Big Ten’s headline attractions this week have No. 1 Ohio State and Michigan facing major challenges

Things to watch this weekend in the Big Ten:

Game of the week

No. 1 Ohio State (1-0) at No. 4 Texas (1-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. EDT (ABC)

The Buckeyes and Longhorns face off for the third straight season in a matchup of national title contenders. Ohio State beat Texas 28-14 in a Cotton Bowl semifinal during its 2024 national title run and opened the 2025 season by defeating the Longhorns again 14-7 at Columbus.

This game features two of the nation’s top quarterbacks (Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Texas’ Arch Manning ) as well as two of the best receivers (Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and Texas’ Cam Coleman ).

The undercard

No. 11 Oklahoma (1-0) at Michigan (1-0), noon EDT (Fox)

Michigan’s season-opening 13-12 victory over Western Michigan was controversial enough that the Wolverines tumbled out of the AP Top 25 after being ranked 16th before the game. Michigan won on Bryce Underwood’s second straight Hail Mary attempt – a 47-yard touchdown to JJ Buchanan – after a second was added to the clock, leading to a protest from the Mid-American Conference.

The Wolverines can change the narrative by upsetting Oklahoma and avenging a 24-13 loss from last season. Oklahoma won its opener 51-0 over UTEP.

Iowa State (1-0) at No. 21 Iowa (1-0), 7:30 p.m. EDT (NBC)

Iowa lost 16-13 at Iowa State last year but enters this season’s matchup as a two-touchdown favorite. New Iowa State coach Jimmy Rogers had to overhaul his roster after predecessor Matt Campbell took two dozen of his players with him to Penn State.

Duke (1-0) at Illinois (1-0), 3:30 p.m. EDT (FS1)

Illinois gets a shot at the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion, though Duke doesn’t look quite as dangerous now that quarterback Darian Mensah is at Miami. Illinois beat Duke 45-19 last season.

Impact players

— In an otherwise ugly performance by Rutgers, WR KJ Duff caught nine passes for 196 yards and all three of the Scarlet Knights’ touchdowns in their 37-21 loss to UMass.

— UCLA DB Ta’Shawn James intercepted two passes in the Bruins’ 45-24 victory over California. James was making his UCLA debut after playing three seasons at Iowa State.

— Southern California QB Jayden Maiava has thrown five touchdown passes and six incompletions through the 14th-ranked Trojans’ first two games.

— Minnesota WR Javon Tracy is the first player from his school – and the fifth in Big Ten history – to score on two punt returns in one game. He reached the end zone on punt returns of 87 and 69 yards in the Gophers’ 59-7 rout of Eastern Illinois.

Inside the numbers

No. 6 Oregon carries a Bowl Subdivision-leading 12-game road winning streak into its Saturday visit to Oklahoma State. Oregon beat Oklahoma State 69-3 last year for its most lopsided victory ever against a Power Four program. … No. 16 Penn State, which opened with a 45-0 win over Marshall, is the only FBS team with a shutout in each of its last six seasons. … Eight FBS quarterbacks have made at least 32 starts, and four of them currently play in the Big Ten: Penn State’s Rocco Becht, Nebraska’s Anthony Colandrea, Indiana’s Josh Hoover and Maiava. … Maryland has an FBS-leading 19-game winning streak in nonconference games heading into its Saturday trip to UConn. … Washington didn’t allow Washington State to convert any of its 11 third-down situations Sunday in the 19th-ranked Huskies’ 24-10 Apple Cup victory. The last time Washington didn’t allow a single third-down conversion was in a 16-13 win over Southern California in 2009.

Get to know him

QB AJ Surace will make his first career start for Rutgers when the Scarlet Knights visit Boston College on Friday night. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said he was making the switch because Dylan Lonergan got injured during the UMass game. Surace, who played three games in a reserve role last season, is the son of Princeton coach Bob Surace.

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