Saturday Preview - Week 7
Ohio State and Indiana meet with unbeaten Big Ten records in a rematch of last season’s conference title game, while Wisconsin-UCLA and Nebraska-Oregon bring the coast-to-coast scale. The six-game slate also features Northwestern-Michigan State, Rutgers-Maryland and Penn State-Michigan.
Chapter 1
Bloomington at Noon
Cole Brennan
Noon Eastern in Bloomington. Number four Ohio State, five and one, three and oh in the Big Ten, visits number five Indiana, six and oh, also three and oh. Same two teams that played the Big Ten title game in December. Indiana won that one, thirteen to ten, and went on to a national title.
Cole Brennan
Indiana brings a 22 game winning streak. That's the longest in the Big Ten since Ohio State in 2013 and 2014. The Hoosiers haven't beaten the Buckeyes in Bloomington since 1988. This is Saturday morning's Big Ten preview, brought to you by Jellypod AI.
Cole Brennan
Friday's final is already in the books. Washington 38, Purdue 26. Quarterback Elijah Brown threw for 302 yards. Now to today.
Chapter 2
Six Games, Two Time Zones
Cole Brennan
Six games, in order. Start with the one we opened on. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin has 1,772 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith has 916 receiving yards and 11 scores. They face an Indiana defense with 20 sacks that has allowed 71 points in six games. Indiana's Josh Hoover has 17 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Turbo Richard leads the Hoosiers with 597 rushing yards. Noon, FOX.
Cole Brennan
Also at noon, on Peacock: number 25 Northwestern at Michigan State. Pat Fitzgerald coached Northwestern for 17 seasons before his dismissal in 2023. Now he's in East Lansing, facing the Wildcats. The Spartans are two and four and winless in the league, and they're chasing their first Big Ten win.
Cole Brennan
12:30 on Big Ten Network: Rutgers at Maryland. Rutgers is one and four, Maryland two and four. Neither has a conference win. One of them gets one today.
Cole Brennan
3:30 on CBS: Penn State at Michigan. Two traditional powers, both winless in the Big Ten. Penn State is three and three, on a three game losing streak under Matt Campbell. Michigan is three and two. Kyle Whittingham says sophomore Bryce Underwood remains his quarterback.
Cole Brennan
Now the one that spans the map. Wisconsin at number 12 UCLA, Big Ten Saturday Night on NBC, 7:30 Eastern, 4:30 Pacific, at the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin is four and one, two and oh in the league, and its only loss was to Notre Dame. UCLA is five and oh, three and oh, with the league's top rushing attack at 253 yards a game. Wayne Knight has 548 yards and 10 touchdowns. But Nico Iamaleava is out indefinitely with a lower leg injury, so Ty Dieffenbach makes his first career start. Wisconsin's defense gives up 267 yards a game, and linebacker Cooper Catalano has 45 tackles.
Cole Brennan
And the late one, also far from the Midwest. Nebraska at Oregon, 11 Eastern, 8 Pacific, FOX, Autzen Stadium. Nebraska is five and one, Oregon three and two. Per school reports, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore is out a second straight week with a concussion. Dylan Raiola, who started at Nebraska before transferring, started last week for Oregon. He went six of 18 for 43 yards with two interceptions before Brock Thomas replaced him. Now he faces his old team.
Chapter 3
Circle This Kickoff
Cole Brennan
One line on the race. Four teams are unbeaten in conference play: Indiana, Ohio State, UCLA and Wisconsin. All four play each other today. So no more than two will be unbeaten tonight, with the title game set for December 5 in Indianapolis.
Cole Brennan
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and USC are on bye. Circle noon Eastern on FOX. Ohio State at Indiana.