Things to watch this weekend in the Big Ten:
No. 15 Southern California (7-2, 4-2, No. 18 CFP) at No. 6 Indiana (8-1, 5-1, No. 9 CFP ), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Indiana fell five spots in the CFP rankings after having last weekend off. That drop should let the defending national champions realize they can’t take anything for granted.
Southern California also had last weekend off after boosting its playoff hopes with a 30-18 home win over Ohio State on Oct. 31. The Trojans still must prove they can win big games on the road. The last time they played away from home, they lost 24-7 at Wisconsin.
Illinois (6-3, 4-2) at No. 4 UCLA (9-0, 6-0, No. 4 CFP), Friday, 9 p.m. ET (Fox)
UCLA can tie a school single-season record for wins by beating Illinois and remaining unbeaten. UCLA’s had nine 10-win seasons, with the most recent one coming in 2014.
Michigan (5-4, 2-4) at No. 18 Oregon (6-3, 4-2, No. 16 CFP), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Oregon chases its third straight victory while Michigan attempts to bounce back from a 15-6 home loss to Michigan State that resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Jason Beck.
— Michigan State CB NiJhay Burt picked off a pass and forced a fumble in the Spartans’ victory over Michigan.
— UCLA QB Ty Dieffenbach threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns off only eight completions in the Bruins’ 34-20 victory at Minnesota. He threw 75-yard touchdown passes on consecutive offensive plays. Dieffenbach is the only Bowl Subdivision player since at least 1995 to throw for at least 300 yards on eight completions.
— Illinois WR Collin Dixon had eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-13 win over Nebraska. Dixon has 12 touchdown catches this season, putting him in a tie for fourth place among all Bowl Subdivision players.
— Oregon OLB Matayo Uiagalelei recorded 1 ½ sacks and caught a 30-yard pass on a fake punt during Oregon’s 41-28 victory at Ohio State.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith has 3,758 yards receiving and should set the Big Ten career record this week. The Big Ten record is owned by John Standeford, who had 3,788 for Purdue from 2000-03. Smith also has 16 career 100-yard receiving games, one away from the Big Ten career record that is shared by Purdue’s David Bell (2019-21) and Michigan’s Braylon Edwards (2001-04). … One more victory would give UCLA its biggest year-to-year turnaround in school history. The Bruins already have won six more games than they did last season, when they finished 3-9. They went from 2-7-1 in 1971 to 8-3 in 1972. … L.J. Phillips Jr. became the fifth different Iowa running back to rush for at least 100 yards in a game this season when he gained 128 yards on 21 carries in a 24-10 victory at Northwestern. … Wisconsin is the only Power Four team that hasn’t allowed a single play from scrimmage of 50-plus yards this season. The only other FBS teams not to allow a gain of 50-plus yards are Central Michigan, Louisiana-Lafayette and Nevada.
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