The 7 Biggest Games On The 2024 Big Ten Football Schedule

welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Friday July 19th I'm your host Tom Moore the akan game in 43 days the game against Michigan in 134 days as we are counting down the days to Big 10 media days next week we're also going to be counting down today the biggest games in the Big 10 this season we're gonna be doing that with our buddy Tony German of Buckey huddle.com Tony as I was kind of going through this list it was like boy there are some really really big games but it really as you look through the list I I just put together the top seven I feel like there's a good gap between the top seven and you know the next sort of level of games but it's interesting that virtually all of them there's only a couple of them that do not involve the new teams in the Big 10 and I think that kind of underscores just how big those additions are going to be and how much that's really going to change the landscape of the Big 10 this year for sure it it pretty is everything up I think quite a bit when you look at the big 10 schedule and there's much better inventory more in more interesting things maybe it'll be less interesting in four years or five years when we've seen this for a couple of years and we've seen teams play each other but right now you look all over the place and it's not necessarily every week but most weeks there's something new there's something intriguing and and even just uh getting out of the East plays the East the West plays the West the same schedule rut I mean there's some differences and some newness there that makes this over overall schedule really intriguing but there are some pretty pretty darn good games to talk about Tom well let's start with the fact that the number seven game here this is the first one we're going to be talking about because it's sort of the last of the sort of top tier of games oh by the way it's a rematch of last year's National Championship Game and that's number seven on our list that is Michigan traveling out to Washington on October 5th now I think both teams are probably going to be taking a pretty significant step back not expecting either one to be a legitimate national champion Contender this year but still just to have those two teams who played for the national title last year and have them be well there's six games better than that this year boy that really kind of puts it all into perspective yeah I think the maybe the biggest interest in this one will be that it is the re rematch of the national championship game I don't expect either of these teams to be back in the playoffs necessarily um the loser certainly not so you better win it I think what's interesting is is when we talk about Michigan's schedule and we will talk about some other their games we I don't necessarily view this as a loss but it is very much a game that they could lose so I think just the fact that there are more of those games more of those toss-up games I think is fun and more interesting and um if Michigan has hopes they better not blow this one yeah they have three more on this list and we're just talking Big 10 conference games so their game against uh Texas that is not on this list so yeah they there are some real losable games for Michigan this year they're probably not going to run the table again but we will see next up let's hit another Michigan game Tony number six on our list classic Rose Bowl matchup this is one that you have seen in Pasadena on New Year's Day a whole bunch of times over the years USC playing at Michigan that is September 21st that's going to be a really good welcome to the new Big 10 because that you know you're not in you're not in Kansas anymore when that's a big 10 conference game yeah and the last time these two teams played in the regular season was 1958 that was in Michigan so it's been a long time and we view these two teams as kind of Rivals they played in the Rose Bowl I think seven times um in the last 55 or so years but they don't you know it's been 2007 since the last time they played it's been a while and so I think it's going to be fantastic to watch these two Uniforms on the same field uh but this is another one where Michigan better be ready and you know can USC's defense be better than it has been I think probably yes will it be it should but I want to see USC try to handle Michigan's physicality and Michigan tried to handle uh USC's outside and inside speed yeah that that's going to be a good one that'll be a good sort of first taste of the you know really big new big 10 uh next up number five another USC game this is Penn State going out west to USC and this feels like this could be a real important one for Penn State because they are you know you've seen them projected as potentially a college football playoff team but generally you know the third Big 10 team in the playoff maybe and you know nine seed eight seed 10 seed somewhere in that range where this is a road game you got to go all the way out west to USC it's one that Penn State should win but it's also feels like this might be you know outside of the Ohio State game which is really going to be sort of their season defining game this might be second place for them in terms of just how close do they get to a potential Big 10 championship game birth and just how close to they get to the top of