Blog Ten Cheat Sheet – Week 8
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
Sorry about the lack of posting the last two days, but between the real world job and covering the MLB playoffs over at FanHouse, I didn’t have much time to write anywhere else. I’m here today though, and that means I’m back just in time to make bad picks on what’s going to happen during this Saturday’s games.
Hopefully I can rebound from a bad week, for which I place the entirety of the blame on Ohio State. Had they beaten Purdue like they were supposed to, all of my other wrong picks would have magically been right as well. Thanks a lot, Terrelle Pryor.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Michigan State (-1.5) vs. Iowa – 6pm BTN - So last week I finally went ahead and picked against Iowa, and for the first half of their game against Wisconsin, I thought I was going to be right. Then the second half started, and well, Iowa is still undefeated at 7-0. Things don’t get any easier this week though as they head to East Lansing to take on a Spartans team that has won their last three. I’m predicting a defensive struggle on Saturday night, but I think in the end, the Hawkeyes have more playmakers on their offense than Michigan State does. So the Hawkeyes will move to 8-0. FINAL SCORE: Iowa 21 Michigan State 17
Northwestern (-5) vs. Indiana – 11am BTN - I think this game could end up being pretty interesting, as both of these teams have a lot in common. Neither offense provides much of a run threat, basically leaving it all in the hands of quarterbacks Mike Kafka and Ben Chappell. On defense, neither team has been great, but the Wildcats are slightly better. At least, that’s what the number say. I’m expecting the touchdowns to fly in Evanston on Saturday morning — though it may be raining — and I think the Wildcats will end up pulling out the victory. FINAL SCORE: Northwestern 35 Indiana 31
Ohio State (-16.5) vs. Minnesota – 11am ESPN - Now this game is somewhat difficult to call. Not in as far as who is going to win, because even with last week’s loss to Purdue, I’m still confident that the Buckeyes will take care of Minnesota at home. I’m also fairly sure that the Buckeyes will keep a Minnesota offense that was just shut out by Penn State in check. No, what I’m trying to figure out is whether I want to give up 16.5 points with the Buckeyes offense. In order to cover that spread I think the Buckeyes will need at least one touchdown on defense and special teams, which is entirely possible, but just to be safe I’ll take the points. FINAL SCORE: Ohio State 24 Minnesota 14
Purdue (-11) vs. Illinois – 11am ESPN2 - This one could get pretty ugly, provided that the Boilermakers hold on to the ball for a second straight week. The Boilermakers’ strength on offense is putting the ball in Joey Elliott’s hands and letting him fling it all over the field. The weakness of Illinois’ defense, which has many weaknesses so it’s hard to choose just one, is it’s pass defense. I don’t see Purdue suffering any kind of let down on Saturday. FINAL SCORE: Purdue 31 Illinois 17
Michigan vs. Penn State (-4) – 2:30pm ABC - We saw the struggles that Tate Forcier had against the Iowa Hawkeyes defense a few weeks ago, and this week he’s facing a defense that according to the numbers has been even better than that one. Penn State’s had a lot of problems in Ann Arbor over the last few years, but I think their defense is going to turn things around on Saturday. The Nittany Lions won’t have Stephfon Green, which means we should expect a heavy dose of Evan Royster and the Nittany Lions record will improve to 10-0 when he rushes for 100 yards. FINAL SCORE: Penn State 28 Michigan 20
Season Results
Straight Up: 40-17 (3-3 last week)
ATS: 23-26 (2-3 last week)
