Blog Ten Cheat Sheet – Week 6

Blog Ten Cheat Sheet is Blog Ten’s weekly look at all the Big Ten’s games this weekend for those of you who may be so inclined as to place a wager on the outcome of each game.

All times Central

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my cousin Jenny for scheduling her wedding tomorrow afternoon at 3pm.  This will allow me to see the opening kickoff of Ohio State and Wisconsin before I begrudgingly drag myself out the door to head to the ceremony.

So thanks, Jenny.

Don’t be upset if I spend the entire wedding checking my phone.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Ohio State (-16) vs. Wisconsin – 2:30pm ABC - The Badgers have been one of the bigger surprises in the Big Ten this season thanks to their 5-0 start, but even though they’ve played some tough teams, they haven’t had a test quite as difficult as the one they face this weekend.  As you can see by the spread, the odds makers don’t like their chances very much.  I’m not so sure myself.  The Buckeyes are the best team all around in the conference and they are at home.  Of course, considering all their conference losses have come at home in the last few years, I’m not sure if that helps or hurts the Badgers.  In the end though, as impressive as Wisconsin has looked at times, I have a hard time believing they’re going to go to Columbus and get a win.  The Buckeyes are just too strong.  I think it’ll be close though.  FINAL SCORE: Ohio State 27  Wisconsin 21

Penn State (Off) vs. Eastern Illinois – 11am ESPN Classic - Hey look!  The Nittany Lions have scheduled a bye week this weekend!  Do I really need to break this one down?  FINAL SCORE: Penn State 35  Eastern Illinois 3

Northwestern (-18.5) vs. Miami (OH) – 11am BTN - Here’s the question I have for this game?  Which Northwestern team shows up?  Will it be the one that we saw the first 4.5 weeks of the season that couldn’t stop anybody from scoring when they needed to, or the one that played in the second half of the Purdue game and forced six turnovers?  Well, here’s a hint.  The Redhawks have turned the ball over more times (18) than any other team in the country.  Still, that 18.5 is a lot of points.  FINAL SCORE: Northwestern 34  Miami 17

Minnesota (-3) vs. Purdue – 11am ESPN2 - You couldn’t tell by looking at their record, but in reality Purdue’s pass defense hasn’t been too bad this season.  In fact, it’s actually been pretty good.  They’re ranked 29th in the nation in pass efficiency defense by Phil Steele, and I think that helps them against the Gophers this week as they try to keep Eric Decker in check.  Of course, whether anybody can actually do that, I’m not sure.  What worries me is whether or not the Boilermakers will be able to stop the Minnesota run game.  Now the Gophers are ranked 100th in the country in rushing offense, but they haven’t faced a run defense as porous as Purdue’s yet.  So I have a feeling Duane Bennett and DeLeon Eskridge have their best games of the season.  FINAL SCORE: Minnesota 27  Purdue 20

Illinois vs. Michigan State (-3.5) – 11am BTN - So the Spartans are coming off of a huge win against Michigan last weekend and now they’re heading to Champaign to take on an Illinois team that has a new quarterback under center and a defense that can’t keep anybody out of the end zone.  The Spartans defense looked the best I’ve seen it since opening weekend and I have a feeling they’re going to carry that into this week as well, which isn’t good news for Eddie McGee and an Illinois offense that is yet to find a foothold.  I get a feeling the Spartans continue to turn their season around on Saturday morning while Illinois’ just continues it’s slow and painful death.  FINAL SCORE: Michigan State 35  Illinois 17

Virginia (-7) vs. Indiana – 2:30pm ESPN360.com - I haven’t the slightest clue what to expect in this game.  Indiana came back to earth last weekend against Ohio State, but they’re taking on a Virginia team in Charlottesville that I don’t know what we’re going to get from.  Will it be the Cavalier team that lost its first three games of the season to William & Mary (!), TCU and Southern Miss?  Or the team that showed up to beat North Carolina last weekend?  The reason I lean towards Indiana though is that I think Ben Chappell and Tandon Doss can combine to make some plays against this Virginia secondary, and the Cavs are one of the worst rushing offenses in college football.  That’s not a good thing when your offensive line has surrendered more sacks than anybody and you’re going against a defense that has two defensive ends as strong as Jammie Kirlew and Greg Middleton.  FINAL SCORE: Indiana 21  Virginia 17

Iowa (-8) vs. Michigan – 7pm ABC – This game finished a close second in trying to decide what the game of the week was, but since Michigan already has a conference loss, I went with the two unbeatens.  Of course, this still has the makings of a great game.  I’m very interested in seeing how Tate Forcier handles himself against an Iowa defense that is easily the toughest unit he’s faced all season.  I’m also interested in seeing Ricky Stanzi against a Michigan defense that hasn’t been able to stop teams when they need to.  This is going to be a close one, and as is the case in any Iowa game, 8 points is an awful lot to be giving up.  I think the Hawkeyes win another close one thanks to a late interception by Tyler Sash as the Wolverines attempt another fourth quarter comeback.  FINAL SCORE: Iowa 21  Michigan 17

Season Results

Straight Up: 31-13 (3-3 last week)

ATS: 17-21 (2-4 last week)

Man, that’s two rough weeks in a row for me.  I need to get back on track this week.

Oh, and Jenny?  I’m only kidding.  I won’t be coming to the wedding begrudgingly.  That’s never the case when there’s an open bar.  I’m just hoping it has a television in it as well.