Big Ten Football Week 1: Schedule, Odds, TV Start Times – Huskers, Hoosiers Primed To Pull Off Upsets?
Finally, Big Ten Football is back! It may be over a month or so later than usual, but nevertheless, Big Ten fans will finally get to see their teams hit the gridiron this weekend.
Big Ten Football to face in-conference opponents only
2020 has been a strange year. That we all know. The effect COVID-19 has had on the US and the entire world still has folks wondering how long it will be until things get back to normal. While we hopefully can get to a “new normal” soon, fans of Big Ten football will have a nice distraction from here on out as the league returns to action.
This season, the Big Ten will only play conference opponents – which means every game will be two-times as important right from the get-go.
Week 1 will feature some great games including No. 20 Michigan vs No. 24 Minnesota, No. 9 Penn State at Indiana, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers taking on the No. 6 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
While those three games will be front and center on Saturday, the Big Ten schedule will officially get underway on Friday, October 23 when Illinois takes on No. 19 Wisconsin.
Upsets in play?
Outside of several early key matchups in Week 1, one thing that may jump out at you is some of the huge point-spreads.
Yes, on paper, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Penn State should all win this week, but don’t be surprised if these games are closer than oddsmakers expect. Or if we see an upset or two.
The Huskers and Hoosiers are very talented and shouldn’t be overlooked. Will this finally be the year that Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez turns the Huskers into the scoring machine coach Scott Frost has hoped to build since taking over the helm back in 2017?
If they have any chance in upsetting the Buckeyes, Martinez, along with running back Dedrick Mills will have to have big days. The last time these two met the Huskers had nearly 200 yards rushing – yet they lost 48-7.
Too many mistakes were made that day for Nebraska, making the score much more lopsided than the game really was.
Another team to watch this week is Indiana. Penn State has had a lot of player turnover the past two seasons and the Hoosiers have been rapidly improving under head coach Tom Allen. You never know, IU may be this week’s upset special. Below is the Big Ten schedule, odds, and TV start times for Week 1.
Friday, Oct. 23
- Illinois at Wisconsin (-19) | 8 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network
Saturday, Oct. 24
- Rutgers at Michigan State (-13.5) | 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network
- Nebraska at Ohio State (-27) | 12 p.m. | FOX
- Penn State (-7) at Indiana | 3:30 p.m. | FS1
- Iowa (-3) at Purdue | 3:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
- Michigan (-3) at Minnesota | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
- Maryland at Northwestern (-11)| 7:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
