Big Ten football returns as undefeated teams collapse: A Blitz Podcast

Big Ten football opens the conversation in this week’s Saturday Blitz Podcast, along with a discussion of the dwindling number of unbeaten Power Five teams.

Over the summer, folks in Big Ten country suffered through one period of uncertainty after another. First advocating for conference-only schedules, the Big Ten looked to be at the vanguard once again when they called off fall sports and pushed to move football to the spring. The Pac-12 followed in the footsteps of their longtime Rose Bowl partner, but when the ACC, SEC, and Big 12 all opted to keep playing this fall it undercut Midwestern momentum related to how athletic departments navigate the age of coronavirus.

Without a united front, the Big Ten bungled their public relations situation and eventually capitulated to the forces calling for fall football. That means the conference returns to the field in Week 8, with programs like Ohio State and Penn State getting in their first games before Halloween when it once appeared there would be no football in this part of the country until 2021.

This week’s Saturday Blitz Podcast breaks down the Big Ten’s return, looking at what games offer the biggest bang for the buck on opening weekend and whether anyone will emerge unscathed as a College Football Playoff contender from the conference. That sets up the discussion after the first break, where the focus shifts solely from the Big Ten to looking at whether anyone will emerge undefeated.

After a weekend where the number of undefeated teams dwindled to four among the ACC, Big 12, and SEC, could we see a situation where every major-conference champion emerges with at least one loss for the first time since 2008? What if the only undefeated Power Five champion comes out of the Pac-12? How will the selection committee navigate what could be an absolute mess by mid-December?

In the final segment, we return after a break to look at the five biggest games of the week and offer up our picks against the spread.

Check out the podcast now through the player above or download to listen on your favorite device.

The Saturday Blitz Podcast goes live every Wednesday morning. You can reach John Mitchell at @jlmitchell93 and Zach Bigalke at @zbigalke on Twitter.