There are just a few weeks left in our ultimate Big Ten road trip. Hopefully, like Indiana Jones, we've chosen wisely to this point.
For those just joining us, we're each selecting one Big Ten game to attend each week during the 2014 season. This almost assuredly isn't our actual schedule because of travel budgets or editors' decisions. But we can pretend with this fantasy itinerary.
Week 12, what you got?
Nov. 15
Indiana at Rutgers
Iowa at Illinois
Michigan State at Maryland
Nebraska at Wisconsin
Ohio State at Minnesota
Open week: Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue
Adam Rittenberg's pick: Nebraska at Wisconsin
No Big Ten road trip is complete without a trip to Mad City and Camp Randall Stadium. This is by far Wisconsin's biggest home game, and Badgers fans will be geared up for a contest that could decide the West Division champion. I'm hoping for a more competitive contest than the last Huskers-Badgers game at Camp Randall, when Russell Wilson and Montee Ball obliterated Big Red 48-17 in Nebraska's Big Ten debut in 2011. These teams played a much more exciting game in 2012 in Lincoln, as Nebraska rallied from a 17-point third-quarter deficit to win 30-27.
This year's matchup should be a good one, and there are plenty of intriguing subplots. It features the Big Ten's top two running backs in Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah and Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon, two good friends who spurned the NFL draft for another year in college. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini has higher hopes for his defense, which returns a star in Randy Gregory and some promising pieces elsewhere. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has to fill quite a few gaps on defense after losing Chris Borland, Beau Allen and others. Both teams also have some uncertainty at quarterback right now.
The West Division looks wide open, and while Iowa, Northwestern and Minnesota could be in the mix, many peg Wisconsin and Nebraska as the frontrunners entering the fall. This is another easy call. I'll book my table at Quivey's Grove right now.
Brian Bennett's pick: Nebraska at Wisconsin
Two weeks in a row in the same town as Rittenberg? That's trouble. I was searching for an alternative and thought about checking out Big Ten newbie Maryland, but that would be my third Michigan State game in four weeks. While I'd like to see Indiana at some point, the Rutgers game doesn't interest me, and I broke the Scarlet Knights seal two weeks earlier. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see Iowa (spoiler alert!) at least once in the last two weeks, and I've hit Ohio State a couple of times.
So Nebraska-Wisconsin it is, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's a better-than-average chance this decides the West Division, and I'm pretty sure the Huskers won't give up 70 points again, as they did in the last meeting in the 2012 Big Ten championship game. I hear the siren call of State Street Brats.
Road trip itinerary
Week 1: Brian at Penn State-UCF (in Dublin, Ireland); Adam at Wisconsin-LSU (in Houston)
Week 2: Adam at Michigan-Notre Dame; Brian at Michigan State-Oregon
Week 3: Brian at Minnesota-TCU; Adam at Penn State-Rutgers
Week 4: Adam at Miami-Nebraska; Brian at Miami-Nebraska
Week 5: Brian at Cincinnati-Ohio State; Adam at Minnesota-Michigan
Week 6: Adam at Nebraska-Michigan State; Brian at Nebraska-Michigan State
Week 7: Brian at Penn State-Michigan; Adam at Northwestern-Minnesota
Week 8: Adam at Iowa-Maryland; Brian at Nebraska-Northwestern
Week 9: Brian at Michigan-Michigan State; Adam at Ohio State-Penn State
Week 10: Adam at Northwestern-Iowa; Brian at Wisconsin-Rutgers
Week 11: Brian and Adam at Ohio State-Michigan State