Week 12 games to watch with Indiana football in the playoff chase

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana. Indiana football won’t start this week, but that doesn’t mean Hoosier fans will get a day off from watching the scoreboard.

There are important games in the context of both the Big Ten race and the College Football Playoff rankings that will affect Indiana’s top spot.

Results elsewhere could help Indiana rise or fall depending on how favorable those results can be.

Here’s a look at what to watch in college this weekend and how the games relate to Indiana’s fate.

Big ten watch

• No. 2 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1) vs. Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) at Wrigley Field, noon Saturday, BTN: Northwestern is moving from Lake Michigan’s Martin Stadium to Wrigley Field due to Ohio State’s heavy attendance.

In 2024, the Wildcats were bad more often than good. They pushed Indiana a bit on Oct. 5 before the Hoosiers won, 41-24. Northwestern rallied to crush Maryland 37-10 a week later on the strength of four forced fumbles. Northwestern has lost two games by wide margins since then and needed overtime to beat Purdue two weeks ago.

Obviously, an Ohio State loss would improve Indiana’s chances of making it to the Big Ten Championship.

• No. 4 Penn State (8-1, 5-1) at Purdue (1-8, 0-6), 3:30 p.m., Saturday, CBS: Indiana fans will happily refuse to do that, but consider Purdue and the Boilermakers’ schedule in Big Ten play.

Purdue has played or will play Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana on the road. Home games have been Nebraska, Oregon, Northwestern and now Penn State. It’s rude.

Penn State is 16-3-1 against Purdue all-time and has won 10 straight over the Boilermakers. While Indiana fans once again find themselves in the odd position of wanting a Purdue win, no one should hold their breath.

• No. 1 Oregon (10-0, 7-0) at Wisconsin (5-4, 3-3), 7:30 p.m., Saturday, NBC: Badgers have a clear line – they consistently beat the smaller ones and lose to the bigger ones with the same predictability.

Against ranked teams — and that includes Southern California, which was ranked at the time but has since fallen — Wisconsin is 0-3. The trio’s closest game is a 15-point home loss against Penn State. The atmosphere in Madison is bad. Program legend Barry Alvarez said on a radio show this week that he doesn’t know what Wisconsin’s offensive personality is. That doesn’t bode well for coach Luke Fickell.

Despite all that, Indiana fans should hum the beat of “On Wisconsin” and hope for the best from the Badgers, who could single-handedly put Indiana in first place with an upset win over the top-ranked Ducks.

View the college football playoff rankings

• No. 3 Texas (8-1) at Arkansas (5-4), noon Saturday, ABC: If you loved the late Southwestern Conference, this game, which is now a Southeastern Conference game, is tantamount to blasphemy.

The Razorbacks did beat Tennessee at home earlier this season, so an upset win that the Hoosiers would rather get from the Hogs than the Longhorns is very likely.

• Mercer (9-1) at No. 10 Alabama (7-2), 2 p.m., Saturday, ESPN-Plus: The Big Ten plays their cupcakes early, while SEC teams load them late. Which approach is correct? who knows And frankly, who cares? These games are bad no matter what conference they are played in or what time of year they are played.

Mercer is a good FCS team heading into the FCS playoffs, but Alabama should handle the Bears at home, despite Hoosier’s hopes for an upset to end all upsets.

• Boston College (5-4) at No. 14 SMU (8-1), 3:30 p.m., Saturday, ESPN: Can someone explain why SMU is so far behind Miami among ACC teams in the rankings? The Mustangs won in Louisville and convincingly beat then-ranked Pittsburgh. SMU’s only loss was a three-point squeaker against BYU. Miami won at Louisville by the same margin, losing to several lesser ACC lights, and lost five times at scrappy Georgia Tech.

This game doesn’t affect Indiana too much – SMU has work to do to catch up with just one win. But the Mustangs, Indiana’s potential playoff opponent, are worth watching.

• Virginia (5-4) at Notre Dame (8-1), 3:30 p.m., Saturday, NBC: Notre Dame has scored more than 50 points in its last two games, including a 52-3 win over Florida State last Saturday. The Fighting Irish are another possible playoff opponent for Indiana, either in Bloomington or South Bend, depending on how things play out.

Indiana fans should be rooting for the Cavaliers fresh off a 24-19 road win over Pittsburgh, so the Hoos are capable.

• No. 13 Boise State (8-1) at San Jose State (6-3), 7 p.m. Saturday, CBS Sports Network: It’s not a contest that will affect Indiana much one way or the other, as the Broncos have the conference champion’s fifth-best path to the bracket, but it’s worth a look as Boise State is another team Indiana could see in the playoffs. San Jose State will not be an obstacle. The Spartans took down No. 18 Washington State in Pullman, Wash., on Sept. 20 before the Cougars cruised to a 54-52 victory.

• No. 7 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1) at No. 12 Georgia (7-2, 5-2), 7:30 p.m., Saturday, ABC: Playoff Game of the Week. From Indiana’s perspective, neither outcome is helpful. A Tennessee win on the road at Georgia would put the Volunteers ahead of the Hoosiers in the CFP rankings, but given how fickle and biased the CFP committee is, a win at Georgia could also put the Bulldogs in range of the Hoosiers. In the end, they lost Georgia by nine spots with a road loss at Ole Miss.

One thing’s for sure: Georgia can’t afford to lose again, so there will be urgency at Sanford Stadium. Must be good.

• Kansas (3-6) at No. 6 BYU (9-0), 10:15 p.m., Saturday, ESPN: By now, you may have heard about the controversial defensive holding call that allowed BYU to beat Utah late last Saturday. Utah’s athletic director fumed about it after the game, though a fan shot confirms it was a good call.

BYU ran away, and what should be alarming is the lack of concentration. The Cougars squandered a field goal chance before halftime due to a mix-up. BYU didn’t handle Utah’s pass rush either. That game is in Provo and should be the one where the Cougars take on the Jayhawks, but Kansas has been playing better lately, including a 45-36 win over Iowa State that knocked the Cyclones out of the rankings.

• Inactive teams within Indiana: #9 Miami, #11 Ole Miss.