dhow
Well-Known Member
Was bored at work today so I did my best impression of Adam Rittenberg
Indiana @ Northwestern - 11 AM, BTN
Here you have two spread offenses and two subpar defenses, so this game could be fun to watch. Indiana WR Tandon Doss has been a bright spot this year for the Hoosiers and QB Ben Chappell had quite the game (but then again, who doesn't) last week against the woeful Illini. Northwestern QB Mike Kafka is a gifted athlete and has been known to have breakout games through the air and on the ground. Both these teams need this win to become one win shy of bowl eligibility as each face stiff competition throughout the rest of conference play. Indiana faces ranked teams in Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn state before closing out at home against Purdue. Northwestern also faces Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State with a road game in Champaign sprinkled in between. I look for Doss and Chappell to be successful but I believe the difference will be the dual-threat attack of Kafka and the Wildcats. Indiana is very susceptible to the run and I think Kafka and the Wildcat backs will take advantage. Doss will get his yards but i believe Northwestern WR's Zeke Markshausen and Andrew Brewer will have even more success as Markshausen will get the Cats up and down the field and Kafka will look to Brewer in the red zone. I see the Wildcats winning and going on to beat Illinois for that all important 6th W, leaving Indiana out of bowl season yet again.
Prediction - Northwestern 34 Indiana 28
Minnesota @ #19 Ohio State - 11 AM, ESPN/360
I still can't describe how I feel about what took place in West Lafayette on Saturday. Elite teams must go on the road and win at bottom tier Big Ten teams like Purdue. Maybe Ohio State is just who we thought they were - overrated and just not that great yet. OSU QB Terrelle Pryor has had his moments but still has yet to really come even close to reaching his potential. However, with that being said, I still wouldn't want to be Minnesota and have to travel to The Shoe this week. The Gophers are still thawing out from a cold drubbing in Happy Valley in which they failed to get on the scoreboard. As bad as the Buckeyes looked last week, I can't see a similar performance happening this week. The Buckeyes should roll as the Gophers could be looking at another road shutout at the hands of S Kurt Coleman and company. QB Adam Weber and WR Eric Decker need to shine for the Gophers to have any shot.
Prediction - Ohio State 27 Minnesota 9
Illinois @ Purdue - 11 AM, ESPN2/360
It's truly amazing how far Illinois has fallen the last two seasons. There's really nothing good that can be said about them right now. On the other hand, Purdue just dominated a top 10 team at home. The Illini have a decent running game and Purdue is one of the worst in the conference against the run. If Zook can get something going early in that department, they could be successful. Illini QB Juice Williams has been overly disappointing whereas Purdue QB Joey Elliott is having a fine season for the Boilermakers. If the Boilermaker offense is clicking, it's going to be a long day for the Fighting Illini. I think Elliott throws for 300+ and 2 TD and Zook continues his downward spiral towardshaving to look for a new job.
Prediction - Purdue 24 Illinois 14
#13 Penn State @ Michigan - 2:30 PM, ABC/ESPN
Even though it's their 8th game of the season, this will only be Penn State's 2nd road game of the year, their first one being in Champaign. Does that really even count as a true road game this year? So, how will the Nittany Lions fare at the Big House? It will help that Michigan is not great at defending the pass, so QB Daryll Clark could be in for a big day. This game figures to be the most exciting to watch as it features the top two Big Ten offenses in terms of both scoring and yardage. Michigan needs to be successful on the ground against a tough PSU defense. Penn State would like to avoid that and make the Wolverines one-dimensional and force true freshman QB's Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson to beat them through the air. I think both offenses will have a lot of success but I think when it comes down to it, the better defense will make the plays when needed to get stops, and that is Penn State. Clark throws for three scores and RB Evan Royster finds the endzone as well for the Nittany Lions.
Prediction - Penn State 35 Michigan 27
#6 Iowa @ Michigan State - 6 PM, BTN
This could be the biggest conference game of the year so far with the winner being in good position for a trip to Pasadena. Let's not go any further than that right now. This battle matches up the top passing offense in the conference in Michigan State and arguably the best passing defense in Iowa, which has 15 interceptions so far through seven games. MSU QB Kirk Cousins has been a pleasant surprise this year, leading the Big Ten in pass efficiency so far. On the other side, Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi is coming on and looks to finish the season strong after a Jekyll and Hyde start to the season. When Stanzi is on and avoiding mistakes, this offense can be very efficient. Last week, Stanzi had probably the best game of his career, minus one costly fumbled that Wisconsin couldn't capitalize on. On the ground for the Spartans, the 1-2 punch of RB's Glenn Winston and Larry Caper is now just the Larry Caper show as Winston is out for the year with a wrist injury. Iowa also has their own 1-2 punch with the freshman RB duo Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher. Wegher is rumored to be nursing a minor hand injury but should be good to go. It's hard to tell how Saturday night will go in East Lansing, but if the Hawkeyes stick to their ways, it should be another low-scoring W coming back to Iowa City. I think Cousins will have a pretty solid first half, but as always, but Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and defensive coordinator Norm Parker have shown the ability to make halftime adjustments and dominate the second half on the defensive side of the ball. With a win, Iowa would stay the lone unbeaten in the conference controlling their own destiny setting up a possible showdown in Columbus. If Michigan State wins, they'll also be in good shape sitting tied atop the conference, avoiding Ohio State altogether this year and getting Penn State at home to end the season. I will take Iowa, with their D and their ability to find ways to win, to get yet another conference road win and improve to 8-0.
