Jarek: Look at the bright side, at least I won’t hear about Husker fans complaining about a loss this week. Although it would be nice to get that foul taste out of our mouth from last week.
Rutgers (+5.5) at Minnesota
Jarek: I’m not
sure what to think here. Rutgers with a disappointing home loss to Iowa last Friday, while Minnesota lost to ACC foe Cal. Peej better right the ship, otherwise things could be sinking slowly in Minnesota. I think the Gophers win, but not by much. Minnesota 21 Rutgers 17
Mike: The Goofers are always good for a couple of craptastic performances in September. (checks calendar) Buttgers 27, Goofs 21
Jon: The big key to this game is Minnesota running back Darius Taylor. He is an excellent back, and if he can’t go, then that severely hampers Minnesota’s ability to extend drives and score points, and that’s the reason why they lost to Cal. One would think that Aiden Kaliakmanis would want to show up and kick Minnesota’s ass.
Iowa scored 38 points on Rutgers defense. One would think Minnesota could match that. Minnesota 38, Rutgers 31
Southern Cal (-6.5) at Illinois
Jarek: I have bad news for Illinois fans; Indiana just scored on them again. It’s a good thing the Illini aren’t playing a talented offense this week…oh wait…the Trojans have a pretty darn good offense. USC might be able to move the ball against Bert and Co just as easily as the Hoosiers did. USC 41 Illinois 30
Mike: Cignetti has been lighting up Bert for a full week now. Does that say more about Indiana than it does Illinois? Doesn’t matter, because I think Lincoln Riley smells a dead carcass. SoCal 38, Berts 24
Jon: This is a real interesting game from the standpoint that USC can show that they’re at the top of this conference. And Illinois needs to show that they don’t suck as much as they look like against Indiana. The key here is Illinois staying within their game plan, which includes a lot of running and maintaining clock and maintaining drive. USC has to get Illinois offense off the field. I’ll take USC because I expect this of them. USC 38, Illinois 31
UCLA (+6.5) at Northwestern
Jarek: This game is the proverbial disaster that no one WANTS to watch but just can’t quite take their eyes off of it. This game stinks to high heaven, unless this turns into an unexpected shootout. I believe first one to 14 might win here, which is approaching Iowa under Brian Ferentz territory. Northwestern 17 UCLA 10
Mike: Will BTN show more shots of the lake than there will be points in the game? Hell, I think I’d rather watch three hours of Lake Michigan than this thing. NW 12, UCLA 9
Jon: I’ll probably watch a bit of this game just to see who’s worse. I don’t think either of these programs have much of a chance of being competitive in Big Ten football for the next 10, 15 years. You’re going to have to be able to buy players, and I don’t see that from you. It’s rather sad. UCLA 21, Northwestern 20
Indiana (-8.5) at Iowa
Jarek: Speaking of the Squawks, I hope they get hit by a giant meat tenderizer that is Indiana. Curt Cignetti might tell Kirk Ferentz that his record is safe, but I’m going to try and issue the biggest blowout loss in your tenure. Oh and by the way, if you think Iowa’s schedule has historically sucked, it has! The Hoosiers will be the first ranked team to visit Kinnick since Michigan in 2021. Indiana 44 Iowa (punts more than they score, so punts 14, score 13)
Mike: Curt Cignetti knows how to win. He’s also a rectal exit port. Iowa, who’s yer Daddy? Cigs 37, Squawks 17
Jon: It would be funny to watch Indiana put a beating on Iowa like they did at Illinois. But I have a feeling that Phil Parker’s defense won’t be quite as porous early. It would be really funny to watch Cignetti roast Kirk Ferentz like he has Brett Bielema in this past week. Indiana 41, Iowa 23
Oregon (+3.5) at Penn State
Jarek: They say you get 3 points just for being at home, which means welcome to the coin flip. Oregon having to come ALL THE WAY OUT EAST just to play Penn State in a WHITE OUT. This might not bode well for the Ducks. I’d have to look at the stats for sure, but any B1G team that had to travel 2 time zones or more last year, really struggled (yes I know Nebraska lost to UCLA at home). All of that factors in to a Penn State win. Penn State 34 Oregon 31
Mike: In the B1G title game last year, these two combined for 82 points and 992 yards. As Keith Jackson would say… whoa Nellie. It’s a night game for Penn State, but an afternoon game for Oregon. Not sure that the distance is going to matter much to Oregon, but the noise from a crowd double the size of a capacity Autzen crowd might. Nevertheless, I’m not sure I’m going to buy into a James Franklin team. Ducks 45, Nitts 41
Jon: One of my closest work colleges is the Penn State guy. He is firmly convinced that Penn State will lose every game, every week, forever. Take that times four when it comes to big games. He’s just one of those guys that’s never really positive about his team. He’s been at the top of the Big Ten for God knows how many years.
I’d love to see Penn State win this game just so I could tell them to shut the fuck up and stop being a whiny bastard. Drew Allar is in his 58th year of school and this game is going to go a ways in determining where he falls in the NFL draft.
Can Penn State pull off a big win? I say yes. It’s in Happy Valley. It’s a night game white out. Penn State 48, Oregon 42
