Big Ten breakdown | Week 5

Sep. 27—It’s nothing but conference games this weekend in the Big Ten. The first full week of league play. Here’s how Illini beat writer Scott Richey

ranks this weekend’s matchups, along with his picks for Illinois MVP, Big Ten MVP and his evaluation of the Illini’s bowl game projections:

Can’t miss it

No. 19 Illinois (4-0, 1-0)

at No. 9 Penn State (3-0, 0-0)

6:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC

➜ Who’s on the call: Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (expert analysis) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reports).

➜ Who wins: Penn State, 28-21. The Nittany Lions shut out Kent State last week. Even though they opened as 181/2-point underdogs, the Illini will keep it much closer than last year’s game in Champaign.

Second-screen options

No. 3 Ohio State (3-0, 0-0)

at Michigan State (3-1, 1-0)

6 p.m. Saturday, Peacock

➜ Who’s on the call: Andrew Siciliano (play-by-play), Colt McCoy (expert analysis) and Lewis Johnson (sideline reports).

➜ Who wins: Ohio State, 49-21. Marshall put up the best fight against the Buckeyes this season and still lost by 35 points. Michigan State is better than any one on Ohio State’s Charmin soft nonconference slate, but that doesn’t really matter.

Washington (3-1, 1-0)

at Rutgers (3-0, 0-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Fox

➜ Who’s on the call: Tim Brando (play-by-play), Devin Gardner (expert analysis) and Josh Sims (sideline reports).

➜ Who wins: Washington, 28-24. The fact this is a Big Ten game still takes some getting used to. Because Seattle is roughly 2,900 miles to Piscataway, N.J., depending on the route the Huskies’ equipment truck wanted to take. Either way, Will Rogers and Washington will head back to the Pacific Northwest with a road win.

Maryland (3-1, 0-1)

at Indiana (4-0, 1-0)

11 a.m. Saturday, BTN

➜ Who’s on the call: Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Jake Butt (expert analysis) and Brooke Fletcher (sideline…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/big-ten-breakdown-week-5-144800220.html

Author : The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.

Publish date : 2024-09-27 14:48:00

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