BIG TEN NOTEBOOK
BEST MATCHUP: Iowa offense vs. Wisconsin defense, and vice versa. This key West Division game in Madison figures to be what old-time Big Ten fans would call a slobber-knocker. Iowa’s offense has opened up with QB C.J. Beathard, but the Hawkeyes still run 60 percent of the time. Wisconsin allows just 82 yards a game on the ground. Iowa leads the Big Ten in red-zone offense; Wisconsin leads in red-zone defense. RBs Taiwan Deal and Dare Ogunbowale combine for 143 yards a game, and the Badgers have nine rushing touchdowns. The Hawks are yet to allow a rushing TD.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: The last time Ohio State and Indiana met when both were unbeaten was 1942. The Paul Brown-coached Buckeyes won 32-21 in Columbus in a game that had five lead changes. Ohio State dumped its single-wing offense in favor of the T formation in the second half, outscored the Hoosiers 13-0 in the fourth quarter and went on to win the school’s first national championship. … Northwestern’s Justin Jackson, who ran 33 times for a career-high 189 yards against Ball State, has gone over 100 in nine of his last 11 games. … Michigan State’s 12 straight games with 30-plus points is the longest active streak in the FBS.
LONG SHOT: Maryland is a 15 ½-point underdog when it hosts Michigan for the first time. The Terrapins beat the Wolverines 23-16 in Ann Arbor last year in the second-to-last game of the Brady Hoke era. Maryland, smarting from its 41-point beatdown at West Virginia, has won seven straight regular-season games when coming off a loss. Michigan is coming off a 31-0 win over BYU and has allowed 14 points since losing its opener at Utah.
PLAYER TO WATCH: Nebraska QB Tommy Armstrong Jr. is playing the best ball of his career through four games. His 316.5 yards passing a game and 11 touchdowns lead the Big Ten. He got off to a slow start in his previous road game, at Miami, before leading a fourth-quarter comeback that fell short. The Cornhuskers will be looking for a steadier performance from him as they begin Big Ten play at Illinois.