Last week’s Big Ten slate saw plenty of action, including two conference matchups and a game featuring zero touchdowns, but this week’s slate could feature some intriguing matchups as well.
Iowa, fresh off a win over South Dakota State that saw them triumph on the back of two safeties, will battle Iowa State for the Cy-Hawk Trophy at Kinnick Stadium. Northwestern will play its first stateside game of the year when they welcome the Duke Blue Devils to Evanston, and Penn State will hope to gain momentum from its opening win over Purdue when they take on a tough Ohio offense in Happy Valley.
Here is this week’s Big 10 schedule:
Saturday –
Arkansas State at No. 2 Ohio State
Start Time: 11 a.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
Local
One-Sentence Synopsis: The Buckeyes are coming off a 21-10 victory over No. 5 Notre Dame in the most highly-anticipated game of the opening weekend of the college season, while the Red Wolves are coming off a 58-3 thrashing of Grambling in their opener.
Western Illinois at Minnesota
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Start Time: 11 a.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: Mohammed Ibrahim rushed for 132 yards as PJ Fleck’s Golden Gophers shutout former Minnesota coach Jerry Kill’s New Mexico State squad 38-0 in the season opener, while the Fighting Leathernecks lost their opener to UT-Martin 42-25.
Duke at Northwestern
Start Time: 11 a.m. Central
TV Network: FS1
One-Sentence Synopsis: Both teams are 1-0 after Northwestern’s win in Dublin during a Week 0 showdown with Nebraska and Duke’s shutout win over Temple, but revenge will be on the minds of the Wildcats after the Blue Devils won 30-23 in Durham last season.
Ohio at Penn State
Start Time: 11 a.m. Central
TV Network: ABC
One-Sentence Synopsis: The Nittany Lions started off conference play with a wild 35-31 win over Purdue last week, while the Bobcats scored a shootout 41-38 victory over the FAU Owls in their opener.
Washington State at No. 18 Wisconsin
Start Time: 2:30 p.m. Central
TV Network: Fox
One-Sentence Synopsis: Washington State struggled to put away Idaho in their season-opener over the weekend, while the Badgers cruised to an easy win over the Illinois State Redbirds thanks to a dominant rushing performance by Braelon Allen, who picked up 148 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Maryland at Charlotte
Start Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV Network:
One-Sentence Synopsis: The only Big Ten team on the road this week, the Terrapins will look to build on last week’s win over Buffalo, punctuated by 290 passing yards from Taulia Tagovailoa, as they take on the 0-2 49ers.
Akron at No. 15 Michigan State
Start Time: 3 p.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: The Spartans did pick up a Week 1 win over Western Michigan, even though they struggled to put away the Broncos in East Lansing, and they’ll hope to dispatch an Akron squad that is coming off a one-score victory over St. Francis.
Iowa State at Iowa
Start Time: 3 p.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: The Hawkeyes notched a field goal and two safeties in a 7-3 win over South Dakota State a week ago, but their sputtering offense will need to come to the fore against an Iowa State team that thrashed Southeast Missouri State a week ago.
Virginia at Illinois
Start Time: 3 p.m. Central
TV Network: ESPNU
One-Sentence Synopsis: Illinois had ample opportunities to score a rare road victory over Indiana on Friday, but they failed to do so, and now the 1-1 Illini will hope to avenge last season’s embarrassing 42-14 loss to the Cavaliers.
Indiana State at Purdue
Start Time: 3 p.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw for 356 yards in a 35-31 season-opening loss to Penn State a week ago, and now he’ll face a Sycamore team that narrowly edged North Alabama 17-14 in an overtime victory in Terre Haute.
Wagner at Rutgers
Start Time: 3 p.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: The Scarlet Knights started their season with a 22-21 win over Boston College thanks to a late touchdown from Al-Shadee Salaam over the weekend, and they’ll hope to move to 2-0 as they face a Wagner team that was defeated by Fordham in their season-opener.
Georgia Southern at Nebraska
Start Time: 6:30 p.m. Central
TV Network: FS1
One-Sentence Synopsis: Unlike Northwestern, Nebraska had to play a game the week following their showdown in Dublin, but they moved to 1-1 with a win over North Dakota in Lincoln, and now they’ll face a Georgia Southern team that put up 59 points in their season opener.
Hawai’i at No. 8 Michigan
Start Time: 7 p.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: For the first time this season, the Rainbow Warriors will play stateside after back-to-back defeats to Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky, and the road won’t get any easier for new coach Timmy Chang as they will face a ferocious Michigan squad at the Big House.
Idaho at Indiana
Start Time: 7 p.m. Central
TV Network: Big Ten Network
One-Sentence Synopsis: The Hoosiers knocked off the Fighting Illini in Bloomington last week on a Shaun Shivers touchdown that came with just 23 seconds left on the clock, and they’ll hope to keep the momentum rolling as they face an Idaho team that gave Washington State fits last week at Martin Stadium.
