Things to watch this weekend in the Big Ten:
No. 2 Ohio State (6-1, 4-0) at Southern California (6-2, 3-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
Ohio State’s quarterback uncertainty adds intrigue to a matchup that otherwise lost a bit of shine once USC fell 24-7 at Wisconsin to drop out of the AP Top 25.
This will be the first full game the Buckeyes play without the injured Julian Sayin. Ohio State coach Ryan Day has said Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair are competing for the nod to start. Fahey took over after Sayin hurt his throwing arm in a 19-15 victory at No. 4 Indiana on Oct. 17.
No. 25 Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1) at Iowa (5-2, 2-2), Saturday, noon ET (Fox)
Wisconsin is in the Top 25 for the first time since September 2023 and now must face an Iowa team that has outscored the Badgers 118-26 over the last four seasons.
Minnesota (5-2, 3-1) at No. 4 Indiana (7-1, 4-1), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Indiana will try to get its offense going, as the Hoosiers haven’t exceeded 20 points in any of their last three games.
No. 20 Northwestern (6-1, 3-1) at Oregon (4-3, 2-2), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Peacock)
Former Oregon coach Chip Kelly already faced the Ducks while coaching UCLA from 2018-23, but this is the first time he will be doing so as Northwestern’s offensive coordinator.
— Wisconsin OLB Sebastian Cheeks recorded 2 ½ sacks against Southern California.
— Northwestern QB Aidan Chiles is the only Bowl Subdivision player to have two games this season with at least three touchdown passes and two touchdown runs. Chiles achieved that in victories over Colorado and Rutgers.
— UCLA LB Sammy Omosigho had 2 ½ sacks in a 28-10 win over Michigan State.
— Indiana DL Tobi Osunsanmi has at least one sack in seven straight games, which represents the longest such streak in school history. He recorded two sacks in the Hoosiers’ 13-6 overtime victory at Michigan.
The seven points USC produced in its loss to Wisconsin represented the lowest total for any team led by Lincoln Riley during his 10 seasons as a head coach. … Oregon had scored over 10 points in 61 straight games before losing 21-10 at Illinois last week. … Four of the top five FBS defenses in yards allowed per play are from the Big Ten. Michigan is first (4.10). Indiana and Wisconsin are tied for second (4.14). Ohio State is fifth (4.21). … UCLA coach Bob Chesney, who was at James Madison last year, has won his last 17 regular-season games. … Minnesota has its three primary rivalry trophies — Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa), the Little Brown Jug (Michigan) and Paul Bunyan’s Axe (Wisconsin) — at the same time for the first time since 1978. Minnesota will try to hold on to the Axe when it visits Wisconsin on Nov. 27.
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