Time to start learning about Big Ten East

Big Ten powers Penn State and Ohio State will be front and center in prime time TV attractions Friday and Saturday. Though they won’t play each other until Nov. 23, each of these national playoff hopefuls has a chance to be tested on the road in the next 48 hours.

Twelfth-ranked Penn State visits upset-minded Maryland (Friday, 8 p.m., FS1). The point spread has hopped between Penn State -6¹/2 and -7 through the week. Recreational bettors generally like ranked favorites at less than a touchdown. Many pro bettors see Maryland as a live underdog when sitting on the key number of +7. That squares versus sharps “tug-of-war” could continue to kickoff.

No. 5 Ohio State plays at disappointing Nebraska (Saturday, 7:30 p.m., ABC). An opening line of Ohio State- 14 ¹/2 was driven hard to -17¹/2 , meaning it passed through the key number of 17. Oddsmakers weren’t finding a number that would attract Nebraska money. The reasons for that are obvious:

Ohio State just ran up the score in blowouts of Cincinnati (42-0), Indiana (51-10), and Miami (Ohio) (76-5). That’s a combined 169-15 obliteration. If the Buckeyes believe they need style points to crack the SEC’s current stranglehold on projected playoff brackets, they will keep the pedal to the metal.

Nebraska split two recent nailbiters with bad Colorado and Illinois teams. Ohio State would be favored by more than 17 versus either of those (particularly the lowly Illini).

A month into the season, it’s still difficult to gauge the true quality of the

Big Ten. Both Penn State and Ohio State play in the East Division. Respected analyst Jeff Sagarin of USA Today actually has five of the loop’s seven teams in his top 22 this week. Sagarin is showing Ohio State No. 2, Penn State No. 10, Michigan State No. 19, Michigan No. 21 and Maryland No. 22. Are fans and bettors in for a series of blockbusters? Maybe not. In recent action, Penn State (-17) beat Pittsburgh only 17-10; Michigan State (-15¹/2) lost outright to Arizona State, 10-7; Michigan (+3) lost huge at Wisconsin, 35-14; and Maryland (-5) lost at Temple, 20-17. Those computer rankings are more a reflection of how hard it is to separate teams in the large “bowl caliber but not consistently great” segment of the sport. Whatever team you stick at No. 18, or No. 30, or number whatever, either just had an embarrassing result or is about to.

Bettors should watch the Penn State and Ohio State games with these questions in mind:

Is Penn State playing like a true national elite, or more like a grinder that will have trouble getting scoreboard distance from bowl-caliber opponents behind inexperienced quarterback Sean Clifford?

Is Ohio State partly an illusion created by bullying opponents that have thrown in the towel, or does it have the skill-sets to make a serious run at the Final Four?

Even when rooting for your bets, you should always be thinking about future smart bets.