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Penn State is favored by 5 in this game.  Iowa is in the hunt for the West so it's do or die for them from here on out with a loss to the Badgers on the books.

Think I have to root for Iowa here.  I think Iowa gives us the best CCG from a neutral fan perspective.  Although I'm not closing the book on Purdue being that team either.

Wisconsin still has the inside track. Wisconsin's schedule and Iowa's look strength equivalent. Iowa has three difficult games in a row. Iowa does not have the running game going all that well; against Maryland it was just a tangle of linemen, and very little open field to be found.
Wisconsin

@NU
Rutgers
@ PSU
@Purdue
Minn.
Iowa

@PSU
@Purdue
NU
@Illinois
Nebraska

I guess I'm pulling for the Nitts in this game.  It would be better to see Michigan beat a ranked PSU team on Nov. 3rd.  I'm just not sure they can beat a very good Iowa team with the way they're playing.   If Penn State can get over being "Spartied" they can do some damage.

 

Penn State is favored by 5-6 points. There is one common opponent, Indiana.

Iowa 42
Indiana 16

Penn St 33
Indiana 28

Both games were at Indiana. On a neutral field I would think Iowa would be favored over Penn St. This will be the 4th game that Iowa's starting corner backs will probably not start due to injury, but the replacements are up to snuff. Iowa should have a fairly good chance at a win, at Penn State, notwithstanding the betting lines.

I find this game interesting both for the divisional races and for the Power Rankings.  

First on the divisional races:
Penn State might be out of it already but if they lose this they would need an extraordinarily unlikely* set of events to get to Indy.  Iowa has a better chance but falling effectively two games behind UW would be difficult to recover from.  

Power Rankings:
Right now Iowa is essentially tied for 2nd/3rd with Ohio State while Penn State is in fifth between UW and PU.  An Iowa win would lock up second place for them at least for this week.  A Penn State win would lock up second place for the Buckeyes and put PSU in contention with UW for third (assuming Wisconsin wins at Northwestern).  

From my own biased Buckeye perspective I am rooting for Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan State, Maryland, and Indiana.  Then next week's rankings will be:

• Michigan  
• Ohio State
• Penn State
• Michigan State
• Northwestern/Purdue/Wisconsin/Iowa
• Northwestern/Purdue/Wisconsin/Iowa
• Northwestern/Purdue/Wisconsin/Iowa
• Northwestern/Purdue/Wisconsin/Iowa
• Maryland
• Indiana/Indiana/Nebraska
• Nebraska/Indiana/Nebraska
• Minnesota
• Illinois
• Rutgers

*How unlikely you ask?  REALLY unlikely.  Assuming PSU loses this weekend they would be three games behind Michigan in the loss column and effectively three games behind Ohio State (due to the H2H).  A three-way tie with tOSU and M at 6-3 would probably work for Penn State because they will probably have a better cumulative B1G-W opponent's record but only if Michigan beats Ohio State (because if Ohio State beats Michigan then the Buckeyes would be 2-0 in the H2H2H and win there).  Thus, that would require Michigan to lose to PSU and beat Ohio State but also lose their other two games (Rutgers and Indiana).  Fat chance of that.  The only other way would be for Ohio State to beat Michigan but lose their other three games (Nebraska, Michigan State, Maryland) and Michigan would still need to lose to either IU or RU.  Bottom line, if Penn State loses this weekend they are effectively out of the race for Indy.  

From my own biased Buckeye perspective I am rooting for Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan State, Maryland, and Indiana.  Then next week's rankings will be:

I don't know what I want or what Vegas is saying, but - gun to my head - I'd predict that all three of the highlighted lose. I probably want PSU to win (it's an alma mater, sure, but mostly because then next weekend is a bigger deal, and I'm renting an RV for a 25-person mixed fan party in the shadow of the stadium; that'll be more fun if PSU comes in as confident as possible). Having said it, I have very little faith in the Nits.
That game is mostly interesting to me in how the OL and McSorely respond to their first complete defense of the year.

To me, Franklin is merely a version of Hoke who made a far better mid-era OC hire, got a couple breaks, but that these things won't change the end result, only the length of time it takes to get there.