No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan could, and should, create some separation at the top of the Big Ten East Division on Saturday and make it a two-team race to be decided once again on the last weekend of November.
The Buckeyes, with a win in Happy Valley, can all but end No. 13 Penn State’s hopes of reaching the conference championship game. The Wolverines will maintain their collision course with top rival Ohio State if they can overcome recent history and beat Michigan State in Ann Arbor.
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Ohio State-Penn State is one of three AP Top 25 matchups this week. The others are N o. 9 Oklahoma State at No. 22 Kansas State and No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee.
Since the Big Ten split into its current divisions in 2014, no East winner has had more than one conference loss.
Penn State already has a loss at Michigan and is a double-digit underdog at home to a Buckeyes team that is rolling on both sides of the ball.
Michigan State has won two straight over its in-state rival but is a three-touchdown underdog. The Spartans won last year because of Kenneth Walker’s 197 yards and five touchdowns. Walker isn’t there anymore, and the Spartans are a shell of the team that won 11 games.