2012 College Football Schedule: Michigan, Michigan State travel for important matchups

Despite a disappointing start to the 2012 season, the Michigan Wolverines (5-2, 3-0) are undefeated in conference play and have their eyes on a Rose Bowl birth. That pristine conference record will be put to the test on Saturday night when they travel to Lincoln to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-2, 2-1). A Nebraska win would move them into a tie with Michigan for first in the Legends Division and would give them the head-to-head tiebreaker. That game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Michigan State, meanwhile, is going in the opposite direction. The Spartans have lost three of their last four games and now sit at 4-4 on the season and 0-3 in the conference. Their Rose Bowl hopes are long gone -- now they're focusing on merely becoming bowl eligible. They could potentially turn the season around in a hurry with a road victory over the Wisconsin Badgers (6-2, 3-1). That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Here is the rest of the Big Ten schedule for the weekend:

• Iowa Hawkeyes at Northwestern Wildcats: 12 p.m., ESPN2
• Indiana Hoosiers at Illinois Fighting Illini: 12 p.m., BTN
• Purdue Boilermakers at Minnesota Golden Gophers: 3:30 p.m., BTN
• Ohio State Buckeyes at Penn State Nittany Lions: 5:30 p.m., ESPN