5 Big Ten storylines to watch in October, from Ohio State's minefield to Penn State's collapse risk
September in the Big Ten featured a Hail Mary victory in The Big House and a walk-off loss in The Big House, with Michigan taking out Oklahoma in between, according to www.saturdaytradition.com. The Wolverines lived both extremes of last-second drama, but they weren’t the only ones making noise.
Oregon somehow got manhandled at Oklahoma State, and Ohio State somehow blew a 20-point, 4th-quarter lead at Texas, knocking it from No. 1, per the source. That loss in Austin was the Buckeyes’ only real test of the month, and they failed it in horrific fashion.
The source states that by Halloween, we’ll know much more about the league, with October bringing a bevy of things to watch. September was wild, but October is when the Big Ten’s contenders get separated from the pretenders.
OHIO STATE'S ROAD MINEFIELD
Ohio State had three layup home games in September, and the Buckeyes blasted Ball State and Kent State accordingly before reminding Illinois there are levels in the Big Ten, per www.saturdaytradition.com.
But Ohio State lost its one showdown game of the month, and it happened in horrific fashion, with that massive fourth-quarter meltdown in Austin in Week 2, according to the source. Rarely do the Buckeyes have a loss so early in the season, which makes October worth watching closely.
The schedule is a minefield. It starts Saturday with a trip to Iowa City to face Hank Brown and those surging Hawkeyes, who are coming off that last-second victory at Michigan, per the source. The 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS is only the beginning.
After a supposed breather at home against Maryland in Week 6, Ohio State finishes the month with grudge matches at Indiana on Oct. 17 and at USC on Oct. 31, according to www.saturdaytradition.com. As brutal as that sounds, the Buckeyes at least get a break, literally, with a bye week in between the trips to Bloomington and Los Angeles.
Watching Jeremiah Smith and Co. try to carve out what right now is three Big Ten ranked road games will be must-see stuff in October.
THE NUMBERS BEHIND THE STRUGGLES
The numbers behind both collapses are damning. Ohio State blew a 20-point, 4th-quarter lead at Texas in Week 2, knocking it from No. 1, per www.saturdaytradition.com. That kind of meltdown is rare for a program that expects to play in January, and the source notes the Buckeyes rarely have a loss so early in the season, adding to the intrigue around everything that follows.
Penn State’s numbers tell a similar story, if on a smaller scale. The Nittany Lions had a 20-10 lead deep into the 4th quarter against Wisconsin in Week 4, but the lead wasn't impressive and seemed safe, according to the source. It wasn't. The collapse at home reignited the same questions that have followed James Franklin for years, even if this particular loss didn't carry the weight of a top-five matchup.
For Ohio State, the math gets worse before it gets better. The Buckeyes’ October features three Big Ten ranked road games, per the source, starting with Iowa and ending with Indiana and USC. That’s a gauntlet that would test any team, let alone one still answering for a fourth-quarter failure in Austin.
PENN STATE'S COLLAPSE RISK
Nittany Lions fans had to be having James Franklin flashbacks during that late collapse in Week 4 against Wisconsin, which came at home no less, per www.saturdaytradition.com. Those are the games that are supposed to be routine wins, the ones that keep a season on track without drama.
With all due respect to Franklin, it wasn’t even one of those “big games” that Franklin usually flopped in, according to the source. This was only Wisconsin. That’s what makes it sting differently—there was no top-five opponent, no national stage, just a home game against a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team that Penn State had handled for most of the afternoon.
Penn State had a 20-10 lead deep into the 4th quarter that wasn’t impressive but seemed safe, per www.saturdaytradition.com. It wasn’t. The lead evaporated in a late surge that turned a comfortable night in Happy Valley into another chapter in Franklin’s book of blown advantages.
The source frames it as a complete collapse risk, not a one-off bad break. For a program that has spent years trying to prove it belongs in the national conversation, losing a winnable game at home to Wisconsin is exactly the kind of result that keeps the skeptics loud.
The questions aren’t going away, and October isn’t offering much relief. Penn State’s path forward will show whether that Wisconsin loss was an anomaly or a pattern that’s about to repeat itself.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Ohio State’s October minefield starts Saturday with a trip to Iowa City to face Hank Brown and the surging Hawkeyes, per www.saturdaytradition.com. The 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS is only the beginning for Ryan Day’s team.
The Buckeyes then host Maryland in Week 6 before finishing the month with road games at Indiana (Oct. 17) and USC (Oct. 31), according to the source. A bye week sits in between the trips to Bloomington and Los Angeles, offering a literal break in the gauntlet.
Watching Jeremiah Smith and Co. try to carve out what right now is three Big Ten ranked road games will be must-see stuff in October, the source highlights. For a team that already lost once in September, every one of those trips carries extra weight.
Penn State’s next steps to avoid another complete collapse are not detailed in the source. The Nittany Lions’ upcoming schedule or any specific plans to address the collapse risk have not been confirmed.
What is clear is that October will separate the contenders from the pretenders in the Big Ten, with Ohio State’s survival and Penn State’s response defining the month.
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