Penn State and UCLA
What. Was. That. Penn State had a 34-game win streak against unranked teams. No winless team this late into the season has beaten an AP Top-10 opponent since 1985, when then 0-6 UTEP took down BYU 23-16.
But the real question now is a shocker compared to the beginning of the year: Is James Franklin on the hot seat? After dropping an overtime thriller to Oregon last week, the Nittany Lions were expected to rebound against a team whose offensive coordinator had never called plays before, or even used a headset.
Now the question is, what is the magic number that will either save or end Franklin’s time in Happy Valley? There are two ranked teams on the schedule, and knowing Franklin’s record of 15-29 against ranked opponents, it could be the end of the road for Franklin and the Nittany Lions.
Huskies topple Terps
There is one less undefeated Big Ten team, as Maryland fell to Washington 24-20. This is a great game to look at what the actual state of the Big Ten is this year. Maryland hadn’t faced a true test yet, but it took care of business against lesser competition and also beat Wisconsin. Washington had looked good, but ran into the buzzsaw of Ohio State last week and fared poorly.
Demond Williams Jr. and Malik Washington both threw for over 200 yards, a touchdown and a pick. However, Williams got into the endzone one more time, and it ended up being the deciding factor.
Maryland hosts Nebraska next week, in what will be another telling game for the mid-level of the Big Ten.
Uh-oh Badgers
The time is now to end the Luke Fickell experiment. You can make a lot of excuses for Fickell in his three years at Camp Randall; injured quarterbacks, coordinators not working out as planned or whatever he may be hanging onto, but it’s clear his time is up.
Wisconsin actually had an opening drive touchdown against No. 20 Michigan. It was a nice 12-play, 75-yard drive that took almost seven minutes off the clock, before giving up 24 straight and ultimately losing 24-10.
The Badgers now sit at 2-3, and still have probably the hardest end of season of any team in college football this year. Their remaining schedule is: vs. Iowa, vs. No. 1 Ohio State, at No. 2 Oregon, vs. Washington, at No. 8 Indiana, vs. No. 22 Illinois and finishes the season at Minnesota. The combined record of those teams is 30-6.
Invest in Boilermakers
Purdue likely isn’t going to make a bowl game this year, but its 43-27 loss to No. 22 Illinois is showing life in a team that hasn’t felt alive in what feels like a decade. Ryan Brown is doing exactly what he needs to do and not turning the ball over. Devin Mockobee and Antonio Harris are running the ball effectively once the Boilermakers get within striking distance.
The defense is going to need to step it up a bit, as they let up 27 points in the first quarter to an Illini team that is still looking to figure out some offensive issues.
A look ahead to next week
No. 7 Indiana is traveling to Eugene, Oregon, to take on the second-ranked Ducks. Previously ranked USC hosts Bryce Underwood and his 15th-ranked squad. Top-ranked Ohio State travels to Champaign to face Luke Altmyer and the 17th-ranked Illini. And these are just the ranked games for next week’s slate, as every single Big Ten team has a game this week.
We know who is good, who is bad, who is mid, and who is rising and falling. What we don’t know is who actually has a shot at being a contender, outside of the obvious Ohio State and Oregon, but for other teams like Illinois and Michigan, and maybe even USC, this is the week to get back into the conversation as one of the 12 teams deserving to make the playoffs.
Grab your popcorn, it’ll be fun.
Standings after week six
You know the drill, here is what the Big Ten standings look like after week six, with head-to-head as the first tie breaker and point differential as the second (+xy or -xy), and who they play next week:
1) No. 7 Indiana (5-0) (2-0) +191 – @ No. 2 Oregon (5-0), 10/11
2) No. 3 Oregon (5-0) (2-0) +172 – vs No. 8 Indiana (5-0), 10/11
3) No. 1 Ohio State (5-0) (2-0) +162 – @ No. 22 Illinois (5-1), 10/11
4) No. 15 Michigan (4-1) (2-0) +83 – @ USC (4-1), 10/11
5) USC (4-1) (2-1) +127 – vs No. 20 Michigan (4-1), 10/11
6) No. 17 Illinois (5-1) (2-1) +78 – vs No. 1 Ohio State (5-0), 10/11
7) Nebraska (4-1) (1-1) +131 – @ Maryland (4-1), 10/11
8) Washington (4-1) (1-1) +98 – vs Rutgers (3-2), 10/10
9) Maryland (4-1) (1-1) +83 – Nebraska (4-1), 10/11
10) Iowa (3-2) (1-1) +69 – @ Wisconsin (2-3), 10/11
11) Northwestern (3-2) (1-1) +33 – @ Penn State (3-2), 10/11
12) Minnesota (3-2) (1-1) +30 – vs Purdue (2-3), 10/11
13) UCLA (1-4) (1-1) -63 – @ Michigan State (3-2), 10/11
14) Penn State (3-2) (0-2) +104 – vs Northwestern (3-2), 10/11
15) Rutgers (3-2) (0-2) +68 – @ Washington (4-1), 10/10
16) Michigan State (3-2) (0-2) +11 – vs UCLA (1-4), 10/11
17) Purdue (2-3) (0-2) -10 – @ Minnesota (3-2), 10/11
18) Wisconsin (2-3) (0-2) -6 – vs Iowa (3-2), 10/11