It’s not the most exciting week of Big Ten football, given that three of the marquee programs on bye this Saturday, but there are still some big games to pay attention to.
Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State are off, but Michigan State, Iowa, and Wisconsin are still playing. The Badgers are the only school with a nonconference matchup, going up against Army — never an easy game, given the 4-1 Black Knights run the triple-option.
Even though Michigan football is off for the week, we here at WolverinesWire are continuing to predict what we anticipate for the rest of the conference in Week 7. Here’s what we think will happen.
10 Michigan State at Indiana
Photo: Lansing State Journal
Trent Knoop: The Hoosiers are off to a porous start to the year — especially after last season — but they were off last week to get healthy and to start preparing for the Spartans. I don’t think it will matter though. Indiana is super inconsistent on the offensive side and Michael Penix Jr is one of the worst Big Ten quarterbacks this year. Speaking of quarterbacks, Payton Thorne is off to a prolific start to the season and the Spartans have one of the most dynamic offenses they have had it some time. Michigan State should continue its undefeated season this weekend. Michigan State 31, Indiana 17
Isaiah Hole: Indiana has shown more of a pulse as of late, but MSU is far too balanced, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and is good on both sides of the ball. The biggest concern I have is for the Spartans’ pass defense. If Indiana is going to make this a game, it will be because the passing game is working. I think it’ll work for awhile, but I don’t think the Hoosiers will outpace Payton Thorne and his receivers, along with Kenneth Walker III. Michigan State 33, Indiana 17
Nebraska at Minnesota
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Trent Knoop: I really don’t know what to think about this Minnesota team — it competes with Ohio State and thrashes Colorado, but then it loses to Bowling Green and has trouble beating Miami (OH). Tanner Morgan is having a really bad year for the Gophers and he will need to have a good game to keep up with the Nebraska offensive attack. This Cornhuskers team is much better than their record indicates — they very easily could have beaten Oklahoma, Michigan State, and Michigan — but turnovers keep rearing their ugly head. This should be a game that Nebraska can get back in the win column and keep its hopes alive for a bowl game. Nebraska 28, Minnesota 14
Isaiah Hole: Minnesota has been a team that you really never know what you’re going to get every week. The run game has been good with Treyson Potts, but I haven’t liked what I’ve seen from Tanner Morgan this year. Nebraska really could be 7-0 this year if it weren’t for big mistakes made at the wrong time. I think the Huskers will be able to move the ball on the Gopher defense, the question remains: will they be able to keep from shooting themselves in the foot in a crucial moment? I think they finally do. Nebraska 40, Minnesota 24
Rutgers at Northwestern
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Trent Knoop: The battle of two putrid offenses: Rutgers has scored 13 points in each of the last three games and Northwestern is only averaging 22 points-per-game with zero offensive identity. I’ve said before that Rutgers is a better team this year, and I still believe that, so I think it will bounce back in Evanston this week. The Wildcats aren’t great against the run, so I predict Isaih Pacheco will have a good day and lead the Scarlet Knights to a victory. Rutgers 24, Northwestern 20
Isaiah Hole: Whoever loses this is officially the worst team in the conference! OK, I don’t know that it’s that bad. Rutgers looked vastly improved until it ran a gauntlet of Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan State. I think the Scarlet Knights are better than they’ve shown. Still, Noah Vedral has been making mistakes after having been close to perfect the first four weeks. I think a bad Northwestern team is the elixir to cure all wounds. Rutgers 35, Northwestern 10
Purdue at 2 Iowa
Photo: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Trent Knoop: It seems that Aidan O’Connell has surpassed Jack Plummer as Purdue’s starting quarterback and O’Connell is much more of a turnover risk than Plummer — Plummer hasn’t thrown an interception whereas O’Connell has thrown five. The Boilermakers can gain plenty of yards; they average 414 yards-per-game, but if they can’t keep the ball out the of opposing team’s hands then it does no good. Iowa has one of the best defenses in all of football and it should have a great day against a turnover-prone quarterback. Iowa 27, Purdue 14
Isaiah Hole: I think if Sean Clifford hadn’t gotten hurt, Penn State wouldn’t have lost to Iowa. Still, the Hawkeyes find ways to win, and Purdue is a team that’s stood tall on the road at Notre Dame. I think Iowa is a different animal, especially defensively. I expect Aidan O’Connell to throw at least one pick, and that should make most of the difference. It’ll be close, but the Hawkeyes prevail. Iowa 28, Purdue 20
Army at Wisconsin
Photo: Isaiah Hole
Trent Knoop: This could be the fastest game ever — both teams love to run the ball. The Badgers want to pass the ball more this year, but it has done no good with Graham Mertz throwing two touchdowns compared to seven interceptions. What makes this game really interesting is Wisconsin has the No. 1 rushing defense and Army has the No. 2 rushing offense in football. I think we see a low scoring game here with a Badgers victory. Wisconsin 17, Army 7
Isaiah Hole: It’s not Wisconsin’s fault that it had the hardest schedule in the first four weeks, having to play what ultimately became three ranked teams. We saw that the Badger defense is worthy of their high designation, and the offense isn’t quite as concerning when they’re not playing Penn State, Michigan or Notre Dame. While the triple-option would scare me if it was any other team, Wisconsin is built to stop the run, and if that’s all Army is going to do, it’ll be a long day for the Black Knights. Wisconsin 24, Army 7