the college football playoff field yeah and I think there's a a question about Penn State's place in the Big 10 after this expansion where we knew they were striving to get to Ohio State's level um they were at at Michigan's level Michigan obviously took things up a notch but they can't afford to be passed by and I think we all agree like Oregon is there now you don't want USC to be in that mix with you as well you you want to keep the tiers as they are but this is like screams a trap game for me but then Tom the the the three games before this one for USC I mean me read them to you at Michigan homeg gets Wisconsin and at Minnesota before they play Penn State are they going to be healthy enough at that point after three weeks of facing the run I don't know 55 times and just and then and then you got Penn State coming to town and doing the same thing this might be a a a worn down USC defense by that point and frankly a worn down us the offense as well yeah and I don't know if the depth is quite there on that roster right now they have not recruited as well as you sort of think of USC recruiting and that's you know true especially on the lines there so that's that's definitely something I would I would Circle as a potential concern there they do luck out they're going to Minnesota the first weekend of October when it might be a little chilly but we probably not be snowing sideways but the first USC visit to Minnesota in mid November or first visit to uh Camp Randall in mid November boy that's going to be a rude aw Awakening I'm guessing for the for the uh guys from Southern California number four now Tony uh Oregon visiting Michigan on November 2nd this is the same day as the number three game on our list this is going to be a monster weekend of big 10 football but Oregon going to Michigan outside of the Ohio you know this is Oregon's toughest Road game I would say of the Season at least in conference play and you know if they get through Ohio State at home a few weeks earlier than this this is probably the last thing standing between them and more or less having a spot in Indianapolis locked up yeah do you remember the last time Oregon came to Michigan I'm sure you do um it was Tom the the Big 10 Network was just a a couple of months old maybe a month old by that point uh actually only maybe a week old by that point a week old yeah this was this was the week after Appalachian State right and didn't up 397 or something like that 397 I believe that was Dennis Dixon running all over the place throwing all over the place against a shell shock Michigan defense this one is again one where we would expect Oregon to win but also this is an opportunity for Michigan to be like no we are still we are still the Big 10 we are still the leaders and best if you will and um so I'm fascinated to see how this one goes because it go in a number of different different directions like Michigan should take a step back but if they don't in this one I mean that's going to be a pretty good statement regardless of what else has happened regardless of what happens against Texas like if they can do something to to Michigan uh that would be imp or to Oregon that would be impressive I will say the week before the Oregon game Michigan State comes to town is that anything to be concerned about is it anything to be concerned con ered about that's a fascinating question I mean we have seen Michigan State pull crazy upsets this this feels like a Michigan State team that is very down this year and probably going to get things on the right track under Jonathan Smith but probably not going to do it just just yet so that would normally be a very tough back toback for Michigan I think this year's Michigan State might make that a little less of a challenge but definitely some to keep an eye on that same day the same day as Oregon at Michigan Ohio State travels to pen State we did find out this week officially that is not the white out game for Penn State we have been talking about that for a few months now since there was the report about the trade of weeks between the different broadcasters and because for a bunch of various complicated reasons and I'm not going to show my math here we were speculating we were pretty sure that meant that the Ohio State Penn State game was not going to be a Prime Time NBC game and that that was going to be that meant it was likely going to be either a big noon or a 3:30 kickoff the fact that Penn State announced this week that it not in the white out game is pretty decent confirmation that that's true so you know it is either going to be the noon kick at on Fox or the 3:30 kick on CBS with the Oregon Michigan game being the other one I I'm going to guess they're not going to want to put more Oregon and the West Coast audience on a 900 a.m. local kick time so I will guess that that will be the big noon kickoff game but that's that's not official yet that's just a sort of reading tea leaves but either way this is another one Tony where you know Ohio State has a trip out to Oregon earlier then they uh weekend after after Halloween they go play in Penn State and that is a place where Ohio state has won most of the time they've only lost there in once in the last what 10 12 14 years something like that but it has generally not been real easy for them there so that this feels like another one that you know