The ‘Cats aren’t playing, but the rest of the conference will entertain
It’s Northwestern’s bye week, but the Big Ten schedule rolls on with a packed slate of eight games this weekend. There are certainly a few that probably aren’t worth watching (Oregon at UCLA comes to mind); but there’s plenty to follow this weekend for Big Ten fans. Here’s a look at five things you should be paying attention to.
Washington’s offense
The Huskies take on Rutgers in New Jersey Friday night with a chance to prove their dominating victory against the ‘Cats was a sign of things to come. Quarterback Will Rogers and a completely rebuilt offense have looked surprisingly impressive thus far for Washington. It ranks fifth in the conference in passing offense averaging 291.8 yards per contest. It also ranks ninth in rushing per game with 164.8 yards.
These numbers aren’t 2024 national championship runner-up impressive, but they’re solid regardless. However, there are reasons to question the legitimacy of the offense’s numbers, and to wonder if they just haven’t performed in difficult games yet.
Washington handled business in its first two non-conference games against Weber State and Eastern Michigan. Then, the offense was very shaky in a 24-19 loss to Washington State. Northwestern provided a bounce-back opportunity that the Huskies capitalized on last weekend in a 24-5 win.
The ‘Cats have a good defense, but there’s reason to wonder about the secondary. It’s hard to know exactly how good of a Big Ten defensive unit the Huskies were up against last Saturday. It will be interesting to see this weekend if Washington can replicate its offensive success on its first Big Ten road trip all the way across the country. If it wants to hang with the big boys, it needs to prove it can still put points on the board away from home.
Alex Orji
Michigan is a weird team. It’s definitely not as good as it was last year, and that’s definitely because the quarterback situation is less than ideal. But it’s really hard to ascertain what this team’s ceiling is because we really don’t know how bad this quarterback thing is going to turn out.
Right now, the Wolverines are going with the athletic runner in Alex Orji. He led the team to a huge win in Ann Arbor last weekend against No. 11 USC. However, he had some serious help from running back Kalel Mullings who raced for 159 yards on the ground in the game. Orji did enough to get the win, but much has been made about his 7-of-12 for 32 yards performance through the air.
Bottom line, Michigan is saying it trusts Orji’s arm, but that seems to be far from the truth if he’s only throwing 12 times in a game. With Minnesota coming to town this weekend, the Wolverines have another chance to see Orji in a game it’s capable of dominating. Maybe he takes advantage of the opportunity and quiets some of his doubters who think he can’t throw the ball. Or maybe it becomes even more clear that Michigan has a serious problem under center.
Billy Edwards Jr. and Tai Felton
If you haven’t spent any time watching the Terps play football this year, you should. Outside of a heartbreaking loss at home to Michigan State, Maryland has pretty much won in blow outs the entire season. Much of the success is because of an electric connection between quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. and senior receiver Tai Felton.
Edwards Jr. leads the Big Ten in passing at the moment with 1,155 yards racked up already through just four games. Of those yards, 604 of them have been to the conference’s leading receiver Tai Felton, who is well on his way to a career season. The next guy on the list is Washington’s Giles Jackson with 342. Felton has been the most productive receiver in the conference this season, and it isn’t even particularly close.
The Terps play what should be a really interesting and competitive game on Saturday as well, taking on 4-0 Indiana on the road. The Hoosiers have been impressive in 2024, and give Maryland a chance to show that its Michigan State loss was a fluke. If its offense stays dominant, then it has the tools to be the first team to knock off Indiana.
USC
The Trojans were riding high earlier this year after a statement week one win at LSU. They then dominated Utah State 48-0 before losing a tight one on the road to Michigan. Now, it gets a Wisconsin team coming to Seattle without its opening day starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke. It should be a game that the No. 13 team in the country handles easily. But we need to see it from USC.
Michigan is still one of the best teams in the Big Ten, but there are better. And USC wants to be able to compete with any level of opponent in the conference. The first step is proving it can bounce back after a difficult loss.
For now, nobody is too concerned about USC. It had to go into a hostile environment and play the defending national champions, and it was a game the Trojans could have easily won. Everything should be fine. But if the Trojans let this Badger team come into their house and hang around, there will start to be more uncomfortable questions about Lincoln Riley’s team.
No. 19 Illinois at No. 9 Penn State
What kind of article would this be if I didn’t advise you to tune in to the best game of the week in the conference? And this one is fairly inarguable. This game is the only one in the Big Ten between two ranked opponents this weekend, and it’s an excellent opportunity for Northwestern fans to see just how good their in-state rivals really are.
Illinois has been a freight train so far, storming out to a 4-0 record and a Top-25 ranking, two things Illini football isn’t used to. Its resume already includes two ranked wins (against Kansas and Nebraska), and it’s looking for a third this weekend against Penn State. The Nittany Lions also haven’t lost a game yet, but the schedule has been kind to them. This is their first real test.
Definitely watch this one. Penn State should win as 18-point favorites in Happy Valley, but it’s anything but a foregone conclusion.