Even without the league’s two top teams playing last Saturday, it may have been the most exciting weekend of the season in the Big Ten. Crazy finishes in West Lafayette and Minneapolis knocked Michigan out of a bowl and put Northwestern back in the top half of the Big Ten. With three weeks left in the season teams are battling for bowl positions while Penn St. remains in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten title.

Wisconsin @ Indiana, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network
The Badgers choked away what could have been a huge victory last weekend in East Lansing. They now need to win in Bloomington this weekend to gain bowl eligibility. With a non-conference game against Cal Poly on the schedule, Wisconsin needs one more conference win to pretty much guarantee 6 wins. The Hoosiers followed their upset over Northwestern with a loss to Central Michigan last Saturday. At 3-6, the Hoosiers need a miracle to get to 6 wins this season and will try to play the spoiler role against the Badgers.
Prediction: Badgers 34 Hoosiers 24

Purdue @ #18 Michigan St., 11 a.m., Big Ten Network
While Head Coach Joe Tiller’s final season at Purdue hasn’t gone as planned, last week’s victory over Michigan at least gave him a good memory from this season. A hook-and-lateral touchdown in the final minute put the Boilermakers in front for good in a back and forth game. New quarterback Justin Siller won co-offensive player of the week honors for his performance against the Wolverines and he could pose a problem for the Spartans defense. Michigan St. avoided a disaster against Wisconsin last weekend to remain in the Big Ten title hunt. A win over Purdue will give Michigan St. the chance to play Penn St. on the 22nd for a shot for at least a tie for the Big Ten Championship. The Boilermakers gave up a lot of points to a weak Michigan offense last Saturday and little should change this weekend against Javon Ringer and the Spartans.
Prediction: Spartans 41 Boilermakers 21

Michigan @ Minnesota, 11 a.m., ESPN
The Golden Gophers missed a great opportunity last Saturday to continue their historic turnaround. They were unprepared for Northwestern’s offense with Mike Kafka at the helm and lost on a crazy final play that every Wildcat fan has seen by now. Luckily, they have a chance to bounce back at home against the reeling Wolverines, who played themselves out of bowl eligibility for the first time since 1974. Expect a big win from a Minnesota team. Unlike Michigan, who has nothing to play for, the Gophers are still fighting for some of the top bowls (Outback and Alamo) for Big Ten teams.
Prediction: Golden Gophers 48 Wolverines 21

Illinois @ Western Michigan, 11 a.m.
A big win against Iowa last Saturday put the Illini back into the Big Ten bowl picture. If they can emerge victorious against non-conference opponent Western Michigan the extremely inconsistent Illini should find themselves in a bowl game. With Ohio St. and Northwestern left on the schedule, Illinois can’t afford a slip up against Western Michigan, an inferior opponent. It won’t be a walkover, though, as Western Michigan is 7-2 on the year and 5-1 in a reputable MAC conference. If Juice Williams takes care of the ball he should put up big numbers again and bring the Illini to a bowl for the second straight year.
Prediction: Illini 34 Broncos 17

#3 Penn St. @ Iowa, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Iowa is calling for both a ‘blackout’ at a “Greene out” at Kinnick Stadium as the Hawkeyes look to upset the Nittany Lions. Penn St. is coming off of a bye week in which the #1 Texas Longhorns lost, keeping Penn St. in line to possibly make the BCS National Championship. Iowa lost a close game to Illinois last week and are in jeopardy of missing out on a bowl game. While Iowa is an extremely difficult place to win for an away team, the Nittany Lions won in Columbus two Saturdays ago, proving they can win in hostile environments. Iowa will keep it close thanks to a stellar defensive line, but Penn St. should pull away.
Prediction: Nittany Lions 38 Hawkeyes 20

#12 Ohio St. @ #24 Northwestern, 11 a.m., ESPN2
After the colossal loss to Indiana, this game was looking like an absolute blowout with Northwestern on the losing end. An upset in Minneapolis last weekend, however, restored faith among NU students. C.J. Bacher will start if healthy, but after Mike Kafka’s record-breaking performance (most rushing yards by a Big Ten quarterback with 217), expect to see him get substantial playing time in some capacity. The only way the Cats have a chance at beating the Buckeyes is to throw some wrinkles into the offense and getting Kafka in involved through some designed quarterback runs is one way to do that. Northwestern has showed all season long their defense is vastly improved from one that has given up 112 points to Ohio St. in their last two match-ups. But the Buckeyes still have Chris “Beanie” Wells, one of the best backs in the nation, and star freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Northwestern needs to force Pryor into some freshman mistakes through the air. The Cats have momentum on their side because Ohio St. is coming off a bye week that followed a loss to Penn St. Northwestern should keep this game closer than their last two match-ups, but don’t expect a repeat of the 2004 upset (but still watch the video anyway).
Prediction: Buckeyes 34 Wildcats 17

Last week’s record: 4-1
Season Record: 20-11