We are now six weeks into the season and teams are nearing the halfway mark of their season. A few teams are rounding out better than others and once, again, it looks like a tough slate for Purdue. But
we knew that, right?
Ball State Cardinals (2-3)
Won 20-14 vs Ohio
The Cardinals put up a strong home stand and beat one of the better MAC teams in Ohio (a team that went toe to toe with Rutgers, beat West Virginia, and weren’t completely destroyed by Ohio State). Maybe some momentum builds in Muncie.
Southern Illinois Salukis (4-1)
Won 55-27 vs Indiana State
A 4-touchdown victory against ISU is not a shock. The Sycamores are not a good football team and SIU looks to be one of the better FCS teams.
USC Trojans (4-1)
BYE
The Trojans got the week off before taking on a pretty tough 3-week stretch. The host Michigan, fly to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, and then head out to Lincoln to play at Nebraska. We will see how Lincoln Riley and co respond after the first loss of the season. Don’t pull a Penn State.
#21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2)
Won 28-7 vs Boise State
Remember, Boise State was ranked before dropping its opener 34-7 at USF. The Notre Dame defense had its best game of the season thus far though, forcing 4 interceptions. The losses to Miami and Texas A&M are looking less bad by the week too.
#22 Illinois Fighting Illini (5-1)
Won 43-27 at Purdue
Illinois offense continues to be explosive though playing Purdue’s defense makes it a bit easier. After getting drubbed at Indiana, the Illini have put together back-to-back nice games.
Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-2)
Lost 42-3 vs #1 Ohio State
Ohio State came to Minneapolis and flexed on the Gophers, but PJ Fleck seemingly always has a team that wins 7-10 games. Drake Lindsey may be salivating to play against Purdue’s secondary under the lights this week.
Northwestern Wildcats (3-2)
Won 42-7 vs Louisiana Monroe
Northwestern finally played their final non-conference game when it handedly beat ULM. Now they get to head to Happy Valley to take on a Penn State team that is suddenly fighting with its back against a wall.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-2)
BYE
Rutgers will get to travel to Seattle for a tiff with Washington this week and the extra week’s rest might help. We saw the Huskies play sluggish against Maryland and Penn State will surely blame the travel for their loss at UCLA. Clearly, it makes a difference.
#20 Michigan Wolverines (4-1)
Won 24-10 vs Wisconsin
I admit that I expected the Wolverines to win by a wider margin than 14 but after Wisconsin scored a touchdown on their scripted first drive, Michigan shut the Badgers down and didn’t allow points until a field goal with under 3-minutes left. Michigan’s offense will have to wake up for their road trip to USC this week.
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)
Won 42-3 at Minnesota
This was the convincing victory that the Buckeyes have been looking for. They will look to double down on good road victories when they travel to Champaign to play Illinois this week.
Washington Huskies (4-1)
Won 24-20 at Maryland
It took the Huskies 3 quarters to wake up on the east coast, but Washington stormed back from a 17-point deficit to win in College Park. Now Washington gets to return home and be on the other end of the country-wide travel when they host Rutgers.
#11 Indiana Hoosiers (5-0)
BYE
The Hoosiers will use their week off to gear up for the toughest test of their season when they head to Oregon where someone will get their first loss of the season. As has been the theme of this week, how will the travel affect Indiana?
