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Maryland Football: Big Ten primer for Week 3

By Chris Bengel

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 09: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the ball in the first quarter against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Camp Randall Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 09: Jonathan Taylor #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers runs with the ball in the first quarter against the Florida Atlantic Owls at Camp Randall Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /
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The Maryland football team has a bye week early in the 2017 season.

Despite the Terrapins not being in action, there’s still plenty of Big Ten teams that are taking the field.

Maryland is certainly in good shape through two games this season. The Terps stand at 2-0 with impressive victories over Texas and Towson.

The Big Ten had some very intriguing matchups last weekend, but the same can’t be said for Week 3 of the college football season. All four Big Ten top 10 teams should roll in their games.

This is the final week of nonconference play for a majority of the Big Ten teams. Fans were treated to a Friday night game under the lights with Illinois falling at the hands of No. 22 South Florida by a 47-23 result.

Games to watch

  • Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee – This is a game that Maryland fans are definitely going to want to keep their eye on. Following their game against Central Florida next weekend, the Terps will hit the road and travel to Minnesota to open Big Ten play. The Golden Gophers have been one of the better running teams in recent years, but they’re only averaging 3.9 yards-per-carry this season. It’s worth watching to see if the likes of Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith can get on track. Quarterback Conor Rhoda isn’t exactly a game-changer at the position, so Minnesota needs to have a strong running game in order to be successful.
  • Purdue at Missouri – Purdue has really been impressive early on this season. Jeff Brohm certainly has the program trending in the right direction. The Boilermakers nearly knocked off Louisville in their season opener and dispatched of Ohio rarely easily last weekend. Quarterback David Blough has been outstanding so far as he’s completing a mind-boggling 74.4 percent of his passes. On the other hand, Missouri has a very lethal offense that will be looking to put their loss against South Carolina behind them. Drew Lock is second in the SEC in passing yards (766) and already has eight touchdown passes. This could end up being a shootout.

Saturday

No. 7 Michigan vs. Air Force (12:00 p.m., BTN)

Nebraska vs. Northern Illinois (12:00 p.m., FS1)

No. 10 Wisconsin at BYU (3:30 p.m., ABC)

Iowa vs. North Texas (3:30 p.m., ESPN2)

Minnesota vs. Middle Tennessee (3:30 p.m., BTN)

Rutgers vs. Morgan State (3:30 p.m., BTN)

Purdue at Missouri (4:00 p.m., SECN)

No. 8 Ohio State vs. Army (4:30 p.m., FOX)

Northwestern vs. Bowling Green (7:30 p.m., BTN)

Next: TerrapinStationMD Podcast (9/16): Bye Week Blues

No. 5 Penn State vs. Georgia State (7:30 p.m., BTN)

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