Big Ten Schedule Breakdown
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Ohio State: Urban Meyer’s team draws a pair of road games from the Big Ten West – at Nebraska and at Iowa – and a home game vs. Illinois. The game in Iowa City comes one week after a crucial home game against Penn State. The spot vs. PSU is advantageous, though, as the Buckeyes have two weeks to prepare, while the Nittany Lions have to host Michigan the prior weekend. Since Ohio State opens at Indiana on a Thursday night, it will have extra time to prep for a critical Week 2 showdown vs. Oklahoma at The ‘Shoe. The Sooners will be looking for revenge after getting blasted by OSU in Norman by a 45-24 count last season. The non-conference games after OU are layups at home vs. Army and UNLV. The Rebels are the only opponent that gets an open date before facing the Buckeyes, who don’t have any back-to-back road assignments on their schedule.
Penn State: We noted how James Franklin’s club has to play Michigan the week before going to Ohio State. The Buckeyes will have the revenge angle, extra preparation time and home-field advantage. Also, we should note that since 2010, OSU is 10-0 in revenge games from the previous campaign. On the bright side for Penn State, it gets two weeks to prep for Michigan. The Wolverines come to Happy Valley for a second consecutive road contest after playing at Indiana the week before. After playing at Ohio State, PSU has a second straight road assignment at Michigan State, which will be looking to get even after being trounced 45-12 at Beaver Stadium in 2016. The non-conference slate consists of three home games vs. Akron, Pittsburgh and Georgia State. The Nittany Lions will be looking to make amends for a 42-39 Week 2 loss at Heinz Field last year. The three games against the Big Ten West are at Iowa, at Northwestern and vs. Nebraska. PSU doesn’t draw any other foes besides Ohio State that will have two weeks to prepare for it.
Michigan: The Wolverines have a pair of home games (vs. Cincinnati and vs. Air Force) and its opener against Florida at Jerry World (Arlington, TX) in non-conference action. Jim Harbaugh’s bunch might catch a break against the Gators, who could be without their best player Antonio Callaway. The rising junior WR, who is the only player in school history to score in five different ways (passing, rushing, receiving, punt return and kick return), might be facing a suspension following a marijuana arrest in May. The Wolverines get their bye week before hosting in-state rival Sparty. They have the misfortune of playing two different sets of back-to-back road games. Michigan is at Indiana and at Penn State on Oct 14 and 21, respectively. Also, Harbaugh’s club plays at Maryland (11/11) and at Wisconsin (11/18). From a situational standpoint, the trip to Camp Randall is a brutal spot for the Wolverines. Not only are they facing a team with revenge in mind after a 14-7 loss at The Big House in ’16, but they are traveling for a second straight week and fall into a classic look-ahead scenario with arch-rival Ohio State on deck. Furthermore, while Michigan is slugging it out with the Badgers, Ohio State will be heavily favored at home against Illinois. With a blowout likely, the Buckeyes will be able to rest starters in the second half while the Wolverines are in for a 60-minute war in Madison. The non-divisional Big Ten games are at Purdue, vs. Minnesota and at Wisconsin. Indiana and Penn State both get two weeks to prepare for Michigan.
Indiana: The non-conference slate looks like this: at Virginia, vs. FIU and vs. Georgia Southern. As mentioned, the Hoosiers catch their bye before hosting Michigan. The draw from the other division works extremely well even though it does feature Wisconsin, the -125 ‘chalk’ to win the Big Ten West. IU gets the Badgers at home one week after UW has another road assignment at Illinois. The other games against West foes are road contests at Illinois and at Purdue. IU should sweep its last three games: at Illinois, vs. Rutgers and at Purdue.
Michigan State: Mark Dantonio’s team went from the College Football Playoff to a dismal 3-9 record that also included off-the-field issues that resulted in several player being dismissed from the program. Sparty’s only wins came over Notre Dame, Furman and Rutgers, a trio that combined to compile an atrocious 9-27 record. Only three of MSU’s losses came in one-possession games, and just eight starters (4 offensive, 4 defense) return from that squad. Remember, the Spartans had double-digit season win totals five of the previous six years and had endured only one losing season on Dantonio’s watch (6-7 in ’09, his third year at the helm). Michigan State has three non-conference games at home against Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Notre Dame. The Spartans get two weeks to prepare for the Fighting Irish. They have to play consecutive road games at Michigan (10/7) and at Minnesota (10/14). The games against the Big Ten West are vs. Iowa, at Minnesota and at Northwestern. As previously mentioned, in-state adversary Michigan has two weeks to prep for its home game against Sparty.
Maryland: D.J. Durkin’s club gets its open date in Week 3 to give it two weeks to prep for Central Florida, which will be seeking revenge for a 30-24 home loss in overtime to Maryland last season. The other non-conference games are at Texas and vs. Towson. The Terrapins draw these three games against the West: at Minnesota, vs. Northwestern and and at Wisconsin. There’s one set of back-to-back road games when they go to Minnesota and Ohio State on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7, respectively. This is a brutal schedule, which is why a team that went 6-7 last year and brings back 13 of 22 starters has a low win total set at 3.5 flat (-110 either way).
Rutgers: Chris Ash’s second season starts with a daunting task with his team hosting one of the nation’s premier teams in Washington. The Huskies routed the Scarlet Knights 48-13 in last year’s opener. The other non-conference contests are at home vs. Eastern Michigan and Morgan State in Weeks 2 and 3. RU does have a good draw from the other division even though two of the games are on the road. The Scarlet Knights play at Nebraska, at Illinois and vs. Purdue. They get two weeks to prep for the Illini. RU will face Maryland in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium.
