Around the Big Ten

[Dr. Strangelove]

They lost to Maryland. They have to beat PSU (lot taller order).

Oops, mea culpa. They have Rutgers, Indiana, PSU. Was thinking Maryland for some reason.

[Hannibal]

I know that they just got a big win, but IMHO Rutgers and Indiana won’t be gimmies for them.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Sparty may have found something to rally around - get some respect. Right now their rep, along with Tucker's, is in the shitter. If the suspensions of the worst offenders (and I think those guys are identifiable) turn into dismissals, that will go a long way in riding some cancers. Criminal charges on the two that actually landed blows and an aggressive prosecution presents an opportunity for maximum accountability.

I think the principals from MSU, including Tucker, have been sincere. I have to respect Tucker for keeping the team focused and winning in Champaign. It's also a credit to the leadership on the team that they didn't implode. Fans can hang on to hating anything to do with MSU, I get that. I won't be among those fans. Let it go, move on.

[Cody_Russell]

Purdue vs Illinois.
I think this is the best noon game this weekend. Perhaps one of LSU vs Arkansas or Mizzou vs Tennessee will be closer than anticipated. Outside of that scenario, Purdue vs Illinois it is at the noon slot. It’s still an important game for the Big Ten West division winner. If Illinois loses, they could realistically lose 3 games in a row with M up next. I like Purdue when they’re an underdog. Keep the dream alive, Boilers!

Side note: I’m getting annoyed that M’s game is always being scheduled when there’s another better game on. For example, Bama vs Ole Miss is the 2nd best college football game this weekend. Stupid schedule makers. Nebraska vs M at noon would have been perfect!

[THE_WIZARD_]

Nebraska vs M at noon would have been perfect!

Nebraska vs M cancelled would have been perfect.

[iam416]

A little better last week. 4-3 in conference and 2-1 for wildcards. That brings me to 35-37-1 and 19-11.


Purdue (+6') at Illinois. Everything tells me to bet against Purdue, but this seems like a spot where they might actually cover. Illinois is not Iowa on defense. And their offense is still one-dimensional. Purdue has issues all over. It'll be a cold, gross day in Champaign, so I'm going to go with low-scoring. I think Purdue does enough to cover. Illinois wins 16-13.

Michigan State (-9') vs Rutgers. I hadn't appreciated how much worse Rutgers is with the new QB. I mean, they went from bad to really bad. They still play some defense, but scoring his a huge issue for them and they can't really attack Sparty's glaring weakness. Sparty probably isn't as bad as folks think. I'll say this goes a lot like the Rutgers trip to the Twin Cities, and Coach Tucker gets the win, 24-10.

Indiana (+40) at Ohio State. Under even decent conditions I'd back Ohio State all day. Indiana is terrible. I mean terrible. Ohio State is not. But, Saturday is going to blustery and cold. Not anywhere close to the horrific shit they played in last week, but not good. It'll be enough to slow down Ohio State's offense, and Indiana will manage to score a little more than they should. Ohio State wins, but only 38-10.

Iowa (-1') vs Wisconsin. Graham Mertz is still awful. Iowa still plays good defense. I'm not going to try to figure out where points come from, but Iowa has actually been scoring a little over the past few weeks. I'll say Iowa wins 17-13.

Michigan (-30') vs Nebraska. UNL is a bad team with Casey Thompson. Without him they are Fetterman-level invalids. That may be good enough to beat The OZ!!!!! but certainly not HARBAUGH!!!! This is another epic beatdown. I'll say HARBAUGH!!!! wins 52-7. Not sure how UNL gets 7, but M is at home so they'll dress walk-ons and those guys may play.

Northwestern (+17') at Minnesota. I've given up on picking Goofer games. I just get them wrong. I'd expect nFw to squeeze the field and keep Ibrahim relatively in check and somehow manage to get a score or two and only lose 24-10. I'm sure what will actually happen is Ibrahim rushes for 400 and the Goofer wins 77-0. Whatever.

Penn State (-10') vs Maryland. I think Penn State is fairly decent. I think Maryland is meh. I think there will be weather issues that will only help Penn State. I actually think this is a blowout. Penn State wins 31-10.

Wildcards:

Arkansas (+4) vs Lousiana State. I dunno. I don't LSU is THAT good. Then again, Arky just lost to Liberty. So...this will not be my best pick.
Tennessee (-20') vs Missouri. I like Tennessee to bounce back to form. No, they won't be playing Whorehouse Golding, but they also won't be playing Kirby. I think they'll in the 40s and that'll be enough.
San Jose State (-2') at San Diego State. Dangeous to venture into the MWC shitfest, but I sort of think San Jose is decent and I think the Aztecs are meh. Maybe the defense holds them in this, but I like the Spartans by at least 10.

[lineygoblue]

I don't think M gets into the 50's unless the Huskerz just totally lay down. Corum is not 100% and Harbaugh may hold him out as a precaution, or at least drastically cut down on his participation. I'd expect to see a lot of Edwards and whomever is backing him up. If Frosty was still there, I'd expect to see Harbaugh kick some dirt on his grave, but I don't think he'll run up the score deliberately.

The Huskers could surprise, I suppose. Its college football and very strange things can happen. Especially if a team is looking ahead.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Pffffft. unl is a fucking shitshow WITH CT...and without they are a clusterfuck. Take your pick. I'll say unl gets a couple of FG's...meanwhile HARBAUGH!!!!!!! lays the Biden like BOOM on the DeFrosted Flakes...

HARBAUGH!!!!!!! 56 unl 6

[Cody_Russell]

If Corum isn’t 100%, please sit him until he’s fully healthy or the Ohio State game. Who cares about the Heisman. Irrelevant.

No need for more wear and tear for Corum vs Nebraska.

[THE_WIZARD_]

HARBAUGH!!!!!!! JV SQUAD 49 unl 9

[iam416]

Liney could start at RB tomorrow and they’d still win by 35.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Well let's not push it...

[WingsFan]

Michigan is banged up - 3 of the OL starters are hurt along with the 2 best offensive players Heisman Blake/Roman Wilson. Don't know how much if Blake even plays at all, look for Edwards to take the bulk of carries and some catches.


I watched a lot of interviews last night. The theme over and over is to get healthy for Ohio State.

Nebraska was hardly even talked about.

[THE_WIZARD_]

It's practically a bye week for HARBAUGH!!!!!!!

[Jeff Buchanan]

Game day weather is the usual crap shoot - best advice is to look out the window. There's a cold front that ill pass through SE MI tonight ending the warm spell Ann Arbor has enjoyed this week, By Sunday, highs will struggle to reach 40. Uncertainty exists for late PM Saturday weather into Saturday evening. Temps will drop rapidly through Saturday with gusty winds abating later in the day. The unknown is how far west the residual moisture be dragged up north as from Nicole' track along the eastern seaboard. If that moisture sneaks in to SE MI, it will produce lake effect and snow mixed with rain showers. I don't think that will affect AA. Detroit? Yes. Best guess is that it will be cloudy, breezy and cold at KO with winds easing throughout the first half. mid to low 40s with winds starting out at 15 and dropping below 10. So, not awful. c-bus will be awful as talent reports above. My prediction will be in the pre-game thread.