I have concern about Ohio State’s offensive line. They’re fine pass blockers, though the biggest challenge they face is they’re not running the football very well.”
No. 7 Ohio State’s backfield has been depleted by injuries with TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams both missing last week’s 41-7 victory over Purdue. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day has indicated their availability, along with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (who also missed the Purdue game), might remain uncertain until the noon ET kickoff.
Senior running back Chip Trayanum, who scored the winning touchdown over Notre Dame, missed the second half against the Boilermakers after being staggered by a big hit. Fourth-string RB Dallan Hayden filled in admirably (11 carries, 76 yards, TD) against Purdue, but Penn State’s defense is far superior, ranking first in yards allowed per game (193.7).
If Ohio State’s offense is unable to get healthier in time for Saturdays, the onus would shift to quarterback Kyle McCord and superstar wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (who has topped 100 receiving yards with a TD in four of the past five games) against a Penn State defense whose primary strength has been backfield pressure (delivering seven sacks and 14 tackles for a loss in a 63-0 blowout of Massachusetts last week).
“Penn State is built for this game,” Blackledge said. “They match up really well with Ohio State.”
For No. 3 Penn State, the key might be sophomore quarterback Drew Allar, who has managed the offense well (15 passing TDs with no interceptions, the best ratio in the FBS) but lacked for big plays in conference games while suffering through some weak away performances.
“Allar played extremely well against Iowa, the best team they faced,” Blackledge said. “He was very patient and very deliberate. He didn’t play as well on the road against Illinois or Northwestern.”
With Penn State still seeking its first College Football Playoff appearance, the road has been its biggest roadblock to the upper echelon. The Nittany Lions have lost 15 consecutive away games to top-five opponents since a 1994 victory in Ann Arbor over No. 5 Michigan.
With Michigan still ahead on both teams’ schedules and all three in the Big Ten East, a loss would be a major blow but won’t necessarily doom the national title aspirations for Ohio State or Penn State. If the Buckeyes or Nittany Lions are able to win out in conference, they still can win the East (with help from the Wolverines) and advance to the Dec. 2 conference championship game that probably would have a College Football Playoff berth at stake.
If two teams are tied for the best record in the East, the tiebreaker is their head-to-head meeting. If the Big Ten’s trio of top 10 ranked teams finish the season at 8-1, a critical potential tiebreaker for determining the East’s representative in the Big Ten championship game could be the cumulative record of opponents from the West division. That could mean it was a good year for Penn State to throttle Iowa (6-1), which won’t face Michigan or Ohio State during the 2023 regular season.
The Athletic broke down the various ways the Big Ten West could impact the East’s Big Ten Conference championship game representative in a tiebreaker scenario.
Smashmouth stars
Kinnick Stadium got a rare taste of offense Sunday when women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark led Iowa to a 94-72 exhibition victory over DePaul with a triple double (31 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) wowing a crowd of 55,646.
It’s unlikely such an explosion will happen in Iowa City on the gridiron this season – and it no longer seems all that necessary after a 15-6 road victory over Wisconsin.
The Hawkeyes fell further behind their “Drive to 325” (the target of a 25-point scoring average necessary to trigger an automatic extension of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Ferentz) and lost tight end Erick All (its top receiver in yards and TDs) for the rest of the season because of a knee injury. They have scored 146 points in seven games and are ranked last in the Big Ten in yards per game, red zone percentage and third-down conversions.
How to watch Minnesota at Iowa: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 8 matchup
But on the strength of its defense (which yielded a season low last week and knocked out Badgers quarterback Tanner Mordecai) and punter Tory Taylor, Iowa now enters Saturday’s home game against Minnesota (3:30 p.m., NBC and Peacock) in the driver’s seat of the Big Ten West despite having virtually no passing attack.
With no ranked opponents left on their schedule (and 5-2 Rutgers looming as the biggest test), No. 24 Iowa has a real path to the Big Ten Championship game for the second consecutive year despite one of the worst offenses in the FBS. Of course, it helps to have one of the country’s best defenses (the longest active streak of allowing 400 or fewer yards at 21 games) and its best punter. Taylor, who has become famous for his “Punting is Winning” T-shirts that have a silhouette of his native Australia, averaged 50.1 yards on 10 punts against Wisconsin.
“I like these low-score games,” Iowa linebacker Jay Higgins said. “It just puts pressure on the defense, and that’s what we’re built for. We want the game in our hands.”
The Hawkeyes triumphed over the Badgers while weathering six consecutive three and outs and quarterback Deacon Hill (the starter since Michigan transfer Cade McNamara was lost for the season in Week 5) completing 6 of 14 passes for 37 yards. That was countered with 200 rushing yards, including a career-high 174 on 25 carries by junior running back Leshon Williams (whose 82-yard TD was the longest for Iowa in 26 years).
