Nov. 22—College football is both winding down with just two weeks remaining in the regular season but also spinning up to the first 12-team
College Football Playoff, which might feature four Big Ten teams. Illini beat writer Scott Richey ranks all eight of the Big Ten games this weekend and then dives deep on his picks for Illinois MVP and Big Ten MVP before examining the latest bowl game projections:
Watch the entire game
No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0)
at No. 2 Ohio State (9-1, 6-1)
11 a.m., Saturday, Fox
➜ Who's on the call: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analysis) and Jenny Taft (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Ohio State, 42-28. Everyone in SEC country will root for the Buckeyes. But only because they think it gives their collection of three-loss teams a shot to make the CFP field instead of Indiana.
Second screen it
No. 4 Penn State (9-1, 6-1)
at Minnesota (6-4, 4-3)
2:30 p.m., Saturday, CBS
➜ Who's on the call: Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analysis) and Jenny Dell (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Penn State, 34-13. The Nittany Lions rank in the top four in both scoring offense and scoring defense in the Big Ten. Minnesota ... does not.
No. 24 Illinois (7-3, 4-3)
at Rutgers (6-3, 3-4)
11 a.m., Saturday, Peacock
➜ Who's on the call: Andrew Siciliano (play-by-play), Michael Robinson (analysis) and Caroline Pineda (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Illinois, 30-17. It's a two-fer in New Jersey for the Illini this weekend. First, a Saturday win against Rutgers, and then maybe the Tommy DeVito magic is revived Sunday for the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Wisconsin (5-5, 3-4)
at Nebraska (5-5, 2-5)
2:30 p.m., Saturday, BTN
➜ Who's on the call: Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analysis) and Brooke Fletcher (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Wisconsin, 28-17. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has already guaranteed a victory in Saturday's game to get the Cornhuskers bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Maybe he actually meant next week at Iowa?
Iowa (6-4, 4-3) at Maryland (4-6, 1-6)
11 a.m., Saturday, BTN
➜ Who's on the call: Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analysis) and Rhett Lewis (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Iowa, 24-21. Cade McNamara's return as Iowa's starting quarterback should give everyone pause, but Kaleb Johnson is still one of the top running backs in the country and will continue to carry that otherwise decrepit offense.
Check the score on Sunday
Northwestern (4-6, 2-5)
at Michigan (5-5, 3-4)
2:30 p.m., Saturday, FS1
➜ Who's on the call: Tim Brando (play-by-play), Devin Gardner (analysis) and Josh Sims (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Michigan, 21-6. The Wolverines have won 34 of their last 38 games against Northwestern. This Michigan team might not be as good as its fans are accustomed to, but the Wolverines are still better than the Wildcats.
Don't bother
Southern Cal (5-5, 3-5)
at UCLA (4-6, 3-5)
9:30 p.m., Saturday, NBC
➜ Who's on the call: Paul Burmeister (play-by-play), Colt McCoy (analysis) and Lewis Johnson (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Southern Cal, 24-20. Unless this game gives off "Pac-12 After Dark" vibes, stay away. Not sure there's a Big Ten game that might drive so little interest for the majority of the conference fan base.
Find anything else to do
Purdue (1-9, 0-7)
at Michigan State (4-6, 2-5)
7 p.m., Friday, Fox
➜ Who's on the call: Connor Onion (play-by-play), Mark Helfrich (analysis) and Josh Sims (sideline reports).
➜ Who wins: Michigan State, 28-7. Apparently this game will decide Ryan Walters' fate? Those are the rumblings out of Purdue at least. Not a huge difference between 2-10 and 1-11, in my opinion.
Illinois MVP: Pat Bryant
Bryant's 57-yard touchdown last Saturday against Michigan State gave him eight for the season and six at Memorial Stadium. The latter is the most at home in a single season in program history. The former keeps him within striking distance of the single-season record of 10 shared by David Williams and Brandon Lloyd. It's a record Bryant could feasibly break. The veteran wide receiver still has two games to play, and he has three games already this season (Eastern Illinois, Central Michigan and Nebraska) where he hauled in a pair of touchdown catches.
Big Ten MVP: Dillon Gabriel
The 23-year-old Oregon quarterback is probably a lock to take home player of the year honors. He's got the numbers (3,066 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions), and he's on not only the best team in the Big Ten, but the No. 1 team in the country. But hear me out on Penn State tight end Tyler Warren. The Nittany Lions' Swiss Army knife has 67 catches for 808 yards and five touchdowns, rushed 16 times for 157 yards and four more touchdowns and has completed 2 of 4 passes for 26 yards and an addition touchdown.
Bowl game projections: Worth the squeeze
It seems like the only way Illinois doesn't wind up in Orlando, Fla., for the Citrus Bowl playing the best SEC team not to make the CFP is Indiana getting hosed by the CFP committee or by losing one (or maybe both) of its final two regular-season games. The Citrus Bowl is as good as it gets for teams that don't make the playoff and would be, without a doubt, the highest-profile bowl game for the Illini since the 2008 Rose Bowl. Action Network's Brett McMurphy and CBS Sports' Jerry Palm have Illinois in the Citrus Bowl facing Tennessee and Mississippi, respectively.
