Our staff goes on the record for the games around the Big Ten in Week 5, including Ohio State's road trip to Washington and USC visiting Illinois.

The Big Ten is rolling out a new initiative this weekend, and Oregon and Penn State are at the center of it. NBC’s Nicole Auerbach reported Friday that the conference will annou

The Oregon-Penn State matchup is the big one this week. I think we can agree that on paper there are some definite tiers to the league. Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Indiana(!) are the true league contenders.

PSU won its first three games by a combined score of 132-17, albeit against Nevada, FIU and Villanova. Oregon is one of three ranked opponents on Penn State’s schedule, with a trip to Ohio State also being pivotal to the conference race.

Perhaps the biggest test of the regular season lies ahead of the No. 6 Oregon Ducks with a road game against the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions in week 5. While

Oregon, meanwhile, retooled after losing several key players to the NFL but hasn't missed a beat. The Ducks are 4-0, outscoring opponents 203-37. Last week, quarterback Dante Moore carved up rival Oregon State for 305 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-7 rout.

There’s a lot of hoopla surrounding No. 6 Oregon’s visit to No. 3 Penn State. It’s just the second White Out game involving top-10 teams.

The West Coast members of the Big Ten face major challenges but will get maximum TV visibility over 11 hours on Saturday.

Minnesota did not fare well against Cal, a team that it generally should beat. The Gophers do have Oregon and Ohio State on the schedule, but every other game is winnable, so don't be surprised if P.J. Fleck has his team in contention for a decent bowl game by season's end.