UNDATED (AP) — College Football Playoff playoff expansion has stalled. Instead of getting a 12-team model across the finish line last week, the CFP management committee went back to considering the pros and cons of doubling the playoff format to eight teams. The Associated Press spoke with several people involved with expansion discussions. It is clear that a 12-team playoff is still the most likely outcome when the event expands. The big question is when, though there are many other details to work through. Discussons are expected to continue through the season and into the fall.
UNDATED (AP) — There aren’t too many announcer/analyst teams that get to reach 100 games together, but Fox’s Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt will reach the century mark this weekend. Johnson and Klatt will be on the call for Saturday’s game when No. 4 Penn State visits third-ranked Iowa. The two began working together in 2015, when Klatt became Fox’s top college football analyst after Charles Davis shifted to NFL.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 4 Penn State visits No. 3 Iowa in the top game on the Big Ten football schedule Saturday. Both teams feature strong defenses. Iowa is second nationally in scoring defense at just over 11 points per game. Penn State is third at 12 points allowed per game. Nebraska plays No. 9 Michigan in a game featuring a battle of the lines. The Cornhuskers tweaked their offensive line against Northwestern and played their best game of the year. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson leads a stout Michigan defensive front. Illinois is a 10-point underdog at home against Wisconsin.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Fourth-ranked Penn State’s game at No. 3 Iowa on Saturday sets up the same way as the Nittany Lions’ previous visit to Kinnick Stadium. Both teams are among the top three nationally in scoring defense. Iowa also leads the nation in takeaways. Penn State has one of the stingiest defenses when opponents get inside the 20-yard line. Neither team gives up many big plays. It will be the first top-five matchup in Iowa City since 1985. That’s when No. 1 Iowa beat No. 2 Michigan on a last-second field goal.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Quarterback C.J. Stroud has No. 7 Ohio State rolling after some rough early going. The freshman quarterback took awhile to get comfortable with coach Ryan Day’s offense and dealt with a sore shoulder. Everything came together in a blowout win over Rutgers. The Buckeyes will try not to look ahead when Maryland visits Ohio Stadium on Saturday as a three-touchdown underdog. The closest the Terps have to a quality win was West Virginia in Week 1 but they were blown out by Iowa 51-14 last week.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ninth-ranked Michigan comes to Nebraska on Saturday night and Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh is wary. The Wolverines are 5-0 and coming off a confidence-boosting win at Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers are 3-3 and fresh off a thrashing of Northwestern. Nebraska lost 56-10 at Michigan in 2018 in Scott Frost’s third game as the Huskers’ coach. Frost said at the time that his team wasn’t ready to take on a team as physical as Michigan. He feels differently this time. Harbaugh also says Nebraska is much improved and has been impressed with how the Huskers played the last three weeks.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — No. 11 Michigan State is rolling in its second season under coach Mel Tucker. The Spartans have started with five straight wins. It’s their best start since winning eight in a row in 2015, the year they earned a berth in the college playoff. Rutgers comes into the game riding a two-game losing streak. After winning their first three games, the Scarlet Knights have fallen to No. 9 Michigan and No. 7 Ohio State in Big Ten Conference play. Rutgers stunned Michigan State in the season opener last year, forcing seven turnovers and converting them into 21 points.
