Big Ten schedule has No. 1 Oregon visiting Wisconsin while Nebraska faces off with USC

MADISON, Wis. — When Oregon and Wisconsin last faced off in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day of 2020, the two programs legitimately could have considered themselves on equal footing.

They’ve gone in different directions ever since as they prepare to meet again Saturday night as conference rivals. No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten, No. 1 College Football Playoff) seems headed toward a playoff berth, while Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3) is merely attempting to have a winning season.

A victory at Camp Randall Stadium would make Oregon 11-0 for the first time since 2010, when the Ducks went on to lose to Cam Newton and Auburn in the BCS championship game. In its first year as a Big Ten member, Oregon already has gotten the hang of these Midwest trips with a 35-0 victory at Purdue and a 38-17 triumph at Michigan.

“Our guys are enjoying the work,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said. “We’re still having a lot of fun coming up here every single day to get better and find ways to improve. And the challenge of this new conference and the travel and some of the teams we have to play has been a lot of fun for us, but we got more work to do.”

Much has changed since Oregon capped that 2019 season with a 28-27 Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin.

Oregon went a combined 21-6 and Wisconsin was 18-9 from 2018-19. Wisconsin earned double-digit wins five times in a six-year stretch from 2014-19.

But in the five seasons since that Rose Bowl game, Oregon has gone 46-12 while Wisconsin is just 32-23. Oregon has won its 10 games this season by an average margin of 19.7 points, while Wisconsin has lost it last two games by a combined 47 points.

Wisconsin is a 14-point underdog Saturday, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Badgers have gone 2-14 in their last 16 games against Top 25 teams, including an 0-5 mark under second-year coach Luke Fickell.

“We have nothing to lose,” Wisconsin safety Hunter Wohler said. “Really no one expects us to win this game or have a chance. So why not just go out there and play? We have no pressure on us. At this point in the season, we’ve got three games left to just go out and do whatever we can to win.”

THE UNDERCARD

• Nebraska (5-4, 2-4) at USC (4-5, 2-5), 4 p.m. (Fox)

After winning five of its first six games, Nebraska has dropped three straight and still needs a victory to become eligible for its first bowl appearance since 2016. The Cornhuskers host Wisconsin and visit Iowa (6-4, 4-3) after this game.

USC has dropped four of its last five. The Trojans’ five losses have been decided by a total of 19 points.

BetMGM has USC as an 8 ½-point favorite.

IMPACT PLAYERS

• Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel is responsible for 180 total touchdowns (147 passing, 32 rushing, 1 receiving) in his career to set the NCAA record in that category. He broke Case Keenum’s record of 178 by throwing three touchdown passes in a 39-18 victory over Maryland.

• Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis, a Minnesota transfer, threw three touchdown passes against his former team in the Scarlet Knights’ 26-19 triumph over the Golden Gophers.

• UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger had his first two career interceptions in a 20-17 victory over Iowa. He has a Big Ten-leading 10.2 tackles per game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Big Ten has four of the top five teams in the AP Top 25 and the CFP rankings with Oregon at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Penn State at No. 4 and Indiana at No. 5.

• Penn State TE Tyler Warren’s two touchdown runs in a 35-6 blowout of Washington gave him three this season. The only other Big Ten tight ends to have at least three touchdown runs in a season since 1956 were Wisconsin’s Stu Voigt in 1968 and Maryland’s Chigoziem Okonkwo in 2018.

• Illinois is seeking its sixth home victory of the season when it hosts Michigan State. The Illini, who are 5-1 at home, haven’t won at least six home games in a year since their 2001 team went 6-0 at home and reached the Sugar Bowl.

• Michigan (5-5) is at risk of becoming just the fourth defending AP, coaches’ poll, BCS or College Football Playoff national champion to finish .500 or below. The others were TCU in 1939 (3-7), Ohio State in 1943 (3-6) and LSU in 2020 (4-4), according to Sportradar.

• According to Sportradar, since the start of the BCS era in 1998, the only teams to finish .500 or below a year after reaching the national championship game were Nebraska in 2002 (7-7), Texas in 2010 (5-7), LSU in 2020 (5-5) and TCU in 2023 (5-7). Michigan and Washington (5-5) could join that list.

NOW DON’T GET UPSET

Maryland has lost four of its last five games but enters Saturday’s home game with Rutgers as a 5 ½-point favorite, according to BetMGM. Rutgers can become bowl eligible with one more win. Don’t be surprised if this game comes down to a late field-goal attempt.