Big Game Hunting: For Minnesota and Baylor, it’s just win and — yeah, they’d better — get in

Disrespected, both Baylor and Minnesota have been. Taken lightly. Overlooked. Shamed for the names on the fronts of their jerseys.

College football is a blue-blood world, and the Bears and Golden Gophers are just living in it.

Yet, both little-engines-that-could are 9-0. And if 9-0 should happen to turn into 13-0 for either — or both — of them, by then it probably won’t matter a bit what the playoff rankings said in Week 12. The four-team playoff will just have to make room.

If that means giving the heave-ho to a blue-blood or two, so be it and amen. An unbeaten Power 5 champion being left out of the playoff would be unconscionable.

But let’s not forget why we’re here, and that means Saturday and this pair of doozies: No. 8 Minnesota (+3) at No. 20 Iowa (3 p.m., Fox-32) and No. 10 Oklahoma (-10) at No. 13 Baylor (6:30 p.m., Ch. 7). Yes, despite plodding Iowa’s three losses and Oklahoma’s one, both the Gophers and the Bears are underdogs.

Iowa’s core strength is its defense, ranked 11^th in the country in yards allowed per game. Penn State’s defense was ranked higher than that, though, before the Gophers’ monstrous offensive performance in last weekend’s 31-26 victory.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan, running back Rodney Smith and wideouts Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson have become Big Ten stars. Can this offense that has scored at least four touchdowns in every game remain at peak-performance level on the road at Kinnick Stadium?

If it does, Gophers coach P.J. Fleck will body surf once again in the winners’ locker room. That’s what goes on inside this team’s version of the Bears’ Club Dub.

“When we win, it doesn’t matter who we [beat],” Fleck said. “You would think we won the Super Bowl every time we win in the locker room after a game.”

I’m not about to get in the way of their good time. Surf’s up, 31-24.

And as for Baylor? It would blow minds across the college landscape if coach Matt Rhule’s modestly talented team found a way to survive the glittery Sooners and their pinball offense, which leads the nation at 587.3 yards per game.

How remarkable it would be if a team of overachievers took down Jalen Hurts, CeeDee Lamb and star-studded bullies of the Big 12. Why can’t it happen? Why not these Bears, who have willed themselves over every hurdle to date and have been more clutch in close games than anybody?

“Part of it is weathering the storm, just our defense. Don’t get down 21-0,” Rhule said. “Knowing that we are more of a fourth-quarter team, you have to try to push this game to the fourth quarter.”

Easier said than done. Sooners, 41-30.

In other Week 12 action:

Indiana (14½) at No. 9 Penn State (11 a.m., Ch. 7): The Hoosiers (7-2) are the Big Ten upstart no one is talking about. This might be biting off more than they can chew, though, considering how strong PSU (8-1) is against the run and how staunch it traditionally is in general at home. Nittany Lions by 10.

Michigan State (+13½) at No. 15 Michigan (11 a.m., Fox-32): Jim Harbaugh, who has been — harsh, but true — a big-game flop at his alma mater, is 0-2 against MSU in Ann Arbor. He may be feeling less heat than counterpart Mark Dantonio, though, whose Spartans (4-5) come in on an ugly four-game losing streak. The Wolverines (7-2) can’t screw this one up, can they? Go Blue, 23-14.

No. 14 Wisconsin (-14) at Nebraska (11 a.m., BTN): Before the Badgers (7-2) can get down to the business of rooting for Iowa to knock off Minnesota, they must handle their own task of beating the Huskers (4-5). Does anybody really need to see this team lose to Ohio State again in Indianapolis? Badgers in an unexpectedly close one.

Wake Forest (+34½) at No. 3 Clemson (2:30 p.m., Ch. 7): Hey, somebody had to be the second-best team in the ACC Atlantic. It turns out it’s the Demon Deacons (7-2), who, unfortunately, are without the services of injured 1,000-yard receiver Sage Surratt. As if Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers (10-0) needed an opening. Champs by 30.

No. 4 Georgia (-3) at No. 12 Auburn (2:30 p.m., Ch. 2): Many regard this as the game of the week in college football. If the Tigers (7-2) play as well as they did in a 23-20 loss at LSU, the Bulldogs (8-1) — playoff position: tenuous at best — will be in big trouble. In a low-scoring game, go with the quarterback who’s been there and done that. Jake Fromm 17, Bo Nix 13.

My favorite favorite: No. 6 Oregon (-26½) vs. Arizona (9:30 p.m., ESPN): Audition season has begun. The playoff selection committee will be watching with great interest. That’s a heck of a motivator for the Ducks.

My favorite underdog: Mississippi (+21½) vs. No. 1 LSU (6 p.m., ESPN): Could anyone draw up a better trap-game scenario than this one, with the Tigers coming off an incredibly emotional win at Alabama? The Rebels won’t pull off the upset, but they’ll throw a real scare into the current “it” team.

Last week: 4-3 straight-up, 3-4 vs. the spread.

Season to date: 54-25 straight-up, 44-34-1 vs. the spread.

THE LOCALS

UMASS AT NORTHWESTERN

The facts: 11 a.m., BTN alternate, 720-AM.

The records: UMass 1-9 (independent); Northwestern 1-8, 0-7 Big Ten.

The storyline: No, there’s no chance — whatsoever — the Wildcats will lose yet another game. Do you see the point spread just below? It’s not a typo. The Minutemen have a defense so wildly terrible, the time has finally come for NU’s offensive players to compete in a football game and actually rather enjoy themselves. What a concept.

The line: Wildcats by 40½.

Greenberg’s pick: Northwestern, 38-7.

NAVY AT NO. 16 NOTRE DAME

The facts: 1:30 p.m., Ch. 5, 1000-AM.

The records: Navy 7-1, 5-1 American; Notre Dame 7-2.

The storyline:This rivalry isn’t as lopsided as it once was, with Navy having managed to go a very respectable 4-8 over the last 12 meetings. As ever when facing the Midshipmen, the triple-option offense takes center stage. Can quarterback Malcolm Perry outmaneuver the Irish defense? One still wonders if the Irish are down a bit now that they’re out of playoff consideration. Motivation never seems to be an issue with the Middies.

The line: Irish by 9.

Greenberg’s pick: Navy, 34-31.