Around the Big Ten: Week 15 (Football)

Audio/Story posted December 11, 2020 in CommRadio, Sports by Adam Sheetz

Host Matt McLaughlin is joined by analysts Jon Draeger, Adam Sheetz and Trevor Grady to recap some of the biggest moments in Big Ten football from Week 14 and give their takes on this upcoming slate of games.

The Big Ten enters its last week of play before championship weekend, and the schedule has been moved around and altered due to the global pandemic.

Two games have been canceled this weekend already due to COVID-19 concerns. One of those games was “The Game” between No. 4 Ohio State and Michigan. This cancellation almost kept Ohio State out of the Big Ten title game due to the Buckeyes being short of the six-game minimum established by the Big Ten, but the league decided to change the rules to allow them to compete next week in the Big Ten championship.

The other game that was cancelled this weekend was the matchup for the Old Oaken Bucket between No. 12 Indiana and Purdue. The Hoosiers have been enjoying an amazing season in 2020 and will hope to play next weekend against the second-place team out of the Big Ten West.

Penn State started out 0-5 for the first time in school history, but the Nittany Lions have turned their season around in the last two weeks. Penn State gained its second victory in 2020 last Saturday, beating Rutgers 23-7. The Nittany Lions have found a rushing attack led by freshman back Keyvone Lee, who rushed for 95 yards in the win. Penn State’s defense looked dominant on Saturday as well, especially on third and fourth down, holding the Scarlet Knights to 3 for 15 on third down and 1 for 4 on fourth down. Penn State has won two straight and will look to keep its momentum rolling when the Spartans of Michigan State visit Happy Valley on Saturday.

Northwestern clinched the Big Ten West last week and has a date with the Buckeyes on Dec. 19. The Wildcats’ game last week was canceled, but they are back in action this week when they take on Illinois. Northwestern has to watch out for the Illini this weekend, because Illinois would like nothing more than to knock off its rival before the Big Ten championship game. Northwestern did lose its last game to Michigan State, so the Wildcats need this game to get back on track before their trip to Indianapolis.

A game with huge implications for the second-place spot in the West takes place on Saturday between No. 16 Iowa and Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes have looked like the best team in the West since their 0-2 start, winning five straight games and looking dominant in the process. The Badgers are moving in the opposite direction, dropping their last two games and only scoring a combined 13 points in those games. This game should be an old-fashioned battle and could make for some very interesting football come Saturday.

The Big Ten season is coming to a close, and it’s been a wild and crazy one. The title game is set, and the only thing to do is to wait and see what other matchups will be played on championship weekend. So, just sit back and watch, as these next two weekends should be filled with a lot of fun, entertaining football in the Big Ten conference.

 

Adam Sheetz is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Matthew McLaughlin's photo

Matthew McLaughlin

Freshman / Broadcast Journalism

Matthew “Matt” McLaughlin is a freshman from Abington, Pennsylvania majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. He is a writer and analyst in all three departments for CommRadio. He’s been featured as an analyst on live shows such as Daylate Tailgate, State College Saturdays and Hail Mary.

Adam Sheetz's photo

Adam Sheetz

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

Adam Sheetz is a third year student from Reedsville, Pennsylvania majoring in broadcast journalism. He has been a broadcaster for WCHX 105.5 FM in Mifflin County covering high school sports. He has also been a member of CommRadio since his first semester at Penn State, being involved in both the Arts and Sports departments. Adam has extensive experience in a play-by-play setting within CommRadio, covering football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball for the station. He has done written content for CommRadio ranging from Penn State football articles all the way to discussing Disney Channel movies. To contact Adam, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Jonathan Draeger

Third Year / Broadcast Journalism

Jonathan “Jon” Draeger is a third-year student from Butler, Pennsylvania, majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State University. He is the Production Director for CommRadio, alongside his work as a broadcaster and producer for the Sports department and insider for Penn State Men’s Basketball. Jon also works on the “After The Whistle” live show. He was apart of the social media and on-field entertainment crew for the Butler Bluesox in the summer of 2021 and worked as a Broadcast Intern for the Saugerties Stallions of the PGCBL in the summer of 2022. If you would like to contact him, you can do so at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Trevor Grady

Fourth Year / Management Information Systems

Trevor Grady is a fourth-year from Dublin, Ohio majoring in supply chain management at Penn State. He creates various forms of content for the CommRadio sports department and he has also interned for 270 Hoops, a local high school basketball media outlet in central Ohio. He is interested in broadcasting play-by-play for a national television or radio network in football, basketball or baseball. To contact Trevor, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).