Prediction - Iowa 24 Michigan State 17
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Indiana @ Northwestern - 11 AM, BTN
Here you have two spread offenses and two subpar defenses, so this game could be fun to watch. Indiana WR Tandon Doss has been a bright spot this year for the Hoosiers and QB Ben Chappell had quite the game (but then again, who doesn't) last week against the woeful Illini. Northwestern QB Mike Kafka is a gifted athlete and has been known to have breakout games through the air and on the ground. Both these teams need this win to become one win shy of bowl eligibility as each face stiff competition throughout the rest of conference play. Indiana faces ranked teams in Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn state before closing out at home against Purdue. Northwestern also faces Iowa, Wisconsin and Penn State with a road game in Champaign sprinkled in between. I look for Doss and Chappell to be successful but I believe the difference will be the dual-threat attack of Kafka and the Wildcats. Indiana is very susceptible to the run and I think Kafka and the Wildcat backs will take advantage. Doss will get his yards but i believe Northwestern WR's Zeke Markshausen and Andrew Brewer will have even more success as Markshausen will get the Cats up and down the field and Kafka will look to Brewer in the red zone. I see the Wildcats winning and going on to beat Illinois for that all important 6th W, leaving Indiana out of bowl season yet again.
Prediction - Northwestern 34 Indiana 28
Minnesota @ #19 Ohio State - 11 AM, ESPN/360
I still can't describe how I feel about what took place in West Lafayette on Saturday. Elite teams must go on the road and win at bottom tier Big Ten teams like Purdue. Maybe Ohio State is just who we thought they were - overrated and just not that great yet. OSU QB Terrelle Pryor has had his moments but still has yet to really come even close to reaching his potential. However, with that being said, I still wouldn't want to be Minnesota and have to travel to The Shoe this week. The Gophers are still thawing out from a cold drubbing in Happy Valley in which they failed to get on the scoreboard. As bad as the Buckeyes looked last week, I can't see a similar performance happening this week. The Buckeyes should roll as the Gophers could be looking at another road shutout at the hands of S Kurt Coleman and company. QB Adam Weber and WR Eric Decker need to shine for the Gophers to have any shot.
Prediction - Ohio State 27 Minnesota 9
Illinois @ Purdue - 11 AM, ESPN2/360
It's truly amazing how far Illinois has fallen the last two seasons. There's really nothing good that can be said about them right now. On the other hand, Purdue just dominated a top 10 team at home. The Illini have a decent running game and Purdue is one of the worst in the conference against the run. If Zook can get something going early in that department, they could be successful. Illini QB Juice Williams has been overly disappointing whereas Purdue QB Joey Elliott is having a fine season for the Boilermakers. If the Boilermaker offense is clicking, it's going to be a long day for the Fighting Illini. I think Elliott throws for 300+ and 2 TD and Zook continues his downward spiral towardshaving to look for a new job.
Prediction - Purdue 24 Illinois 14
#13 Penn State @ Michigan - 2:30 PM, ABC/ESPN
Even though it's their 8th game of the season, this will only be Penn State's 2nd road game of the year, their first one being in Champaign. Does that really even count as a true road game this year? So, how will the Nittany Lions fare at the Big House? It will help that Michigan is not great at defending the pass, so QB Daryll Clark could be in for a big day. This game figures to be the most exciting to watch as it features the top two Big Ten offenses in terms of both scoring and yardage. Michigan needs to be successful on the ground against a tough PSU defense. Penn State would like to avoid that and make the Wolverines one-dimensional and force true freshman QB's Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson to beat them through the air. I think both offenses will have a lot of success but I think when it comes down to it, the better defense will make the plays when needed to get stops, and that is Penn State. Clark throws for three scores and RB Evan Royster finds the endzone as well for the Nittany Lions.
Prediction - Penn State 35 Michigan 27
#6 Iowa @ Michigan State - 6 PM, BTN
This could be the biggest conference game of the year so far with the winner being in good position for a trip to Pasadena. Let's not go any further than that right now. This battle matches up the top passing offense in the conference in Michigan State and arguably the best passing defense in Iowa, which has 15 interceptions so far through seven games. MSU QB Kirk Cousins has been a pleasant surprise this year, leading the Big Ten in pass efficiency so far. On the other side, Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi is coming on and looks to finish the season strong after a Jekyll and Hyde start to the season. When Stanzi is on and avoiding mistakes, this offense can be very efficient. Last week, Stanzi had probably the best game of his career, minus one costly fumbled that Wisconsin couldn't capitalize on. On the ground for the Spartans, the 1-2 punch of RB's Glenn Winston and Larry Caper is now just the Larry Caper show as Winston is out for the year with a wrist injury. Iowa also has their own 1-2 punch with the freshman RB duo Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher. Wegher is rumored to be nursing a minor hand injury but should be good to go. It's hard to tell how Saturday night will go in East Lansing, but if the Hawkeyes stick to their ways, it should be another low-scoring W coming back to Iowa City. I think Cousins will have a pretty solid first half, but as always, but Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and defensive coordinator Norm Parker have shown the ability to make halftime adjustments and dominate the second half on the defensive side of the ball. With a win, Iowa would stay the lone unbeaten in the conference controlling their own destiny setting up a possible showdown in Columbus. If Michigan State wins, they'll also be in good shape sitting tied atop the conference, avoiding Ohio State altogether this year and getting Penn State at home to end the season. I will take Iowa, with their D and their ability to find ways to win, to get yet another conference road win and improve to 8-0.
Prediction - Iowa 24 Michigan State 17
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