No. 17 USC tries to keep playoff hopes alive against Iowa in Big Ten’s spotlight game this week

By Canadian Press on November 13, 2025.

Things to watch this week in the Big Ten Conference:

Game of the week

Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten, No. 21 College Football Playoff ) at No. 17 Southern California (7-2, 5-1, No. 17 CFP), 3:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network)

Iowa’s playoff hopes likely disintegrated last week when they lost 18-16 to No. 7 Oregon (No. 8 CFP) on Atticus Sappington’s 39-yard field goal with 3 seconds left, but USC still has a shot at reaching the 12-team field.

USC ranks second among all Bowl Subdivision teams in yards per game (503.2) and is tied for seventh in points per game (39.6). Iowa’s defense is fifth in points allowed per game (13.7) and fourth in yards allowed per game (250.2).

BetMGM Sportsbook has USC as a 6 1/2-point favorite.

The undercard

No. 18 Michigan (7-2, 5-1, No. 18 CFP) vs. Northwestern (5-4, 3-3) at Wrigley Field, Chicago, 12:10 p.m. ET (Fox)

Michigan still has hopes of reaching the playoff if it wins the rest of its regular-season games, including a Nov. 29 home matchup with No. 1 Ohio State (No. 1 CFP). Northwestern has lost two straight and must win one of its last three games to become bowl eligible.

Michigan is an 11 1/2-point favorite, according to BetMGM

Impact players

— Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson has an FBS-leading 1,431 total yards from scrimmage, though Jacksonville State’s Cam Cook is ahead of him in yards from scrimmage per game (151.2 to 143.1). Johnson had 129 yards rushing and 103 yards receiving in Nebraska’s 28-21 victory over UCLA, becoming the first Cornhusker ever to have at least 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game.

— Wisconsin LB Mason Posa had 11 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in Wisconsin’s 13-10 upset of then-No. 24 Washington. Posa set up Wisconsin’s only touchdown with a strip sack that gave the Badgers the ball at Washington’s 7-yard line. He also recorded a fourth-down sack to clinch Wisconsin’s victory.

— Rutgers RB Antwan Raymond rushed for 240 yards in the Scarlet Knights’ 35-20 victory over Maryland. Ray Rice is the only Rutgers player ever to rush for more yards in a single game. Raymond’s 41 carries tied Rutgers’ single-game record.

Inside the numbers

USC is on pace to become the first Big Ten team to average at least 300 yards passing and 200 yards rushing since Indiana in 2013. The last Bowl Subdivision team to do it was LSU in 2023. … Six of the 13 finalists for the Maxwell Award given to college football’s top player are from the Big Ten: Johnson, USC WR Makai Lemon, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, Oregon QB Dante Moore, Ohio State QB Julian Sayin and Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith. … Wisconsin LB Cooper Catalano’s 19 tackles against Washington were the most by a Badgers player since Mike Taylor had 22 against Ohio State in 2011. They were the most tackles in a single game by a Wisconsin freshman since at least 1995. … Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith had his 25th career touchdown catch in his 25th game, making him the fastest Buckeyes player ever to reach that mark. David Boston got his 25th touchdown catch while playing his 30th career game in 1998. … Oregon’s offense ranks second in plays of 20-plus yards (66), and its defense has allowed the fewest plays of 20-plus yards (15) of any FBS team.

Get to know him

TJ Lateef is Nebraska’s starting quarterback now that Dylan Raiola is out for the season with an injury to his lower right leg. In his first collegiate start, Lateef went 13 of 15 for 202 yards with three touchdown passes against UCLA. Lateef was named the Big Ten’s co-freshman of the week.

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Steve Megargee, The Associated Press

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