{"id":97987,"date":"2022-10-15T14:47:29","date_gmt":"2022-10-15T14:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/week-7-viewing-guide-two-games-between-top-10-teams-six-total-top-25-pairings-and-a-crucial-meeting-in-the-big-ten-west\/"},"modified":"2022-10-15T14:47:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-15T14:47:29","slug":"week-7-viewing-guide-two-games-between-top-10-teams-six-total-top-25-pairings-and-a-crucial-meeting-in-the-big-ten-west","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/week-7-viewing-guide-two-games-between-top-10-teams-six-total-top-25-pairings-and-a-crucial-meeting-in-the-big-ten-west\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 7 Viewing Guide: Two Games Between Top-10 Teams, Six Total Top-25 Pairings and a Crucial Meeting in the Big Ten West"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Ohio State on a bye week, let’s take a look at a host of college football matchups from around the country we’ll have our eyes on this Saturday. <\/p>\n

\n

\n\tnooners<\/strong>
\n<\/h3>\n

\n\t<\/h4>\n
\n

\t\tPhoto: Matthew O’Haren \u2013 USA TODAY Sports\n\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\t#10 Penn State vs. #5 Michigan, 12 pm on FOX
\n<\/h4>\n

\tThe good news for Buckeye fans is that the most significant Big Ten game of the year so far steers completely clear of any Ohio State-related viewing conflicts. The bad news for Buckeye fans is that the game features Ohio State’s two biggest rivals in the division.\n<\/p>\n

\tPenn State got its season off to a shaky start on the road against Purdue, but Sean Clifford rallied the Nittany Lions to a win with a go-ahead touchdown drive in the final two-and-a-half minutes. PSU has not played an opponent with a winning record at the moment since then, reflected in the fact that Clifford has not had to throw for more than 217 passing yards in any of the team’s last four wins.\n<\/p>\n

\tMeanwhile, Michigan has had some surprise bumps in the road of their own since the beginning of conference play, but last week’s win over Indiana marked the first time JJ McCarthy has thrown for 300 yards in a Wolverines uniform.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\t\tCORNELIUS JOHNSON @UMichFootball<\/a> takes back the lead pic.twitter.com\/KDxkOz1EhD<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\u2014 FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 8, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\tPenn State and Michigan have thus far performed solidly overall on defense, but the key differentiator between these teams figures to be the lack of efficiency in the Nittany Lions’ rushing attack to this point. Even if PSU takes an early lead in this game, their 35.8% success rate on offensive rushing plays (20th-worst out of 131 teams) figures to make it difficult for the Nittany Lions to maintain separation from the Wolverines.\n<\/p>\n

\tIf McCarthy avoids mistakes, he figures to have considerable success against a Nittany Lions team that has gone largely untested by up-to-par competition since the opening week of the season.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\tMinnesota vs. #24 Illinois, 12 pm on Big Ten Network
\n<\/h4>\n

\tWhile one critical matchup takes place in the Big Ten East, another will transpire on the other side of the conference that could go a long way toward determining which team eventually represents the West in Indianapolis when December finally arrives.\n<\/p>\n

\tAfter winning two Big Ten Championship games at Wisconsin, Bret Bielema has his eyes set on a third with Illinois following divisional victories over his former Badgers and last week against the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Fighting Illini continue to enjoy success behind Chase Brown, who has rushed for over 100 yards in every game so far this season and made several key chunk gains in Illinois’ war of attrition with Iowa that ended only in field goals.\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n

\t\tChase Brown. @chasebrown____<\/a> x @IlliniFootball<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HTwyM0ytnf<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n

\t\u2014 Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) October 9, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\tBut for all the success Brown and the Illini have had on the ground so far, Minnesota’s efforts this season in that area appear even more impressive. The Golden Gophers have missed star running back Mohamed Ibrahim the last couple of weeks, but backups Trey Potts and Bryce Williams have performed admirably across the season with nearly 500 combined rushing yards and five touchdowns of their own.\n<\/p>\n

\tThe uniform success of Minnesota’s running back room has led to the Golden Gophers averaging the 13th-best estimated points added per game via rushing plays and fourth-highest success rate on the ground so far this season. Both Illinois and Minnesota’s defenses boast top-10 success rates against the run (Illinois actually owns the best at the FBS level at just 26%), so this game figures to offer a highly-competitive back-and-forth of smash-mouth football .\n<\/p>\n

\n\tafternooners<\/strong>
\n<\/h3>\n

\n\t\"Head<\/h4>\n
\n

\t\tPhoto: Marvin Gentry | USA TODAY Sports\n\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\tThree Ranked Rendezvous and a G5 Wildcard
\n<\/h4>\n

\tOnce the pair of Big Ten offerings at noon are out of the way, the day’s slate of college football really starts to pick up. The SEC, Big 12, and ACC all offer ranked matchups for viewer consideration, but those looking for a more niche way to spend the afternoon could have a pleasant surprise waiting for them in Conference USA.\n<\/p>\n