Minnesota (3-3) will enter off a bye week, and the chances of coach P.J. Fleck’s first victory over Iowa (the Gophers are 0-6 and last won at Kinnick in 1999) will depend greatly on if star freshman running back Darius Taylor is able to return from a leg injury that has sidelined him since last month.
Mixed emotions in “The Mitten”
Coming off its collapse to Rutgers (giving up 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points in a 27-24 defeat), Michigan State (2-4) will cling to history at home with its hopes of bowl eligibility on the ropes while playing host to No. 2 Michigan (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. on NBC and Peacock).
In their last East Lansing meeting, the Spartans dealt the most recent Big Ten loss to their bitter in-state rivals. Since that 37-33 loss (after leading by 16 in the third quarter), No. 2 Michigan has tied a school record with 19 consecutive Big Ten victories. The Wolverines (7-0) hardly have been tested this season, scoring at least 30 points while allowing 10 or fewer in every game.
Emotions always run high with the Paul Bunyan Trophy at stake in their 116th meeting since 1898. But last year’s controversial postgame altercation in Ann Arbor (which resulted in suspensions for eight Spartans and criminal charges for seven) seems a distant memory during this tumultuous season for Michigan State.
How to watch Michigan at Michigan State: Time, live stream, key storylines for Week 8 matchup
The team is winless since the suspension (and then firing) of former coach Mel Tucker. Interim coach Harlon Barnett discovered a spark last week with a quarterback switch from Noah Kim to Katin Houser, who threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another in his first start. Michigan State ended a streak of 19 consecutive drives without a TD on its opening possession against the Scarlet Knights.
But with Ohio State and Penn State also among the Spartans’ final six opponents, the team will need to spring a major upset and avoid another “gut punch” (as Barnett described the Rutgers loss) to reach six wins.
Michigan will be dealing with its own distractions, though, with the school announcing Thursday that it’s being investigated by the NCAA for stealing signs. It’s the second time this year that Michigan has drawn scrutiny after coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for the first three games in connection with possible recruiting violations.
Read more about why Michigan vs. Michigan State is a tale of two trajectories
ACC showdown
When No. 4 Florida State scheduled its homecoming, it might not have expected so much on the line against No. 16 Duke in Tallahassee. The Seminoles are 6-0 for the first time since 2015 and have scored at least 30 points in 12 consecutive victories.
But the Blue Devils also are off to their best start (6-1) in eight years, and the FBS’ fourth-ranked defense (9.8 points per game) helped carry a 24-3 win over North Carolina State without star quarterback Riley Leonard (who suffered a high ankle sprain late in the Blue Devils’ lone loss to Notre Dame).
Leonard could return against Florida State to complement running back Jordan Walters (who has rushed for a TD in every game) in a critical Atlantic Coast Conference matchup that the league’s other unbeaten program will be watching closely.
With wide receiver Devontez Walker eligible and making an immediate impact (132 receiving yards and three touchdowns in a 41-13 victory over Miami), North Carolina (6-0) will play Virginia for the 128th time in “The South’s Oldest Rivalry” (a series dating to 1892 that is tied for the FBS’ second most-played).
Alabama avengers
Continuing its rebound from a Week 2 loss to Texas, No. 11 Alabama can take a big step by earning two measures of revenge at home in the next three weeks, starting Saturday against No. 17 Tennessee. The Volunteers snapped a 15-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide last year by winning 52-49 on a field goal as time expired.
The only undefeated team in the SEC West, Alabama is trying to start 7-1 for the 16th consecutive season. After an off week, its Nov. 4 game at Bryant-Denny Stadium is against No. 19 LSU – the other team that beat Alabama last season.
More key games
--In a rematch of last year’s Pac-12 Championship, No. 18 USC (which plummeted eight spots in the rankings after its 48-20 wipeout to Notre Dame) will play host to No. 14 Utah.
--After its 36-33 loss in a thriller with Washington, No. 9 Oregon will entertain Washington State (which went from a No. 13 ranking two weeks ago to its worst loss in 10 years last week, falling 44-6 to Arizona).
--Returning for its first game since losing 34-30 to Oklahoma, No. 8 Texas will play at Houston, the first meeting between the schools in 21 years.
How to watch Big Ten football on NBC and Peacock this weekend
This Saturday’s featured Big Ten games are Minnesota at Iowa (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., Oct. 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Minnesota at Iowa | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat., Oct. 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Michigan at Michigan State | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat., Oct. 28 | 3:30 p.m. | Pittsburgh at Notre Dame | NBC, Peacock |
| Sat, Oct. 28 | 7:30 p.m. | Ohio State at Wisconsin | 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.
