No. 9 Miami at Virginia Tech | ||
No. 10 Indiana at Michigan State | ||
Middle Tennessee at No. 16 Marshall | ||
Western Carolina at No. 22 Liberty | ||
Wake Forest at North Carolina | ||
Fresno State at Utah State | ||
No. 2 Notre Dame at Boston College | ||
No. 20 Southern Cal at Arizona | ||
Southern Mississippi at Western Kentucky | ||
Nevada vs. New Mexico in Las Vegas | ||
Arkansas at No. 6 Florida | ||
No. 11 Oregon at Washington State | ||
No. 13 Wisconsin at Michigan | ||
No. 23 Northwestern at Purdue | ||
Temple at Central Florida | ||
Florida State at North Carolina State | ||
South Carolina at Mississippi | ||
Oregon State at Washington |
Indiana has never made a habit of being good enough to be ranked by the Associated Press poll voters. And when they are, the Hoosiers usually bump their heads on the ceiling and come plummeting back to earth. Last year, Indiana cracked the top 25 at No. 24 thanks to four straight midseason wins, only to tumble out of the rankings immediately with a loss to Penn State. Its previous top 25 foray, in 1994, also lasted all of one week before a 49-point loss to Wisconsin sent the Hoosiers into a spiral. Indiana’s previous ascension into the top 10, way back in 1969, also was brief, and the team finished 4-6.
This year’s Indiana team, however, seems poised to stick around for a bit after season-opening wins over Penn State (a game the Hoosiers probably should have lost) and Michigan (a game they pretty much dominated). Now No. 10 Indiana visits Michigan State, a team it last defeated on the road in 2001. The Spartans also have beaten Michigan this season but have been otherwise pretty bad, the nadir coming in last week’s 49-7 loss at Iowa in which they threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and gave up a punt-return touchdown. Michigan State has a minus-7 turnover differential after three games. …
It’s a battle of a team that beat Clemson vs. a team that nearly beat Clemson when Notre Dame visits Boston College. The Fighting Irish are hoping to avoid a repeat of 1993, when they knocked off a No. 1 team in November (in that case, Florida State) only to lose their Holy War battle at Boston College the next weekend, scuttling the national title hopes for Lou Holtz’s last truly dominant Notre Dame team.
Something similar happened in 2002, when the Fighting Irish started 8-0 in Tyrone Whittingham’s first season and rose to No. 4 in the rankings only to lose to Boston College in November. Eagles quarterback Phil Jurkovec began his college career as a highly touted recruit for the Fighting Irish but transferred to Boston College in January. “I was really not liking football,” he said. “I lost my love for it.” He has thrown for 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions this season. …
If anyone has any idea what’s going to happen in the Wisconsin-Michigan game, please raise your hand. The Badgers haven’t played since their season opener on Oct. 23 because of a coronavirus outbreak that forced the cancellation of two games. It’s also not entirely clear whether Graham Mertz, probably the most heralded quarterback recruit ever to play for the Badgers, will see the field against the Wolverines after a positive coronavirus test and the mandatory rest period that follows. Mertz was 20 for 21 with five touchdown passes against Illinois in the opener, and Michigan’s abysmal pass defense is allowing 287.3 passing yards per game, 104th nationally. The Wolverines are reeling after losses to Michigan State and Indiana, and Jim Harbaugh’s seat has never been hotter.
