OTB Round Table: Which B1G Game Should You Watch During Rutgers’ Bye Week

Bob Cancro: You’ve got three time slots, so you can spread the wealth with your viewing. At Noon, you go with Michigan-Michigan State, not because it will be a good game but because you can root against Harbaugh. Then after the first quarter, once Harbaugh has gone for two with a 28 point lead and faked a punt that went for 35 yards to the Sparty three-yard line, you switch over to watch the remainder of the Penn State-Purdue contest. If only to root against Coach Hype, who saved his job by beating OSU, even though there was a defensive hold that was not called on the blocked kick. Watch No. 52 on Penn State as he pulls the offensive lineman so No. 2 can shoot through and block the kick. Just sayin’.

Two choices at 3:30: For the competitive nature of the games, I go with Maryland at Indiana to see what’s coming up for RU. And then the only game I really would choose to watch, Nebraska at Wisconsin at 7. That should be a really good contest.

Matthew Pisani: ESPN is having a B1G Saturday this week with a triple-header of games. The most intriguing one is #7 Nebraska vs #11 Wisconsin. Wisconsin suffered two defeats this season and Nebraska is undefeated with the Buckeyes coming next week. If Nebraska can win out, they have a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten title.

For me, I look for the upset alert and I have a weird feeling that Michigan State will surprise everybody again when they take down the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday. Rivalry games are always fun to watch, especially when there is a chance of an upset of this caliber.

Those two games are most certainly worth watching as they should both be very good and entertaining games. Also, both games have a large impact on who will come away with the Big Ten crown, as well as the coveted spot in the College Football Playoff.

Griffin Whitmer: Everyone is talking about #7 Nebraska going on the road against #11 Wisconsin and so am I. Wisconsin might be the best 2-loss team in the country, only losing on the road to Michigan and in OT to Ohio State. Nebraska, meanwhile, is undefeated but people question them because of their strength of schedule. I think Wisconsin will dominate this game because of their elite defense and running game. However, anything can happen in primetime.

I will also be keeping an eye on Ohio State vs Northwestern to see how the Buckeyes respond after losing to Penn State. I think they will lay it all on the Wildcats, who have been playing very well as of late.

Bill Tharp: At the beginning of the season, the marquee matchup of this weekend was Michigan State and Michigan but with Sparty falling off a cliff, the slate gets a little weaker. Wisconsin and Nebraska will be a popular selection because it is two highly ranked teams and Indiana-Maryland will be a match-up of the two teams that Rutgers has the best chance to win against to finish the season but, my selection for watch of the week is Northwestern and Ohio State. The Buckeyes enter as 28 point favorites however, Northwestern has had an offensive resurgence over the past three weeks going 3-0 against Big Ten competition lighting up the scoreboard to the tune 39 points a game after averaging an anemic 16 points a game during a 1-3 start. For the Buckeyes, it will be interesting to see if they can regain their mojo against a team that is similar to Penn State skill wise. The Buckeye defense did their job last week holding the Nittany Lion offense to 14 points and 276 total yards but a few questions remain, can the offense rebound, will the offensive line get better, and can special teams improve? In past years, the Buckeye offense has had deep threats such as Jalin Marshall to take the top off a defense, opening up the underneath offense for playmakers (players like Curtis Samuel, Mike Weber, and Dontre Wilson) and the Buckeyes were lacking that component against the Nittany Lions. Will Ohio State be able to put itself back into the Playoff chase or will the Wildcats play spoiler?

Aaron Breitman: For me without a doubt, the most intriguing game this weekend in the Big Ten from a Rutgers perspective is Maryland at Indiana. Not only will Rutgers play both teams in November, but technically, both are within striking distance in the East division standings. Maybe I sound a bit crazy, but after the performance Rutgers put together against a solid Minnesota team on the road, there is real hope for the Scarlet Knights against those two teams. Considering it was Gio’s first career start and Robert Martin didn’t play, why can’t a rejuvenated and refocused Rutgers take down Indiana and Maryland? Do you know how many of their combined 8 wins this season have come against winning teams? Only one, with Maryland’s win over UCF, who are 4-3 entering this weekend. Rutgers has one of their own, as New Mexico is currentlt 4-3 as well.

This game tomorrow is key, as Indiana is 1-3 and Maryland is 2-2 in conference play. I’m rooting for the Hoosiers to win tomorrow, knotting them with Maryland in the standings and putting both school two games up on Rutgers. It also would make a potential Rutgers victory next week more significant. Indiana still has Michigan, Penn State, and Purdue left after Rutgers, while the Terps play Michigan, Ohio State, and Nebraska in three straight weeks before RU comes to town. If Rutgers can continue to progress, beating both schools is not a ridiculous thought. And if they do, it could potentially put Rutgers in position to finish in 4th place in the Big Ten East. We haven’t even discussed 0-5 Michigan State, who Rutgers plays following Indiana. Believe Rutgers fans! The seeds of suffering that were planted in September & October could lead to a bountiful harvest in November.