COLUMBUS, OH, Sporting Alert – The Big Ten Conference 2016 college football schedule for Week 7 on Saturday, October 15.
High on the list of teams on the schedule for the weekend are No. 2 Ohio State and No. 10 Nebraska, while Michigan State will try to stop its current three-game skid.
The highlighted clash in the Big Ten Conference in the seventh week of action is unquestionably the battle between the undefeated Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) and No. 8 Wisconsin (4-1, 1-1).
Saturday’s encounter is slated for Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, WI, with the kick-off time being 8:00pm and broadcasting live on ABC and streaming live on WatchESPN.
The Buckeyes are coming off a 38-17 win over Indiana in Columbus, on Saturday, while the Badgers were beaten 14-7 by Michigan in their last fixture.
For more reasons than one, a victory this weekend is essential for both teams in their push for a College Football Playoffs spot and both coaches will certainly want their respective team to keep lingering in the conversation.
At the same time, though, Wisconsin, which retained its No. 8 ranked spot, despite its defeat, needs a win slightly more than Ohio State after losing to the Wolverines in Week 6.
“You hope to earn that right to be in those conversations,” Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst said Tuesday.
The Badgers must make a big impression on the College Football Playoffs committee this weekend.
It is the first meeting between these two programs since 2014, when Ohio State battered Wisconsin 59-0 and tallied 558 total yards in the win.
Tenth-ranked Nebraska travels to Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN, to take on Indiana live at 3:30pm on ABC, ESPN2 and WatchESPN.
The Cornhuskers (5-0) were on a bye in Week 6 after securing their fifth successive win of the season with a 31-16 positive result over Illinois on Oct. 1, and they will be eager to get back on the pitch and take advantage of any slip-up by those ranked above them.
At the same time, while the likes of Ohio State, Wisconsin and Nebraska are hunting CFP places, a struggling Michigan State is trying to come to grip with what has happened in the last three weeks.
The Spartans (2-3), who ranked No. 12 at the start of the season, began the campaign with two wins, but have since lost three in a row, which left coach Mark Dantonio re-evaluating his team’s quarterback position, with starter Tyler O’Connor currently in the spotlight.
Dantonio is trying to figure out what is going on.
“I understand it’s very difficult to win,” he said. “I also understand when you have these types of situations, you’ve got to dig yourself out of the hole and you got to have one focus and that’s the next game, the next moment.
Audio: Listen to your Big Ten coach’s Week 7 Teleconference
“You have to make sure the players are not being bombarded. I know they’re being bombarded outside of this football building, but that the football building becomes a sanctuary for them.”
Come Saturday, Michigan State will host Northwestern with the hope of ending the slump.
In other Big Ten Conference 2016 college football game in Week 7, Illinois is at Rutgers in Piscataway, NJ, live on ESPNEWS, while Purdue plays hosts to Iowa at West Lafayette on ESPN2.
Big Ten Conference 2016
Week 7 Schedule
Saturday, October 15
Iowa at Purdue West Lafayette, IN 12:00 pm ESPN2, WatchESPN
Illinois at Rutgers Piscataway, NJ 12:00 pm ESPNEWS, WatchESPN
Nebraska at Indiana Bloomington, IN 3:30 pm ABC (ESPN2), WatchESPN
Northwestern at Michigan State East Lansing, MI 3:30 pm BTN
Ohio State at Wisconsin Madison, WI 8:00 pm ABC, WatchESPN
