Big Ten football’s best remaining games in 2021
ROSEMONT, Ill. (BVM) — The 2021 college football season has been a fun ride so far, particularly in the Big Ten conference. Several squads have emerged as top-25 teams throughout the season, with Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan all sitting inside the top 10 of the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings.
While the Big Ten West has proved less strong than the East Division, both sides of the league remain wide open as we head through the final month of the season. With that, let’s take a look at the most important matchups remaining on the schedule.
No. 20 Minnesota at No. 22 Iowa (Saturday, Nov. 13)
After a relatively light schedule coming up in the Big Ten this weekend, the action really picks up. That begins with a huge battle in the Big Ten West between Minnesota and Iowa. Both these teams have had up and down moments throughout the season, but Minnesota should come into the contest hot assuming they take care of business against Illinois this weekend. At 6-2, the Golden Gophers have flown under the radar this season. An ugly home loss to Bowling Green is a big blemish, but their only other loss came to Ohio State. Despite being down to their fourth-string running back, P.J. Fleck — who just signed a new seven-year contract extension — continues to lead his team to victories.
“This is where I want to be.
Minnesota is HO〽️E.” #RTB // #SkiUMah // #Gophers pic.twitter.com/X07DsUbkB3— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) November 3, 2021
Meanwhile, Iowa comes into this one in the opposite fashion. They should beat Northwestern this weekend, but after being ranked No. 2 in the country just a couple of weeks ago, the Hawkeyes have fallen flat. Coming off a comeback three-point win over Penn State, Iowa lost at home to Purdue in a shocker, and followed it up by being outplayed by Wisconsin coming off a bye week. The running game continues to be an issue as does the play of quarterback Spencer Petras. If Iowa wants to have any chance of winning the division, they will need to take care of business in this one at home. For Minnesota, a win would go a long way in keeping pace with Wisconsin in the West.
No. 7 Michigan at Penn State (Saturday, Nov. 13)
A couple of weeks ago, this game may have arguably been one of the most important matchups on this list with both teams ranked in the top 10. Since, Penn State has fallen off the map, not even cracking the top 25 of the College Football Playoff rankings. The season began well for the Nittany Lions, with huge wins over Wisconsin and Auburn. However, after blowing a 14-point lead to Iowa when quarterback Sean Clifford got injured, Penn State came off a bye week with a shocking nine-overtime loss to Big Ten bottom feeder Illinois. Although they improved their play last week against Ohio State, the Nittany Lions have still lost three straight. They should pick up a win this weekend against Maryland, but have some daunting matchups after including this one.
Still, Penn State is a high-level team that is going to have a chance to significantly impact the Big Ten East race. They could not take down Ohio State, but have a couple other cracks against good teams beginning here against Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off their first loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion to rival Michigan State where they blew a 16-point lead and got run over by Heisman candidate Kenneth Walker. While they had been challenged by a few Big Ten opponents prior, Michigan was riding high at 7-0. The loss to the Spartans stings, but games coming up against Indiana and Maryland should allow them to rebound. If they can beat Penn State here, Jim Harbaugh’s guys will enter their final-week matchup against Ohio State with a chance to dethrone the Buckeyes from the top of the Big Ten East.
No. 3 Michigan State at No. 5 Ohio State (Saturday, Nov. 20)
Two weeks from now, we will get what is probably the most important remaining matchup in the Big Ten season, as — presuming both teams take care of lesser opponents — a couple of top-five squads will do battle in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan State is the surprise of the Big Ten this season and perhaps one of the more shocking teams in all of college football through eight weeks. Coming off of a rivalry win against Michigan, Mel Tucker’s guys have moved up all the way to No. 3 in the country, perhaps surprising some that they currently sit ahead of Ohio State. Running back Kenneth Walker is currently on a Heisman pace, and Ohio State’s defense has shown vulnerability throughout the year, potentially allowing MSU to exploit one of the key matchups of this contest.
You wanted a Heisman moment? You got a Heisman moment 😤🏆@MSU_Football RB @Kenneth_Walker9 was an absolute MONSTER against Michigan pic.twitter.com/bAfKfiMM8t
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 30, 2021
While the Spartans have exceeded all expectations so far this season, Ohio State has perhaps disappointed a bit. Playing with a new freshman quarterback in C.J. Stroud — who has come on in recent weeks to put himself in the Heisman conversation — the Buckeyes faltered at home in an early-season loss to now No. 4 Oregon. After that point, however, Ohio State won five straight contests by 20 points or more. Last week, they struggled with Penn State at times, but still found a way to pull out a 33-24 victory. This game projects to be similar, as Ohio State will be tested in back-to-back weeks to close out the season. If Michigan State wins this one, the team’s odds of making the College Football Playoff drastically increase. For Ohio State, a win here, against Michigan the following week and in the Big Ten championship, should have them in the playoff as well.