if Penn State wins this that's probably just about locking Penn State into the college football playoff unless something crazy happens and if Ohio State wins that's probably just about locking Ohio State into the college football playoff unless something crazy happens yeah I think the last time Ohio State lost there was the fluke in 2016 with the the blocked kick though I'm sure there are plenty of Penn State fans saying Ohio state has won plenty of flukes in that Stadium as well and and so uh you know maybe it's all even out by now I don't I don't think so but I mean this is one where uh if the game is at night like how much does that change and and we've said it won't be like how much does that change the the line does is that is that two and a half points in Ohio State's favor that sort of thing like how much does that affect things playing at noon and it's still a great environment whenever you play it I think it's just different for the players um the the visiting team when it's at night and just the the waiting the anticipation at least here you get to the stadium pretty early you go play your football game you don't have to worry about anything else there's no not nearly as as much buildup you're not thinking about it the entire time you're just ready to go and you know hey it's just a noon game like it's not anything special other than the fact that it's a very good opponent a very tough team to play you don't make it more than you need to make it and even at a noon kick that has been a challenging spot for Ohio State 2022 they were in a dog fight Midway through the fourth quarter on a noon kick at Penn State so you know that does not mean it's going to be an easy it just means it's maybe going to be slightly less brutally difficult than it could otherwise be so we will uh we will see when that kickoff time ends up being but I think you can uh safely mark yourself safe from Penn State Prime Time white out kickoff uh for at least this year now Tony there's two games left and I'm going to do you the tremendous favor of deciding which one is the biggest game on the Big 10 conference schedule this year because you got Ohio State at Oregon on October 12th you got Michigan at Ohio State on November 30th and I know which one I'm expecting to have the highest rated teams the highest ranked teams in the in the uh in the matchup and that's Ohio State at Oregon but also it feels like Ohio State and Oregon might play two to three times this year and you know I it feels like the more things change the more they might stay the same and the season defining game for Ohio State is maybe still the season defining game that it has been for the last several decades yeah the game with the highest rated teams will not be the game with with the highest rated ratings I think uh the the next the game on the list is Ohio State at Oregon it might be the biggest game of the season certainly one of the top two with Georgia and Texas those are like the two biggest biggest games of the year but you beat Oregon Ohio State goes and beats Oregon all people are going to be saying is okay go beat Michigan now prove it it's you know this is a you're going to have to prove it and if you don't then what good was beating Oregon that sort of thing so I think the season is judged as a whole by what you do but you you you got to put that button on it and that that button is the Michigan game and that's the one people will be waiting for that's the biggest game in the Big 10 hey Tom the TV execs they they know which game they wanted which was the biggest game of the year they went with this one they then you know traded for the second biggest um if they if they thought it was the biggest they would have taken it first and I don't know what kind of trade Capital you would need to then get Michigan and Ohio State after that so biggest game of the year Michigan at Ohio State trading for the Ohio State Michigan game that feels like a hersel Walker trade where it's like why doesn't NBC have any broadcast game any games anymore for the next seven seasons it's like well remember that one time they had the Ohio State Michigan game yeah that's uh that is definitely not going to be the case this year the Ohio State Michigan game will be on Fox we'll find out officially when the Ohio State Oregon game will be and where that will be televised I'm guessing just guessing it's going to be NBC prime time we will see that's uh still TBD officially but uh again reading the tea leaves that would be my guess and then noon kickoff for Penn State but we will find out together as all that stuff comes out hopefully in the coming weeks they they'll start laying out some of those other big games so everyone can start planning their Falls but man it is going to be a fall full of really really exciting football games and we hope you can join us at buck hcom to enjoy all of it Tony Kevin and I they're covering the team we'll be at all those Ohio State Games this fall have Mark covering recruiting got our whole team of x's and those gurus they're making you a smarter football fan that's all at Buckey huddle.com and of course also at youtube.com Bucky huddle that'll do it for today thank you guys all for joining us have a great day have a great weekend we'll be back next week with a full week of content from Indianapolis we can't wait we'll talk to you then