Photo courtesy of IU Athletics - 

Northwestern (5-5, 2-4)

With the injury last week to quarterback Dan Persa, it seemed as if Northwestern was going to have to rely heavily on backup signal caller, Kain Colter.  However, Persa did indeed play, and with extreme efficiency.

The beat down on Rice began with a 90-yard strike to the Wildcats ever-reliable receiver, Jeremy Ebert to put NU up 7-0, and it was all uphill from there.

“He’s had a great season,” Fitzgerald said of Ebert.  “He’s a special guy.”

Persa went on to throw for three more scores, adding to the 533 yards of total offense.

Despite starting 2-5, Pat Fitzgerald’s crew has won their last three, and is one more away from being bowl eligible. Playing at home against a rebuilding Minnesota team is definitely a blessing, but Fitzgerald isn’t taking Jerry Kill and his team for granted whatsoever, as he praised how well they have progressed this season.

“You can see an identity in all three phases, and the guys are just playing their tails off,” said Fitzgerald. “They’re just getting better each week.”

The contest is set for an 11:00AM matchup in Evanston.

Michigan (8-2, 4-2) #20AP/#18 Coaches

After coming off a last second upset loss in Iowa, Michigan strongly needed a bounce back game to gain back their confidence.

Needless to say, Illinois provided that for them.

Michigan held Illinois to just 30 total yards in the first half, and they didn’t let up much from there. Despite turning the ball over three times, Michigan was able to embarrass Illinois 31-14.

However, their next opponent won’t be as easy, as they play host to top ranked Nebraska on Saturday. In order to come out victorious, it will start with stopping the run, just as they did in Champaign. This time, however, they face a stiffer opponent in Rex Burkhead, who is third in the Big Ten with 1072 yards to go along with 14 scores.

“Rex is just a tremendous back, he’s a downhill guy,” noted Hoke.  “He runs with a lot of authority.”

Not only does Burkhead impose a problem, but also Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez is no slouch himself, as he is always a threat to tuck it and run.  Martinez has 768 rushing yards of his own.

If the Wolverines can contain these two playmakers, they have a very strong possibility of upsetting the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska (8-2, 4-2) #18AP/#16 Coaches

Besides the fact that Nebraska and Michigan have identical records, inside and out of conference, this may be one of the most evenly matched teams to play each other in the Big Ten this year.

Here are the facts.

Both of these teams possess electrifying quarterbacks in Denard Robinson and Taylor Martinez, ones that are a threat to take off running at any point.

Here’s the twist, Robinson (13) and Martinez (10) are first and second in the conference in interceptions, respectively. It’s no secret that these teams can light up the scoreboard, but the x-factor may be who can contain whom on defense, and get the stops when it counts.

Head coach Bo Pelini knows that he isn’t getting any favors by traveling to Ann Arbor.

“Playing on the road, it’s going to be a challenge,” said Pelini.  “It’s going to be, obviously a hostile environment and one where were going to need to come out and play well.”

“They do a lot of things that give you problems,” he went on to say.

Both the Cornhuskers and Wolverines are still chasing Penn State and Wisconsin for the top spot in the conference, but with two weeks left on the college schedule, things can change in a hurry.

Michigan State (8-2, 5-1) #12 AP/Coaches

On first glance, I didn’t even think it would be a contest between Michigan State and Indiana, and easily gave MSU the victory. However, when I took a deeper look, the matchup seems a little bit more interesting than meets the eye.

A few weeks ago Minnesota was a few plays away from upsetting the Spartans.  Minnesota, like Indiana, is playing a lot of young players, in a rebuilding mode, and is also under a first year head coach. IU quarterback Tre Roberson is improving each week and is starting to develop a legitimate chemistry with wide receiver Kofi Hughes.

“They’ve got a quarterback right now that makes things work,” Dantonio said of Roberson.

The Roberson-Hughes tandem may be something to watch for on Saturday.

However, if Indiana can’t contain MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins, it will be a long day for the Hoosiers. Cousins threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns last week against Iowa, and will look to continue his offensive flow in East Lansing.

Dantonio isn’t chalking this one up as a victory just yet, though.

“They play with a lot of emotion, and when you play with a lot of emotion great things can happen.”

Iowa (6-4, 3-3)

All season long, Iowa has been extremely streaky, not being able to put more than a two game win streak together. Saturday, Iowa will look to get its first road victory of the season when they travel to Big Ten rival, Purdue.

Purdue, on the other hand, has been just as inconsistent, as they have not been able to win more than one game in a row thus far. Like the Hawkeyes, the Boilermakers are also winless away from home. Thankfully for Purdue, they don’t need to leave West Lafayette this weekend.

On paper, this seems to be a relatively solid matchup, but I don’t see things going well for the Boilermakers. Iowa is coming off a tough loss to Michigan State, and is still trying to win out the season and put themselves in the best position they possibly can in the conference.

The game will come down to making or stopping the big plays, and Iowa simply just does that better than Purdue. When quarterback James Vandenberg and record setting receiver Marvin McNutt get into a flow, it’s quite hard to stop.

“Marvin’s done a great job certainly,” said Ferentz. “We’re seeing him improve each and every week.”  “He’s playing, really, at a high level,” he went on to say.

Although anything can happen on any given Saturday, I still feel strongly about the Hawkeyes getting their first road victory at Purdue, and improving their conference record to 4-3.

Minnesota (2-8, 1-5)

Aside from a Duane Bennett’s kick return for a touchdown, there wasn’t much to cheer about in Minnesota this past weekend. However, that was expected, as Wisconsin is one of, if not the best team in the B1G.

This week’s matchup against Northwestern may be a good test for the Gophers, as the Wildcats are in desperate need of a conference victory, and will look to take advantage at home against a rebuilding program, like Minnesota.

“They bring a unique challenge,” noted Kill. “They make you work and they make you prepare.”

Don’t count Jerry Kill’s team out, however, as they have shown the entire season that they will not back down to anyone, and will bring everything they have in their arsenal.

On the other hand, nothing would hurt worse for Northwestern than a home loss to a seemingly inferior team. Although on paper, this may not seem like a must watch, but I would definitely keep an eye out, especially in the second half. It will come down to who wants it more, and at this point, I’m not sure whom that is.

One thing is for sure; Kill’s defense will need to find a way to stop quarterback Dan Persa and receiver Jeremy Ebert. The two clearly have a great chemistry, and can get put up six at any time.

“He’s a tremendous athlete and makes plays, throws for high percentage,” Kill said of Persa.  “They do a lot of things offensively that you don’t see from a week to week basis,”

Persa, despite battling injuries all season and missing time, is still doing a fantastic job under center.  The senior quarterback has racked up just over 1700 yards to go along with 13 scores.

If Minnesota can contain the Persa-Ebert connection, they have a shot.