Big Ten Week Five Preview

Michigan State (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) welcomes rival Ohio State (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten) to East Lansing in a battle of top 20 teams. The Buckeyes have won seven of the last eight between the two programs, but LeVeon Bell and the Spartans are coming off a 10-7 victory last season in The Horseshoe. Michigan State is 2-3 all-time when ESPN College GameDay is in town.

Wisconsin (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) tries to continue the nation’s longest active conference win streak (five games) when they travel to Lincoln and match up with Nebraska (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten). The Cornhuskers average 317.5 rushing yards per game, but the Badgers are allowing just 80.8 YPG on the ground. The magic number in the ground game for the Huskers is 300, as they are 11-0 under Bo Pelini when rushing for at least that many yards.

Minnesota (4-0, 0-0) looks to go 5-0 for the first time since 2004 when they take on Iowa (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten). The Gophers have already surpassed last season’s win total (3 wins) in 2012. This game marks the 200th in Kirk Ferentz’s career at Iowa (110-89).

Indiana (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) travels to Evanston, Illinois, for their first conference matchup of the season with surging Northwestern (4-0, 0-0 Big Ten). The Wildcats will be looking for their third 5-0 start in seven seasons under Pat Fitzgerald.

Illinois (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) hosts Penn State (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) in Champaign.

Purdue (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) takes on Marshall in the only non-conference matchup of the week.