Ohio State and Oregon attempt to boost their playoff hopes in Big Ten's spotlight game this week

Things to watch this weekend in the Big Ten:

Oregon (5-3, 3-2, No. 23 CFP ) at No. 11 Ohio State (6-2, 4-1, No. 12 CFP), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Oregon and Ohio State have reached the playoff each of the last two seasons, but both have plenty of work to do to get back there this year.

This is a clear elimination game for Oregon, and Ohio State also might not be able to afford another loss. Both teams have struggled after losing their starting quarterbacks – Oregon’s Dante Moore and Ohio State’s Julian Sayin – to injuries.

Ohio State is coming off a 30-18 loss at Southern California. Oregon had lost two of three before beating then-No. 20 Northwestern 34-26.

No. 5 UCLA (8-0, 5-0, No. 8 CFP) at Minnesota (5-3, 3-2), Saturday, noon ET (Fox)

UCLA puts its unbeaten record at stake at Minnesota, which is coming off an overtime loss at No. 6 Indiana (No. 4 CFP).

No. 21 Iowa (6-2, 3-2, No. 19 CFP) at Northwestern (6-2, 3-2)

Northwestern ranks second in the Big Ten in yards per game (438.1) while Iowa ranks 12th in the FBS in yards allowed per game (275.5). Iowa has beaten Northwestern four straight times after going 1-4 in this series from 2016-20.

— Iowa QB Hank Brown went 20 of 24 in a 30-0 shutout of then-No. 25 Wisconsin to complete 83.3% of his passes, the highest by any Iowa quarterback in a Big Ten game with at least 20 attempts since at least 1995.

— Washington S Alex McLaughlin recorded nine tackles and scored on a 48-yard interception return in the Huskies’ 17-10 victory at Nebraska.

— Southern California WR Trent Mosley had five catches for 101 yards and a touchdown in the Trojans’ victory over Ohio State. The freshman has accumulated at least 100 yards receiving in four of the six games he has played this season.

Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith has 15 career games with at least 100 yards receiving to tie Marvin Harrison Jr. for the school record. Smith has 3,625 career yards receiving. The Big Ten record is owned by John Standeford, who had 3,788 for Purdue from 2000-03. … UCLA’s 27-0 victory over Nevada was its first shutout since a 41-0 triumph over Oregon State in 2015. UCLA has a Bowl Subdivision-leading 26 takeaways and 10 fumble recoveries. The Bruins have intercepted 16 passes to rank second in FBS, behind No. 22 New Mexico (17). … Iowa has an FBS-leading 12 shutouts since 2018. … Indiana’s overtime triumph over Minnesota marked the first time in FBS history that each team had made a field goal of at least 60 yards in a single game. The field goals were made by Minnesota’s Luke Drzewiecki and Indiana’s Paddy McAteer. … Indiana’s Tobi Osunsanmi has a sack in a school-record eight straight games. … Illinois RB Javari Barnett’s 64-yard burst in a 20-17 win over Maryland was the longest touchdown run by an Illinois freshman since Ke’Shawn Vaun had a 78-yarder against Purdue in 2015. … Michigan hasn’t allowed an opponent to complete a second-half pass in its last two games, though the Wolverines did allow a touchdown pass in overtime in their loss to Indiana.

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