Although some of this week’s Big Ten matchups aren’t particularly exciting, Penn State fans will want to keep their eyes on the ticker just in case anything strange happens – the Nittany Lions look like they could be headed to the Gator Bowl, but much could happen this week to change that. Here’s a look at this week’s Big Ten schedule. All the games are on Saturday, and all the times are Eastern.
12:00 Indiana at Purdue, Big Ten Network. You can safely ignore this one – these two teams are playing for pride (and for Indiana head coach to keep his job).
12:00 Michigan at Ohio State, ABC.
12:00 Michigan State at Penn State, ESPN2. This game is critical, for obvious reasons – a big win against a ranked team to end the season would be huge for the Nittany Lions.
3:30 Iowa at Minnesota, Big Ten Network. An Iowa loss would be terrific for Penn State, since it could win the Nittany Lions entrance into a better bowl, but a Golden Gophers win looks extremely unlikely.
3:30 Northwestern at Wisconsin, ABC.
10:15 Illinois at Fresno State, ESPN2. This game would only really matter if Penn State loses, and possibly not even then, since a bowl committee could easily choose the 4-4 Nittany Lions over the 4-4 Illini even though Illinois holds a tie-breaker against Penn State.