Penn State at No. 3 Michigan State (Saturday Nov. 27)
As big as a win versus Ohio State would be for the Spartans, it may not mean much if they don’t take care of business in the regular-season finale. They passed step one of a difficult remaining schedule last week, but steps two and three require beating Ohio State and Penn State in back-to-back weeks. They may face a little stiffer defense in this one, as Penn State has been solid against the run overall. Yet, a win here that will likely require another strong performance from Walker could put Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game, set them up to grab a spot in the playoff and potentially cement Walker’s Heisman case.
Meanwhile, as mentioned before, Penn State will be looking to prove that they are still a worthy opponent in this division. If Clifford can recapture his early-season play, it’s quite possible they could pull an upset. The Nittany Lions just played Ohio State very tough, and had they capitalized on one of many opportunities in two- and three-point losses to Illinois and Iowa, it’s quite possible they would be sitting at 7-1 and still squarely in the division race. Like Michigan a couple of weeks before them, Penn State is not a team the Spartans can take lightly, and this feels like a bit of a trap game depending on what Michigan State does the week before.
No. 21 Wisconsin at No. 20 Minnesota (Saturday, Nov. 27)
In 2019, the final week of the Big Ten season saw what was essentially a championship game in the West between Wisconsin and Minnesota where the Badgers went on the road and dominated 38-17. After a COVID-marred season for both teams that even forced last year’s battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe to be canceled, these squads may find themselves in the very same position as two years ago. However, the path to get there this time has been much different. Minnesota began the season with two losses in four games, only to begin rounding into form through the heart of the season. Tanner Morgan will need to play better, but if the Gophers get past their aforementioned Iowa matchup, they should enter this one at 5-0 in the division with a chance to get revenge from a couple of years ago.
At the same time, Wisconsin has also taken a wild ride to get to where they are at. After brutal early-year losses to Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan, the Badgers have found a way to right the ship. Four straight wins have put Wisconsin back into the top 25, taking care of Illinois and Army while beating back-to-back ranked opponents in Purdue and Iowa. Although quarterback Graham Mertz has struggled mightily in his first normal season of starting for the Badgers, the team has picked up their rushing effort in large part due to 17-year-old freshman Braelon Allen, who has had four straight 100-plus yard efforts.
Lol. Accurate though. https://t.co/CPCoIAD3PW
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 30, 2021
After a matchup this weekend at Rutgers, Wisconsin comes home to play Northwestern and Nebraska, meaning they too could come into this contest at 5-0 in the West. Minnesota will hope to finally knock off Wisconsin and get to its first Big Ten Championship game, while Wisconsin — tied with Ohio State for a league-high six championship game appearances — will look to return to Indy yet again.
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 7 Michigan (Saturday, Nov. 27)
For these two schools, this game is always the biggest matchup of the year. This season, it could also end up being the biggest game in the Big Ten. Harbaugh will have yet another chance to finally beat Ohio State, something he has already failed at a handful of times. Speaking of bad Harbaugh stats, he is also now 0-2 against Tucker, and just 20-21 against Power 5 teams that are .500 or better. Needless to say, Michigan has had the season Harbaugh needed, but it will all come down to this game as usual. Michigan boasts an improved offense than in past years, led by running backs Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins. Quarterback Cade McNamara is also coming off a strong game against Michigan State which is certainly another positive development for the Wolverines. Whether they come into this game with just the one loss they currently have or more, this game makes or breaks Michigan’s season.
For Ohio State, you can say exactly the same. Thanks to their loss against Oregon, the Buckeyes probably have to win out to make the playoff this year. It’s quite possible that a loss here to Michigan also keeps them out of the Big Ten Championship game. While that potential exists, the reality is that Ohio State is still the class of the conference until proven otherwise. Stroud continues to get better and better game by game, while he has arguably the best trio of wide receivers in the country between Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Meanwhile, freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson has been perhaps even better than expected with nearly 1,000 yards rushing on the season already. The main question mark for Ohio State after their loss to Oregon was the defense. While it still might not be where they want it, the unit has continued to improve on a weekly basis as well. Ohio State has undoubtedly dominated this rivalry of late, and if they do it again, bigger things could be in store for them come December and January.
