The Big Ten conference did not get off to a rousing start for the 2015 college football season. With No.2 TCU visiting Minnesota, and Michigan ushering in the Jim Harbaugh era at Utah, the Big Ten could have put an early stamp on the season. Instead, both schools lost their high-profile match ups, leaving teams like Nebraska and Wisconsin in a must-win situation.
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As a whole, the conference has a chance to build on their solid performance during the 2014-15 Bowl season. However, there are quite a few pitfalls on this week 1 schedule. Unfortunately, the Big Ten lost two chances on Thursday, so there’s little margin for era the rest of the way. Still, it’s far from becoming a disastrous situation just yet.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers host the BYU Cougars Saturday afternoon. Despite neither team earning a preseason Top 25 ranking, this is one of the most anticipated games of the day. The winner will be set up to make a nice run for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the loser of the game will have to regroup in a hurry. In addition, we get to see Tommy Armstrong Jr. in the new look Huskers’ offense. Unfortunately, Nebraska will be without Michael Rose-Ivey due to suspension, and De’Mornay Pierson-El’s injury is at least a month away from healing.
If it wasn’t for No.1 Ohio State playing this weekend, the most important Big Ten game of the week would be the battle between No.20 Wisconsin Badgers, and No.3 Alabama Crimson Tide. The Badgers are coming off of a nice win over Auburn, and they are ready to take on last season’s SEC Champion. A victory over the Crimson Tide would continue the rise the stature of the Big Ten conference. It would also strengthen the Big Ten West immensely.
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The aforementioned Buckeyes are the defending national champions, but they come into the season with questions. Who’s going to be the starting quarterback? Who will play receiver due to suspensions and injuries? Will Braxton Miller become legitimate offensive threat in the Buckeyes offense? However, the biggest question is, can Ohio State defeat the Virginia Tech Hokies. If memory serves correctly, Virginia Tech was the only team to defeat the Buckeyes last year. A loss for Ohio State would be difficult to swallow for the rest of the conference as well.
Braxton Miller makes his debut as WR
The No.5 Michigan State Spartans begin their season on Friday night. They take on the Western Michigan Broncos in what could become an intriguing contest. The Spartans’ Connor Cook was not voted captain by his teammates, but he swears that’s not a concern for the season. The Broncos’ Zach Terrell will be one of the best quarterbacks Michigan State faces all season. Still, he has to run the offense against the Spartans’ tough defense.
One week ago, the Illinois Fighting Illini fired their head coach for conduct detrimental to the program and player abuse. They’ll be facing off with Kent State trying to rid themselves of the bad vibes hanging over certain programs. A win will undoubtedly change morale around Illinois’ program.
The only other Big Ten team playing a ranked opponent over the weekend is Northwestern. The Wildcats haven’t been the same since losing to Ohio State in 2013. They were on the verge of becoming a top 10 team with a victory. However, their last-minute loss sent the Wildcats into a downward spiral they have yet to come out of. They lost seven straight games to finish (5-7) and duplicated the record in 2014. Now the Wildcats have a chance to resurrect their program with a win over No.21 Stanford.
Penn State takes on Temple, with Christian Hackenberg ready for a breakout season with the Nittany Lions. It’s Penn State’s first full season without postseason sanctions since 2011. They expect to be vastly improved along the offensive line, so we will see if they are ready to challenge for a Big Ten title.
Maryland, Rutgers, Iowa, and Indiana take on FCS opponents in their first game of the season. Therefore, these games won’t mean much unless one of the teams loses in an upset. Remember, McNeese State was an Ameer Abdullah play away from sending their game with Nebraska into overtime. It’s wise not to take any of these teams lightly.
As for the Big Ten, every week is a huge week. They’ve already started (0-2), so a quick turnaround is imperative for the conference to maintain their traction.