Big Ten football teams we are watching this weekend

With Rutgers on a bye, our staff let you know which Big Ten teams we will be watching this weekend.

Adam Ross: I’ll be keeping my eye on the Maryland-Temple game. Maryland is our next home Big Ten opponent, and a mere few weeks ago looked like a potential win. But they followed up a dominating 79-0 victory over Howard by decimating a ranked Syracuse squad 63-20. This week, they go on the road for the first time to face Temple in Philadelphia. I’ll be interested to see how this team does on the vistior’s sideline, especially when the expectations are reversed.

Fred Gaudios: I usually put myself through marathon sessions of college football viewing each fall Saturday (seriously, it’s hard work... seriously), but with Rutgers on bye this Saturday and the weather looking nice, I plan to skip the early games this week. It’s a bit of a weak week, with plenty of B1G over/under lines in the 40’s, but I’ll definitely watch Iowa @ Iowa State (and root for Iowa, their fans are super classy). I’ve also had fun watching Nebraska the last couple weeks, so even though their match-up isn’t particularly interesting, I’ll catch some of that game at night, too.

Dave White: You’re trying to set me up here so I can say something about a replay of last year’s hoops game against Iowa in Iowa. But I’ll probably just watch the best game that’s on. I don’t know.

Patrick Mella: Maryland vs Temple. After putting up 79 points versus Howard, Maryland followed that performance with 63 points against nationally ranked Syracuse. This week they’ll be taking on a Temple team coming off a win versus Bucknell. I’m also be looking for what to expect from Maryland when they visit High Poin- Er, SHI stadium October 5th. Anyone want to handicap the over/under for that game?

Danny Burrick: I will be watching the TCU vs Purdue matchup. TCU is a 2.5 point favorite on the road. With TCU coming in off a bye and being 1-0 they may still show signs of having to acclimate themselves to playing higher level competition. Purdue is coming off a strong win against Vanderbilt and star wide receiver Rondale Moore does not look to be slowing down anytime soon so you can expect for him to have a big game and Purdue to edge TCU in a close battle.

David Anderson: I love regional matchups, whether they are sustained rivalries or just simple home and homes. The Iowa-Iowa State game is one I will be peeking into, and my negative thinking says the Hawkeyes will lose and the Rutgers loss will look even worse. I always root against Temple because they, like Princeton, are a rival to Rutgers and my alma mater, Penn, but I agree with the sentiment that their matchup with Maryland is something I am interested to see the outcome of. I’m most curious to see how Nebraska responds like Fred mentioned and now follow Minnesota (heavy favorites hosting Georgia Southern) since one of my friends (Joe Harasymiak) is on PJ Fleck’s staff. The main impact to my life this weekend is that I need to attend an event Saturday morning in the same direction as Georgia Bulldogs traffic, but Arkansas State is not in the Big Ten last time I checked.

Aaron Breitman: I’m most interested in Pitt at Penn State and Ohio State at Indiana. Both games will be a good barometer as to where these teams are at this stage in the season. Is Penn State still a top half team in the Big Ten? Is Indiana the usual decent version of themselves or are they good enough to give the Buckeyes a scare? Is Ohio State under Ryan Day still at the same level now that Urban Meyer is gone? From a Rutgers perspective, these are three division opponents, so assessing where they are at is something worth keeping an eye, particularly Indiana.

Which games and Big Ten teams will you be watching this weekend? Let us know in the comment section.