Indiana Opens as Big Underdog in Saturday's Game at Wisconsin

Indiana is 5-1 and ranked No. 10 nationally, but oddsmakers figure that the Hoosiers will have a difficult time winning on Saturday at Wisconsin.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Respect seems to be hard to come by for Indiana's football team this season, even as the Hoosiers continue to do unprecedented things every weekend.

Indiana, 5-1 on the season and ranked No. 10 is the country, is a whopping 10-point underdog at Wisconsin on Saturday. The Badgers, who have missed three games because of COVID-19 issues this season, are 2-1 on the year, most recently losing at Northwestern two weeks ago.

Indiana has been an underdog three times already this season, winning outright at home against Penn State as a 6-point underdog and beating Michigan, who was a 3-point favorite.

Indiana's only loss has come at No. 3-ranked Ohio State, but the Hoosiers easily covered the 21-point spread in their 42-35 loss.

The line might have something to do with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. getting injured during the third quarter of Saturday's win over Maryland. His status for the Wisconsin game is unknown at the moment. He was being checked by doctors over the weekend, and we should learn more during media availability with coach Tom Allen later on Monday.

Here's a look at the opening lines for all seven Big Ten games this weekend:

Indiana at Wisconsin

• GAMETIME: 3:30 p.m. ET 
• TV: ABC
• RECORDS: Indiana (5-1); Wisconsin (2-1)
• LAST WEEK: Indiana beat Maryland 27-11: Wisconsin did not play because of COVID-19 problems inside the Minnesota program. 
• OPENING LINE: Wisconsin by 10
• THE SKINNY: The Badgers have missed three games this season, two by their own doing because of COVID case, so it really hurt last week to lose a game because of Minnesota's issues. This is a huge game for Indiana, which would like to finish second in the Big Ten East just in case Ohio State doesn't qualify for the Big Ten title game.

Northwestern at Minnesota

• GAMETIME: Noon ET
• TV: FOX Sports 1 or Big Ten Network
• RECORDS: Northwestern (5-1); Minnesota (2-3)
• LAST WEEK: Northwestern lost to Michigan State 29-20; Minnesota did not play due to COVID-19 issues inside its program.
• OPENING LINE: Northwestern favored by 10.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: The Wildcats laid an egg for the first time all season last weekend in that stunning loss to Michigan State, snapping their five-game winning streak to start the season. Minnesota is dealing with COVID concerns, so it will be interesting to see if this game gets played. Strangely, if it doesn't, Northwestern clinches the Big Ten West.

Iowa at Illinois 

• GAMETIME: 3:30 p.m. ET 
• TV: FOX Sports 1
• RECORDS: Iowa (4-2); Illinois (2-3)
• LAST WEEK: Iowa beat Nebraska 26-20. Illinois did not play because of COVID-19 issues within the Ohio State program.
• OPENING LINE: Iowa favored by 12.5 points. 
• THE SKINNY: The Hawkeyes struggled a bit before dispatching Nebraska in their annual rivalry game. That's four wins in a row now for the Hawkeyes, who suddenly have a bit of hope in winning the Big Ten West. Illinois had a nice win at Nebraska two weeks ago, so they'd love to be a thorn in the side of the Hawkeyes

Penn State at Rutgers

• GAMETIME: Noon ET
• TV: FOX Sports 1 or Big Ten Network
• RECORDS: Penn State (1-5); Rutgers (2-4)
• LAST WEEK: Penn State beat Michigan 27-17; Rutgers beat Purdue 37-30.
• OPENING LINE:  Penn State favored by 10
• THE SKINNY: The Nittany Lions finally got a win last week with a gutsy performance against Michigan, and they'd love to add another here to finish the season with some momentum. Rutgers did a great job of piecing together a win against Purdue, making a nice comeback with a bunch of backups. Surprising that there's positive vibes on both sides coming into this one.

Ohio State and Michigan State

• GAMETIME: Noon ET 
• TV: ABC
• RECORDS: Ohio State (4-0); Michigan State (2-3)
• LAST WEEK: Ohio State did not play (COVID); Michigan State beat Northwestern 29-20. 
• OPENING LINE: Ohio State favored by 22.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: The Buckeyes have serious COVID-19 concerns right now and they really need to play this team, because if they don't, they can't qualify for the Big Ten title game. It's going to be interesting to see if it happens at all, and if it does, how many Ohio State players won't be able to go. Kudos to Michigan State for its huge upset of unbeaten Northwestern last week. There's no doubt that Mel Tucker's team is the most difficult group to figure out this season.

Nebraska at Purdue

• GAMETIME: Noon ET
• TV: Big Ten Network
• RECORDS: Nebraska (1-4); Purdue (2-3)
• LAST WEEK: Nebraska lost to Iowa 26-20; Purdue lost to Rutgers 37-30. 
• OPENING LINE: Purdue favored by 1.5 points.
• THE SKINNY: The Boilermakers have lost three straight games, and some questionable calls have been a factor. They need to win the last two — Indiana is next on Dec. 12 — to avoid a second-straight losing season. Nebraska played better against Iowa, but it still wasn't enough. Purdue won this matchup a year.

Maryland at Michigan

• GAMETIME: 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV:  Big Ten Network 
• RECORDS: Maryland (2-2); Michigan (2-4)
• LAST WEEK: Maryland lost to Indiana 27-11; Michigan lost to Penn State 27-17.
• OPENING LINE: Michigan favored by 5.5 points
• THE SKINNY: The Wolverines have been favored in five of their seven games now, but have won only twice to qualify as the league's biggest disappointments. Maryland looked rusty against Indiana after two weeks off because of COVID, so it will be interesting to see if the Terps can bounce back quickly.