Predicting Big Ten football scores in Week 7: Indiana looks to fend off Ohio State
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Week 7 is going to provide some must-watch football for Big Ten fans. While ESPN’s College GameDay is headed West to Provo, the biggest game of the weekend is in Bloomington. We have a pair of top-five teams squaring off as the Ohio State Buckeyes are facing the Indiana Hoosiers.
Two losses can get you into the College Football Playoff, but the Buckeyes already have one loss this season, and Ryan Day doesn’t want to chance the rest of the season. A big road win would go a long way for Ohio State, while the Hoosiers want to show why they are defending national champions.
Here’s how every Big Ten game might play out this weekend.
MORE: 3 best Week 7 College Football matchups
No. 4 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Indiana
There are a couple of keys in this game. But the biggest one starts with the Ohio State offensive line against the Hoosiers’ defensive front. Indiana leads the Big Ten with 20 sacks, and the Buckeyes haven’t been great at protecting Julian Sayin. Ohio State has allowed 11 sacks, which ranks 14th in the Big Ten.
To make matters worse, starting lineman Austin Siereveld has been ruled OUT for Ohio State and that only makes matters worse. The Buckeyes are going to need to scheme quick passes to keep the Hoosiers’ defense at bay.
But Ohio State does have Jeremiah Smith, who has been literally unstoppable this season. Smith gets tripled team and still comes down with a catch. You can guess Curt Cignetti and Co. will have some sort of a game plan on Saturday, and even with a talent like Smith, the Buckeyes’ line might be too undermanned to protect Sayin.
Final score: Indiana 27, Ohio State 24
Penn State vs. Michigan
Both of these teams are reeling, but Michigan had a chance to regroup after a bye week, while the Nittany Lions dropped their third game in a row last Saturday.
Michigan has been preaching about getting its run game going. The Wolverines have been trying to do too much fancy stuff, running side to side, instead of getting downhill. Michigan’s personnel is made to run downhill.
This is the week for Michigan to get its run game going. The Nittany Lions have one of the worst run defenses in the country, and Northwestern ran for over 400 yards against PSU a couple of weeks ago. Penn State can stay in the game if Bryce Underwood continues to throw interceptions, but this feels like the week the Wolverines can get their run game rolling.
Final score: Michigan 24, Penn State 14
Wisconsin vs. No. 12 UCLA
Just when it was looking like UCLA was going to do something special, the Bruins’ season got turned around with news of quarterback Nico Iamaleava likely missing the remainder of the 2026 season. During the Bruins’ win over Oregon, Ducks defender Bear Alexander appeared to take a cheap shot at Iamaleava and that likely finished his season.
Now, UCLA will turn to Cal Poly transfer Ty Dieffenbach, who threw nine touchdowns and nine interceptions last season. Wisconsin has a chance to really attack defensively and get Dieffenbach rattled early.
However, teams don’t always fare well going out West and UCLA still has Wayne Knight at running back, who has been the Big Ten’s best. If the Bruins can slow down quarterback Colton Joseph, they have a real chance to win the game on Saturday.
Final score: UCLA 31, Wisconsin 27
The rest of the games will be quick-hitter style:
- Purdue 30, Washington 24
- No. 25 Northwestern 34, Michigan State 24
- Maryland 31, Rutgers 27
- Oregon 24, Nebraska 20
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