CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Things to watch this week in the Big Ten Conference:
Game of the week
No. 19 Illinois (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 9 Penn State (3-0, 0-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
This is the best of Bret Bielema's four Illinois teams, and it's motivated to knock off a third ranked opponent. Last Friday's visit to Nebraska was good preparation for what awaits in Happy Valley.
QB Luke Altmeyer is playing with confidence with 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Through four games last year, Altmeyer had four TD passes and seven interceptions, including four picks in a loss to Penn State.
Penn State is coming off two wins over Mid-American Conference opponents. A week after struggling with Bowling Green deep into the second half, the Nittany Lions set a school record with 718 total yards in a 56-0 win over Kent State.
Drew Allar has the second-highest passer rating in the Bowl Subdivision. He'll be going against a ball-hawking defense that already has 10 takeaways.
Penn State is a 17 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The undercard
Washington (3-1, 1-0) visits Rutgers (3-0, 0-0) on Friday night for its longest road trip of the season. Rutgers is trying to go 4-0 for the first time since 2012 and will put its 256-yard-per-game rushing attack against a defense allowing 10.3 points per game. The Huskies' Will Rogers III, who has eight TD passes and no interceptions, goes against a veteran secondary that has allowed one touchdown and is holding opponents to 51% passing.
Wisconsin (2-1, 0-0) heads to No. 13 Southern California (2-1, 0-1), where Badgers QB Braedyn Locke gets his first road start of the season in place of Tyler Van Dyke (season-ending knee injury). The Trojans will look to shore up their run defense, which allowed three bursts longer than 40 yards against Michigan.
Minnesota (2-2, 0-1) visits No. 12 Michigan (3-1, 1-0) for what appears to be an unfavorable matchup for the Gophers. Michigan's offense, featuring Kalel Mullings, is all about the run. The Gophers just gave up 272 yards rushing in a loss to Iowa.
Impact players
Purdue RB Devin Mockobee went over 2,000 career rushing yards with 168 yards on 16 carries in a loss at Oregon State. He will be key if the Boilermakers are going to keep their offense on the field when Nebraska visits.
Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel heads into a road game against UCLA completing 84% of his passes. He's the only FBS starter over 80%.
USC RB Woody Marks is coming off back-to-back 100-yard games.
Inside the numbers
No. 3 Ohio State is 93-7 in Big Ten games the past 12 years. Ryan Day's teams are 39-3 against the Big Ten; Urban Meyer’s teams were 54-4. ... Nebraska’s last five Big Ten games have been decided by seven or fewer points, including two in overtime. The last time a Nebraska conference game was decided by more than seven points was a 31-14 win over Purdue in Lincoln last season. ... Penn State had a 652-yard differential against Kent State, gaining 718 yards and allowing 66 for the highest differential against an FBS team in 20 years, according to ESPN Stats & Info. ... UCLA LB Kain Medrano is first in the Big Ten in solo tackles per game (6.5) and tackles for loss per game (2.0). ... Michigan State WR Montorie Foster Jr. has at least one catch in 17 straight games and in 27 of his last 39 games.
Now don’t get upset
Maryland (3-1, 0-1) is a seven-point underdog at Indiana (4-0, 1-0). This could turn into a scoring contest. Terrapins QB Billy Edwards Jr. has been a revelation as successor to Taulia Tagovailoa and WR Tai Felton has put up monster numbers. Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke is averaging 10.8 yards per pass attempt, RB Justice Ellison has gained 10 yards or more on 10 of his 38 carries, and the Hoosiers are averaging 50 points per game.
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