Around the Big Ten
Leaving the Illinois game to Jeff, here’s a look around the conference at the other 10 contests, in order of how much I’m looking forward to watching them:
Game of the Week:
Indiana at Western Michigan – Obviously the pick nouveau here is ND at Penn State, but I think this little contest at Kalamazoo will be more exciting, closely matched, and more revealing about the two teams involved than any other contest in the conference this week. WMU was the coaches pick to win the MAC, and this is the perfect kind of challenge for the Hoosiers. Are they improving? Can they beat a solid, experienced football team on the road? Indiana revealed nothing in last week’s stomping of Indiana State, and we didn’t get much about Western Michigan either. So, they couldn’t contain Pat White & Steve Slaton. Big deal, join the club. Indiana could get a really great win for their confidence and resume here. But they won’t. Western Michigan 31, Indiana 26.
Best of the Rest:
Miami OH at Minnesota – The second of the Big Ten vs. MAC battles this year, with a pair of teams on opposite sides of one-point decisions last week. Mike Kokal led the Redhawks to victory at Ball State, and the Gophers defense dug too deep an early hole for Amir Pinnix & Co. to dig from in a 32-31 loss to Bowling Green. Miami isn’t ultimately going to be one of the better MAC teams, and this battle is really more about Minnesota than Miami. I think new Gopher coach Tim Brewster had plenty of bulletin board material this week, and will help this squad focus on using its athletic advantage to beat the Redhawks fairly easily. Minnesota 29, Miami 3
Oregon at Michigan – Do you love or hate being the Ducks right now? Either you’ve got Michigan as vulnerable as it will ever be, down on their luck, licking their wounds, exposed for the top 10 pretender they are, or you’ve got the Wolverines motivated, angry, focused and ready to exert all the forces of the Big House on a visiting victim. Oregon has a fairly weak offensive front, and if Michigan is going to win, domination on the defensive front line is an absolute necessity. Chad Henne and Mike Hart had better lead now, or they’re never going to. Michigan 30, Oregon 24
Ho Hum:
Notre Dame at Penn State – The trendy pick for national game of the week, and I can’t figure out why. ND is just weak; bad quarterbacking, bad line play, weak defense, overrated coaching. Penn State has an astoundingly hard-nosed defense that can absolutely dominate a game like few others will be able to this season. Jimmy Clausen will be in Webster’s next to “baptism by fire” after this week, and Anthony Morelli makes an early case for all Big Ten QB (yep, I said it). Penn State 35, Notre Dame 6
Nevada at Northwestern – The ‘Cats won by 27 in week one, and Nevada lost by 42, but the teams are much closer than that, as evidenced by the 5 point line coming from Vegas. Nevada had no chance going in to Lincoln for a season opener against the Huskers, so this is a season opener of sorts for them. Tyrell Sutton should find holes againt the Wolfpack defense; Nebraska ran for 411 rushing yards, and if Northwestern runs for even half that amount, they’ll win the game. Nevada won by 10 in Reno last year; this time, they won’t have enough weapons. Northwestern 24, Nevada 20
Syracuse at Iowa – The Jake Christensen era continues, now live at Kinnick Stadium, with this clash against the woeful Orangemen. Iowa is great at Kinnick, and seems to get big plays from its defense whenever the offense is struggling. Iowa is 48-11 in the Ferentz era when scoring 20 points or m ore, providing huge potential for a break out season this year, especially with the weak schedule (Iowa misses OSU and Michigan). Albert Young really announces his presence heading in to the Big Ten season, where he might lead the league in rushing. Iowa 34, Syracuse 8
Wisconsin at UNLV – Rematch! UNLV bopped the Badgers from the NCAA Tournament last March, but this is a battle Wisconsin doesn’t need a revenge motivation to win. With Michigan going down, the Badgers are now easily the Big Ten’s top rated team, and with all the other teams possessing big question marks, have to be considered the odds-on favorite to the title. This one’s not going to be that close. Wisconsin keeps getting my doubts, and they prove me wrong every time. When will it end? Not today, I hope. Wisconsin 41, UNLV 21
Boooooring:
Eastern Illinois at Purdue – The Boilers turned a potential thriller (or so I thought) into a snoozer last week in a 28 point win over Toledo. Purdue stays in the snoozers column this week in taking on EIU, who is a solid FCS program, but shouldn’t be able to stay in this. EIU QB Cole Stinson is good; Purdue QB Curtis Painter is better. Painter and the talented and deep Boiler receiving corps should go wild for the second straight week. If they don’t, there’s a problem in West Lafayette. Purdue 51, Eastern Illinois 17
Akron at Ohio State – Big Ten vs. MAC, part 3. State has dominated in-state foes since 1992, winning all 15 matchups by an average 22 point win. Akron kicked things off with a helpful, if not incredibly impressive, 8 point win over Army last week. JD brookhart is one of the MAC’s more underrated coaches, and should have his team peaking upon entering the Horseshoe. After a fairly week outing against Youngstown, look for OSU to pound the ball between the tackles. Yeah, it’ll work. Ohio State 34, Akron 6
Bowling Green at Michigan State – Bowling Green isn’t going to be as good as they looked last Saturday, but neither is Michigan State. If these two teams were on the market, I’d buy selling them right now, because they’re both perceived as highly as they will be all year. Brian Hoyer might make the Spartans better as a signal caller, and that’s rare considering how ridiculously large the Drew Stanton grew at times in East Lansing. There’s going to be an emotional let down here after the enormous Minnesota win, and it doesn’t help that MSU is just better. – Michigan State 44, Bowling Green 10
No comments:
Post a Comment