The Wolverine takes a look around the conference heading into the second week of the college football season:
Illinois (1-0)
After squeaking out a narrow 24-21 win over Ball State last week, Illinois hosts Western Kentucky ... The Illini will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time since defeating Middle Tennessee on Sept. 26 and Nebraska on Oct. 3 of 2015 ... After missing the past two years with injury, redshirt junior receiver Mike Dudek totaled 47 yards in catches and a touchdown last week in his return to the field ... The game will mark the first of three straight primetime affairs for the Illini.
Indiana (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten)
Indiana hits the road this weekend to take on Virginia, hoping to avoid an 0-2 start ... The Hoosiers received devastating news on Monday when it was announced that junior receiver Nick Westbrook would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL; Westbrook led the team with 995 yards and six touchdowns last year ... Fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow's average of 410 passing yards per game is the sixth-most in the country.
Iowa (1-0)
Iowa heads to nearby Ames this weekend to renew its rivalry with Iowa State ... After tallying 14 tackles and two sacks in last weekend's win over Wyoming, fifth-year senior linebacker Josey Jewell was named the Walter Camp National and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week ... Not only did the Hawkeye defense keep Wyoming out of the end zone last week, it didn't even allow the Cowboys to reach the red zone ... Iowa has dominated the series with Iowa State, holding a 42-22 advantage.
Maryland (1-0)
Coming off its huge win at then-No. 23 Texas last week, Maryland heads home to face Towson ... The Terrapins received unfortunate news on Tuesday, when it was announced that sophomore starting quarterback Tyrell Pigrome and senior defensive end Jesse Aniebonam would both miss the rest of the season with injury ... Aniebonam led the team with 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks a year ago … Freshman Kasim Hill will make his first career start at quarterback this weekend ... Maryland will be looking to win its 12th consecutive home opener.
Michigan State (1-0)
Michigan State faces a Western Michigan team on Saturday that gave then-No. 4 USC all it could handle last weekend before falling 49-31 ... For the first time ever at home, the Spartans will wear an all-white helmet and uniform combination ... Michigan State holds a 12-2 advantage in the all-time series with Western Michigan ... The Spartans will be looking to win consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 2 and Sept. 10 of last year.
Minnesota (1-0)
Minnesota heads to the West Coast this weekend for a primetime showdown at Oregon State ... The Gophers defeated the Beavers 30-23 last year in Minneapolis ... Minnesota has lost five of its last seven road games, dating back to 2015 ... The Gophers played both fifth-year senior Conor Rhoda and redshirt sophomore Demry Croft at quarterback in last week's win over Buffalo, and are expected to do so once again this week.
Nebraska (1-0)
Nebraska hits the road to face Oregon in a huge non-conference showdown ... The Cornhuskers defeated the Ducks, 35-32, last season in Lincoln ... Saturday's game will mark the first time since 1952 that Nebraska will play in the state of Oregon — it faced the Ducks in Portland that year ... The Cornhuskers will be looking to snap a three-game road-losing streak.
Northwestern (1-0)
Coming off a tighter-than-expected 31-20 win over Nevada last week, Northwestern travels to Duke ... This will be the 19th meeting between the two prestigious academic schools, with the Wildcats holding a 10-8 advantage ... Redshirt junior quarterback Clayton Thorson is off to an outstanding start to the 2017 season, with 352 passing yards and a 73.7 completion percentage ... The Wildcats have won four of their last five games, dating back to last year.
No. 2 Ohio State (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten)
No. 2 Ohio State welcomes No. 5 Oklahoma to Columbus for a primetime showdown on Saturday ... The Buckeyes went to Norman last year and destroyed the Sooners, 45-24 ... Ohio State has the third-best winning percentage in college football history at 72.4 percent, while Oklahoma has the fifth-best at 72.1 ... The Buckeyes are currently riding a seven-game home winning streak and have not dropped a game in Columbus since a 17-14 setback to Michigan State in Nov. of 2015.
No. 4 Penn State (1-0)
No. 4 Penn State welcomes rival Pittsburgh to Happy Valley on Saturday, looking to get revenge for last year's 42-39 loss to the Panthers ... The all-time series has been tightly contested between the two in-state rivals, with Penn State holding a slim 50-43-4 lead ... Junior running back Saquon Barkley was named co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after tallying 246 all-purpose yards on just 18 touches (13.7-yard average) last week against Akron ... The Nittany Lions will be trying to win their ninth straight home game; in fact, they have not lost at home since falling to Michigan on Nov. 21, 2015.
Purdue (0-1)
Coming off its narrow 35-28 loss to then-No. 16 Louisville last week, Purdue will seek its first win of the season against Ohio on Friday night ... The Friday contest will be the ninth in Purdue's history and the first at Ross-Ade Stadium ... The Boilermakers hold a 7-0 all-time record against the Bobcats and have outscored them 220-26 ... New head coach Jeff Brohm will be seeking his first win in West Lafayette.
Rutgers (0-1)
Rutgers welcomes Eastern Michigan to Piscataway on Saturday, and is aiming for its first victory since defeating New Mexico in September of 2016 ... After transferring in from Louisville, fifth-year senior quarterback Kyle Bolin threw two touchdown passes and completed 70.6 percent of his passes last week against then-N0. 8 Washington ... The Scarlet Knights will be attempting to snap their 10-game losing streak, which is the longest in the country among Power Five conference teams.
No. 9 Wisconsin (1-0)
After its 59-10 thrashing of Utah State last week, No. 9 Wisconsin welcomes Florida Atlantic to Madison ... The Badgers have been playing football since 1889, while the Owls first fielded a team in 2001 ... Wisconsin has won 38 straight non-conference home games, which is the sixth-longest streak of any FBS team in the modern era (since 1946) ... Fifth-year senior tight end Troy Fumagalli's 105 receiving yards per game are the fifth-most of any tight end in the country.
Schedule
Friday, Sept. 8
— Ohio at Purdue: 8:00 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
Saturday, Sept. 9
— Cincinnati at No. 8 Michigan: 12:00 p.m. (ABC)
— Florida Atlantic at No. 9 Wisconsin: 12:00 p.m. (BTN)
— Northwestern at Duke: 12:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
— Iowa at Iowa State: 12:00 p.m. (ESPN2)
— Towson at Maryland: 12:00 p.m. (BTN)
— Pittsburgh at No. 4 Penn State: 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
— Indiana at Virginia: 3:30 p.m. (ACC Network)
— Western Michigan at Michigan State: 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
— Eastern Michigan at Rutgers: 3:30 p.m. (BTN)
— Nebraska at Oregon: 4:30 p.m. (FOX)
— No. 5 Oklahoma at No. 2 Ohio State: 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
— Western Kentucky at Illinois: 8:00 p.m. (BTN)
— Minnesota at Oregon State: 10:00 p.m. (Fox Sports 1)
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook
