It's tradition around these parts once the Ohio State football season starts. Every year (and every week of the season), we have a little friendly competition among our writers for world domination in picking the Big Ten football games and some of the bigger college football contests once conference play gets into full swing.
Though we never really know, Ohio State, Oregon, and defending College Football Playoff national champion Indiana are getting a lot of national notoriety and look the part (more or less) in Week 1 for Big Ten supremacy. You can't count out other teams like Penn State and USC, but those two and others will have to prove themselves to be taken seriously -- especially Michigan after -- well, you know.
So, just how will Week
2 look as we look to see improvement from all the teams, especially Rutgers, which is the only team to drop a game in the conference? Our writers take turns picking all the games in the League straight up and against the spread for your wagering and reading consumption — do with it as you wish.
As a reminder, if there’s an asterisk next to the pick, that means the team will win, but not cover. If there is a tie, rather than have a cage match or old-fashioned duel, we’ll settle it with less violence and go with the tried-and-true coin flip, where George Washington has the say.
EXAMPLE: If Ohio State is favored -3.5 over Michigan:
If you think Ohio State will win outright and cover: OSU
If you think Ohio State will win, but NOT cover: OSU*
If you think Ohio State will lose: Michigan
Here are our expert picks for Week 2 focusing on the Big Ten games only. As the conference season gets underway, we'll throw in five of the best non-Big Ten games, but that'll come a couple of weeks from now.
Big Ten football picks and predictions for Week 2
Results So Far
Follow Phil Harrison: 15-1 SU, 7-9 ATS
Follow MarkRussell: 15-1 SU, 9-7 ATS
Follow Sunny Verma: 15-1 SU, 8-8 ATS
Follow Alec Lasley: 15-1 SU, 7-9 ATS
CONSENSUS PICK: 15-1 SU, 7-9 ATS
Rutgers at Boston College
Friday, Sept. 11
7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2 (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Boston College -3.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Boston College
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Rutgers
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Boston College
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Boston College*
CONSENSUS PICK | Boston College
Oregon at Oklahoma State
Saturday, Sept. 12
Noon ET | ESPN (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Oregon -22.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Oregon
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Oregon
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Oregon
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Oregon*
CONSENSUS PICK | Oregon
Howard at Indiana
Saturday, Sept. 12
Noon ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Indiana -55.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Indiana
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Indiana
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Indiana
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Indiana
CONSENSUS PICK: Indiana
Oklahoma at Michigan
Saturday, Sept. 12
Noon ET | Fox (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Oklahoma -5.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Oklahoma
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Oklahoma
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Oklahoma
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Oklahoma
CONSENSUS PICK | Oklahoma
Penn State at Temple
Saturday, Sept. 12
Noon ET | ESPN2 (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Penn State -23.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Penn State
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Penn State
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Penn State
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Penn State
CONSENSUS PICK | Penn State
Wake Forest at Purdue
Saturday, Sept. 12
Noon ET | FS1 (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Wake Forest -4
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Purdue
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Purdue
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Wake Forest
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Wake Forest
CONSENSUS PICK | Wake Forest
Utah State at Washington
Saturday, Sept. 12
3:30 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Washington -26.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Washington
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Washington
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Washington
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Washington*
CONSENSUS PICK | Washington
Mississippi State at Minnesota
Saturday, Sept. 12
3:30 p.m. ET | CBS (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Mississippi State -1
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Mississippi State
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Minnesota
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Mississippi State
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Minnesota
CONSENSUS PICK | Mississippi State
Duke at Illinois
Saturday, Sept. 12
3:30 p.m. ET | FS1 (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Illinois -6
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Illinois
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Illinois
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Illinois
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Illinois
CONSENSUS PICK | Illinois
Eastern Michigan at Michigan State
Saturday, Sept. 12
3:30 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Michigan State -17
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Michigan State
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Michigan State
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Michigan State
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Michigan State
CONSENSUS PICK | Michigan State
Maryland at UConn
Saturday, Sept. 12
3:30 p.m. ET | CBSSN (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Maryland -11.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Maryland
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Maryland
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Maryland
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Maryland
CONSENSUS PICK | Maryland
Bowling Green at Nebraska
Saturday, Sept. 12
7:00 p.m. ET | FS1 (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Nebraska -28.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Nebraska
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Nebraska*
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Nebraska
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Nebraska
CONSENSUS PICK | Nebraska
San Diego State at UCLA
Saturday, Sept. 12
7:15 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | UCLA -11.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | UCLA
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | UCLA
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | UCLA
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | UCLA
CONSENSUS PICK | UCLA
Western Illinois at Wisconsin
Saturday, Sept. 12
7:15 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Off
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Wisconsin
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Wisconsin
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Wisconsin
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Wisconsin
CONSENSUS PICK | Wisconsin
Ohio State at Texas
Saturday, Sept. 12
7:30 p.m. ET | ABC (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Texas -1
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Texas
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Ohio State
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Texas
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Ohio State
CONSENSUS PICK | Texas
Iowa State at Iowa
Saturday, Sept. 12
7:30 p.m. ET | NBC (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | Iowa -14.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | Iowa*
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | Iowa*
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | Iowa
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | Iowa*
CONSENSUS PICK | Iowa*
Louisiana at USC
Saturday, Sept. 12
11:00 p.m. ET | Big Ten Network (Stream fuboTV (watch here))
Betting Line | USC -30.5
The Picks:
Phil Harrison (@PhilHarrisonBW) | USC
Mark Russell (@MarkRussell1975) | USC
Sunny Verma (@thesunnyv) | USC
Alec Lasley (@allasley) | USC
CONSENSUS PICK | USC
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Big Ten football expert picks and predictions for Week 2 of CFB
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