College Football Week 12 Breakdown: Ranked Big Ten Battle

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Wisconsin Beat A Ranked Team To Stay Undefeated Last Week And Will Have To Do It Again.


Week 11 of the college football season provided some exciting upsets. Two of the top three teams in the country, Georgia and Notre Dame, lost in blow out fashion.

This week likely won’t provide anything crazy. There are not many intriguing matchups on paper. However in the world of college football anything can happen.

Here are two games that could be exciting to watch:

#24 Michigan at #5 Wisconsin, 12 pm on Fox

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After taking a 42-13 loss to Penn State, Michigan has bounced back nicely. They’ve won their last three games, however they did come against three of the worst teams in the Big Ten.

Wisconsin came away with an impressive win over Iowa last week. Their defense is one of the best in all of college football. Another win over a ranked team would look good on their resume.

Although Wisconsin is the better football team, Michigan has the better draft prospects.

The Wolverines best prospect is defensive tackle Maurice Hurst (pictured above). Hurst is having a great season. So far he has accumulated five sacks and 14 tackles for loss and has been a force against the run. He is one of the best interior defensive lineman in college football.

Another Michigan defensive lineman who has been playing well is defensive end Chase Winovich. He has recorded seven and a half sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss this season. The Wolverines were counting on Winovich to step up after losing defensive linemen Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley. Winovich didn’t disappoint and will likley be the next Michigan defensive end to make the jump to the NFL.

Wisconsin’s best draft prospect is probably tight end Troy Fumagalli. Over the last three games Fumagalli has been quiet. He’s one of Wisconsin’s best playmakers so they may need him to step up in this contest.

UCLA at #11 USC, 8 pm on ABC

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UCLA hasn’t been great this season, they come into this game with a 5-5 record.

USC has been somewhat up and down. They have a ton of talent though and can be as good as anyone in college football, especially on offense.

These teams feature two of the best quarterbacks in all of college football. For UCLA it’s Josh Rosen (pictured above) and for USC it’s Sam Darnold. Anytime two quarterbacks of this caliber go head-to-head there is a chance for a shootout.

What seperates these teams is the playmakers that USC has on offense. Running back Ronald Jones II is having a terrific season, so far logging 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns on 184 carries. Another weapon having an outstanding year is wide receiver Deontay Burnett who has caught 69 passes for 911 yards and nine scores.

I really hope you enjoyed the article! Follow me on twitter @CHayes95 and join the discussion on the Lions’ subreddit!

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About the Author

Cory Hayes
I attend Central Michigan University, I am majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sport Management. I am a junior. I am from Marysville, MI. I love following sports, both professional and collegiate. I follow the Lions, Pistons, and Tigers very closely, and the college team that I choose to cheer for is Ohio State.