Week 8 Big Ten — Know your enemy
Big Ten Games of the Week: Michigan-Illinois, Indiana-Nebraska
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PORTLAND, Ore. — Heading into Week 8, it’s still anybody’s race. There’s a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten standings: Indiana, Oregon, and Penn State are 3-0 in conference games — with six more teams tied at 2-1.
That's literally half the conference still in a pair of ties for the two spots in the B1G title game.
The Big Ten has earned at least six teams ranked in the AP poll every week so far in the 2024 season.
The second half of October will spread the Big Ten standings out quite a bit more, starting with these two B1G Games of the Week:
Unranked Nebraska presenting a possible Upset Watch at AP No. 16 Indiana
No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois likely kicking a Big Ten team out of the Top 25
Upset watch
Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana: Noon ET/11am CT/9am PT | FOX
Most of the Big Ten banks on the foundation of building a stout defense and the Nebraska Blackshirts would certainly put themselves on that list.
With their promising freshman QB, the Cornhuskers have an improving offense too.
In the 140-year history of Indiana Football, the Hoosiers have two nine-win seasons. They’re already 6-0 in 2024 — either this is Indiana’s Cinderella season or the statistical probabilities are almost due to catch up with them.
If it’s not Nebraska to trip the Hoosiers, they still have No. 24 Michigan to contend with in Week 11, and No. 4 Ohio State in Week 13.
Thunderdome
No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois: 330pm ET/230pm CT/1230pm PT | CBS
Clearly not the same stakes for the CFP and B1G title as Oregon-OhioSt in Week 7, but somebody could lose more than a game in this one — Two ranked teams enter, and one might not survive in next week’s Top 25.
Michigan holds opponents to a B1G-best 76.3 rush yards per game.
Illinois has the passing game Michigan has often lacked this season — QB Luke Altmyer is tied for the Big Ten lead with 14 touchdowns.
The Illinois defense is third in interceptions and first in forced fumbles with seven of each.
Reality check
USC at Maryland: 4pm ET/3pm CT/1pm PT | FS1
Unranked USC was No. 11 three weeks ago in the Sept. 29 AP Poll — The facts of Big Ten life have set in and the truth isn’t pretty.
Maryland should be licking its chops for the shipment of SoCal tenders arriving by air freight this weekend.
In this Week 8 battle of unranked 3-3 teams, beating unranked Maryland fixes little to nothing for freefalling USC — Lose this game, and the Trojans’ narrative of deserving a better conference looks like a bad joke with a punchline about delusional entitlement and USC unsuccessfully running away from its Oregon problem.
For three-loss USC, 2024 is essentially already a wrap. Now at a 22-11 record with USC, the Lincoln Riley experiment has officially jumped the shark — Somehow flailing in both the Pac-12 and Big Ten despite the potential advantage of one of the historically strongest programs in college football history, one of the world's richest TV markets and the country’s second-deepest population base as a recruiting base.
B1G Week 8:
Friday, Oct. 18
No. 2 Oregon at Purdue: 8pm ET/7pm CT/5pm PT | FOX
Saturday, Oct. 19
Nebraska at No. 16 Indiana: Noon ET/11am CT/9am PT | FOX
UCLA at Rutgers: Noon ET/11am CT/9am PT | FS1
Wisconsin at Northwestern: Noon ET/11am CT/9am PT | BTN
No. 24 Michigan at No. 22 Illinois: 330pm ET/230pm CT/1230pm PT | CBS
USC at Maryland: 4pm ET/3pm CT/1pm PT | FS1
Iowa at Michigan St: 730pm ET/630pm CT/430pm PT | NBC
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