Week five signals the last of the non-conference games and the beginning of conference play for the B1G. A majority of the teams actually have a bye this week. The big matchup is obviously Ohio State versus Wisconsin in the Horseshoe on Saturday night. Be sure to check out the review for that game from one of our great writers. As for the rest of the conference, there is only three games to preview. Let’s get to them:
Miami (OH) @ Illinois
After a loss to Washington, Illinois was on a bye last week. This week they get one of the worst teams in the country, statistically speaking. Miami is 0-3 on the season, being outscored 107-21 (ouch). The Redhawks don’t have much of a chance in this game, especially going against one of the best quarterbacks in the B1G this season. Fighting Illini quarterback Nathan Scheelhasse has completed 63 of 98 passes for 884 yards and seven touchdowns and only two interceptions. Scheelhaase and the Illinois offense should have no problems picking apart the weak Redhawks’ defense and should cruise to an easy victory.
Northern Illinois @ Purdue
This is the second B1G opponent for Northern Illinois this season. The Huskies beat Iowa in the season opener with a last second field goal and have won ever since. Purdue is coming off a beat down at the hands of Wisconsin, who ran all over the Boilermakers’ defense. I give Purdue a slight chance to win, but I just don’t see them stopping Northern Illinois star quarterback Jordan Lynch. Lynch has been putting up numbers many expected out of him this season, throwing for 662 yards and seven touchdowns while also leading the team in rushing with 404 yards and two touchdowns. Lynch and the Huskies have played in tight games all season and this one could be tight too, but even if it does I expect Lynch to be a good closer as he’s demonstrated throughout his career.
Iowa @ Minnesota
I think this will quietly be one of the better games in college football this weekend. Iowa comes into the game 3-1, with a good running game and solid defense. Minnesota is 4-0 and also boasts a good running game and defense. These two teams are pretty identical and it will interesting to see who’s able to execute better. Both have quarterbacks that are young and certainly won’t light the world on fire, but really are going to be the difference makers for their teams. If either can step up and produce nice numbers, then their team should be victorious. Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock has the edge over Gophers’ quarterback Mitch Leidner, who made his first start of his career last weekend against San Jose State. Despite the edge, I still like the Gophers to pull off the win due to home-field advantage and a slightly better running game. I also should mention this is a trophy rivalry game, as the winner will win the Floyd of Rosedale trophy. It’s a giant pig trophy! Why wouldn’t you want to win it?
[…] Rudock outplayed his counterpart Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson, something I said would be the key to this game in my preview last week. Rudock threw for 218 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for one touchdown. Nelson […]