Around The Big Ten: Week 12
The Wolverine takes a look around the Big Ten heading into the 12th week of action:
Illinois (2-8 overall, 0-7 Big Ten)
Illinois will be rtying to pick up its first conference victory of the season when it hits the road for No. 9 Ohio State ... Tight end Louis Dorsey's 77-yard touchdown catch last week against Indiana was the longest reception by a freshman in school history ... The Illini and Buckeyes will battle for the Illibuck Trophy, which is wooden replica of a turtle ... Illinois last defeated Ohio State in 2007, in a thrilling 28-21 shocker when OSU was ranked No. 1.
Indiana (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten)
After starting conference play 0-6, Indiana will be looking for its second straight league win on Saturday when it hosts Rutgers ... The Hoosiers will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Rose Bowl team, which fell to USC, 14-3 ... Head coach Tom Allen confirmed that fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow will make his third consecutive start on Saturday; the veteran lost his job to redshirt freshman Peyton Ramsey in September, but has since regained it ... IU needs to defeat the Scarlet Knights and the Boilermakers next week to reach bowl eligibility.
Iowa (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten)
Coming off its 38-14 blowout loss at Wisconsin last week, Iowa returns home to host Purdue ... Redshirt junior cornerback Josh Jackson has intercepted an incredible five passes in the last two games and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week each time; as a result, he now leads the country in picks with seven and passes defended with 23 ... Fifth-year senior linebacker Josey Jewell's 104 tackles are the most in the conference.
Maryland (4-6, 2-5 Big Ten)
Losers in five of its last six, Maryland hits the road to play No. 17 Michigan State ... Head coach DJ Durkin confirmed that sophomore quarterback Max Bortenschlager will start if he's healthy enough; redshirt sophomore Ryan Brand started last week against Michigan in his absence ... Junior running back Ty Johnson became just the 13th player in school history to hit the 2,000-yard mark in his career last week when he ran for 67 yards against U-M ... Trailing 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter last year against MSU, Maryland outscored the Spartans 14-0 in the game's final stanza to win a 28-17 thriller.
No. 17 Michigan State (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten)
After getting annihilated 48-3 at Ohio State last week, No. 17 Michigan State hosts Maryland ... MSU will honor just 15 players in its pregame senior day festivities ... Redshirt sophomore safety David Dowell's five interceptions are the second-most in the conference ... Michigan State's five Big Ten victories this season have come by an average of just five points.
Minnesota (5-5, 2-5 Big Ten)
Needing one more win to gain bowl eligibility, Minnesota heads to Evanston, Ill., to take on No. 23 Northwestern ... The Gophers hold a comfortable lead in the all-time series with the Wildcats, 53-34-5 ... Redshirt sophomore quarterback Demry Croft's 183 rushing yards last week against Nebraska were the most by a Minnesota signal-caller in school history ... The Gophers are currently riding a five-game conference road game losing streak and have not won a league game away from Minneapolis since defeating Illinois last year on Oct. 29.
Nebraska (4-6, 3-4 Big Ten)
Nebraska heads to No. 10 Penn State this weekend, hoping to bounce back from its 54-21 shellacking at Minnesota last Saturday ... Amid rumors of head coach Mike Riley's job status, athletic director Bill Moos stated during the week that "Riley deserves to finish the 2017 season" ... The Cornhuskers own two of the Big Ten's three best receiving statistical leaders in redshirt freshman J.D. Spielman (734 yards) at No. 2 and junior Stanley Morgan (727 yards) at No. 3.
No. 23 Northwestern (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten)
No. 23 Northwestern looks to keep the good times rolling and extend its winning streak to six games when it faces Minnesota this weekend ... The Wildcats' rush defense impressively ranks seventh in the country, only allowing 109.6 yards per game ... After throwing for 296 yards last week against Purdue, redshirt junior Clayton Thorson became just the fourth quarterback in school history to eclipse the 7,000-yard passing mark in his career.
No. 9 Ohio State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten)
No. 9 Ohio State hosts Illinois on Saturday at 3:30 ... Redshirt sophomore running back Mike Weber's 162-yard, two-touchdown performance last Saturday against MSU earned him Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week ... OSU has dominated the all-time series with the Illini, leading 67-30-4 ... Running back J.K. Dobbins' 1,038 yards are the fourth-most of any freshman in college football.
No. 10 Penn State (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten)
No. 10 Penn State plays host to Nebraska this weekend ... The game will pit two of college football's most storied programs against each other — the Cornhuskers rank fourth in all-time wins (893) and the Nittany Lions are eighth (875) ... The contest will be aired on Fox Sports 1, marking the first time PSU will have ever played on the network ... Penn State holds a 17-3 record in its last 20 games, which is its best 20-game span since posting a 20-0 record from 1993-95.
Purdue (4-6, 2-5 Big Ten)
Purdue travels to Iowa City this weekend to take on the Hawkeyes ... The Boilermakers have lost four of their last five games, but only by an average of five points ... Purdue holds a 46-38-3 advantage in the all-time series ... Redshirt freshman quarterback/receiver Jared Sparks took first-team reps with the offense on Tuesday in practice, in order for redshirt sophomore quarterback Elijah Sindelar to get some rest, according to head coach Jeff Brohm; Sindelar is still expected to start at the position.
Rutgers (4-6, 3-4 Big Ten)
Hoping to even its conference record at .500, Rutgers travels to Bloomington to face Indiana ... The contest will be the Scarlet Knights' fifth conference road game of the season, the most in school history ... Rutgers won a 55-52 thriller the last time it played at Bloomington in 2015.
No. 5 Wisconsin (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten)
No. 5 Wisconsin hosts No. 24 Michigan in a colossal showdown ... ESPN's College GameDay will broadcast live in the morning from Madison ... The Badgers and UCF are the only two teams in the nation not to have trailed in the fourth quarter this season ... Wisconsin is currently riding an 11-game winning streak, which is the second-longest active streak in the country, trailing only Miami's (Fla.) 14-gamer ... Sophomore wideout Quintez Cephus and fifth-year senior receiver Jazz Peavy will both miss the game, while senior safety D'Cota Dixon and redshirt freshman center Tyler Biadasz are both questionable with injuries.
Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 18
— No. 24 Michigan at No. 5 Wisconsin: 12:00 p.m. (FOX)
— Minnesota at No. 23 Northwestern: 12:00 p.m. (BTN)
— Rutgers at Indiana: 12:00 p.m. (BTN)
— Illinois at No. 9 Ohio State: 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
— Purdue at Iowa: 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
— Maryland at No. 17 Michigan State: 4:00 p.m. (FOX)
— Nebraska at No. 10 Penn State: 4:00 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
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