Wisconsin: The non-conference schedule has the Badgers at home vs. Utah State (Friday) and Florida Atlantic, in addition to a trip to Provo to take on BYU. The Cougars were 10-point home underdogs in the Golden Nugget’s Games of the Year opening lines. Paul Chryst’s team then gets its bye before heading into Big Ten play and a home game against Northwestern, which will likely be its main competitor to win the West. Pat Fitzgerald’s team does have to go on the road in this spot, but the Wildcats will have two weeks to get ready for this pivotal showdown against the Badgers. Wisconsin’s games against the East are vs. Maryland, at Indiana and vs. Michigan. As mentioned above, the Wolverines will be in look-ahead mode for their trip to Camp Randall with arch-rival Ohio State’s visit to the Big House looming the next weekend.
Northwestern: Fitzgerald’s bunch plays vs. Nevada, at Duke and vs. Bowling Green in non-con action. The Blue Devils will be hoping to avenge a 24-13 loss to Northwestern in Durham in ’16. The Wildcats draw these three games from the West: vs. Penn State (homecoming), at Maryland and vs. Michigan State. With Sparty down, PSU at home and Ohio State and Michigan missing, Northwestern has to be happy with that plight. The Wildcats should also be happy about the fact that there are no back-to-back road situations. The only downer about this slate is that Iowa joins Wisconsin in having an open date prior to facing Northwestern.
Nebraska: Oregon will be out for redemption at home in Week 2 when it hosts Nebraska. The Cornhuskers rallied to capture a 35-32 win over the Ducks in Lincoln last year. The two other non-conference tilts are home games vs. Arkansas State and Northern Illinois. Mike Riley’s team gets its open date after playing back-to-back home games against Wisconsin and Ohio State. This bye week falls before a road trip to Purdue. Nebraska has one set of consecutive road contests at Minnesota and at Penn State in November. The Cornhuskers play a pair of Friday games, which are always advantageous to the home team since it doesn’t have to travel during a short week of preparation. They are at Illinois after hosting Rutgers, but they are at home in the regular-season finale vs. Iowa. The game at Illinois is even more tricky since the Illini are off the previous week and play at South Florida on a Friday two weeks before.
Minnesota: I feel like P.J. Fleck should’ve been more patient and waited for a better job. No disrespect to the University of Minnesota or its fans, but it’s is the seventh-best job in the Big Ten (at best!). Whatever the case, the Gophers scored big with this hire and are hoping for big results right away. After all, they went 9-4 in ’16 and bring back seven starters on offense and five on defense. The non-conference slate looks like this: vs. Buffalo (Thursday), at Oregon State and vs. Middle Tennessee. The Thursday date for the opener against the Bulls give Minnesota a couple of more days to prep for its trek west to Corvallis, where the Beavers will be looking to avenge a 30-23 loss last year at TCF Bank Stadium. Minnesota gets an open date in Week 4 ahead of its home game against Maryland. The draw from the West calls for games vs. Maryland, vs. Michigan State and at Michigan. The spot at The Big House is especially difficult since the Gophers play at Iowa the week beforehand. If Fleck’s team is in the race to win the Big Ten East in November, it’ll come down to its last three games vs. Nebraska, at Northwestern and vs. Wisconsin. Those last three opponents are expected to be the top three teams in the East loop.
Iowa: Kirk Ferentz’s squad hosts Wyoming in its opener before facing in-state rival Iowa State in Ames. The final non-con contest is at home vs. North Texas. The Hawkeyes have these three games against the West: vs. Penn State, at Michigan State and vs. Ohio State. Tough draw, right? No doubt about it. However, Iowa has had amazingly easy schedules over the last three years. In fact, this will be the first time it has faced Ohio State since ’13. As previously noted, the Hawkeyes get two weeks to prep for an Oct. 21 date at Northwestern. There aren’t any back-to-back road games on the schedule. The Hawks are young in the secondary, which could be an issue in the opener vs. Wyoming. The Cowboys have a QB in Josh Allen who many NFL scouts are extremely bullish on.
Purdue: Jeff Brohm takes over and that’s an excellent hire by Purdue. Brohm’s first game will be against his alma mater, Louisville. These teams will square off in Indianapolis. Brohm replaced U of L head coach Bobby Petrino at Western Kentucky, where he compiled a 30-10 record in three seasons. Brohm, who was U of L’s QB from 1989-1993, worked under Petrino as QB coach and Associate HC at U of L so neither staff will be surprising the other with any schemes. Purdue gets Ohio at home on a Friday in Week 2 before playing at Missouri in Week 3. After hosting Michigan, the Boilermakers get their bye week before a home game vs. Minnesota. Next, Purdue plays the first set of two back-to-back road situations. On Oct. 14 and 21, the Boilers are at Wisconsin and at Rutgers, respectively. Then they play at Northwestern and at Iowa in consecutive weeks in November.
Illinois: The Fighting Illini start the season at home with games vs. Ball State and Western Kentucky. Then in Week 3, it has to go on the road on a short week for a Friday date at South Florida. This game will also be impacted by weather, as the mid-September heat in Tampa is unbearable. The Illini gets a week off after USF leading into a Friday home game vs. Nebraska. There aren’t any back-to-back road games on the slate. The draw from the West includes games vs. Rutgers, vs. Indiana and at Ohio State.