A look at what to watch in the Big Ten this weekend:GAME OF THE WEEK: Game of the week? Try game of the Big Ten regular season when East Division heavyweights Ohio State and Michigan State duke it out in East Lansing, Michigan.The teams are both 7-1 overall and 4-0 in conference play. Barring a November collapse, the winner emerges as the likely division winner for a berth in the league championship game in Indianapolis in December.The loser drops out of the discussion for college football’s new four-team playoff.Seventh-ranked Michigan State will get an emotional lift playing under the lights at Spartan Stadium. The 13th-ranked Buckeyes enter the night with four straight road victories in the series, dating to 2004.The prime-time matchup might also add some luster to a conference that suffered early season losses in prominent nonconference games. Top players such as Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook and Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa could raise their national profiles with clutch performances.BEST MATCHUP: Ohio State-Michigan State wins. But after that, there’s an elimination of game of sorts, too, in the West Division with Iowa visiting Minnesota, each 6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference.The winner stays in the mix among the one-loss teams atop the West, while the loser essentially falls out of the race.Going by the schedule alone, this is a must-win more for Minnesota, which hosts Ohio State next week. Then comes a daunting two-game road stretch to end November with games at Nebraska and Wisconsin.Iowa hopes to build off its 48-7 victory last week over Northwestern. The Gophers will need to stop senior running back Mark Weisman, who has rushed for at least two touchdowns in each of the last five games.The last time Minnesota started 4-1 in the Big Ten was in 1990.INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Maryland’s Brad Craddock and Penn State’s Sam Ficken are among the best kickers in the country. Craddock has hit all 14 of his attempts to lead the country in field goal percentage. Ficken is third in the country with 2.12 field goals per game. …
Continue Reading: All Big 10 eyes on Ohio State-Michigan State
