B1G Breakdown: Week 4

A couple of surprises in week 3 threw off my picks. I had faith in Sparty going into South Bend...still having a tough time believing Notre Dame is really that good, although I guess a case could be made for the Irish not having 3 terrible games in a row. I think Michigan State just had an off day...but neither team should be consider "for real".

Ohio State simply just did not show up in South Beach. I wasn't able to watch the game, but the stats tell the story: 4 of 18 for 35 yards passing with 1 pick...for the game! Those are combined stats for both 5th-year senior Joe Bauserman and freshman superstar Braxton Miller. They shared a combined passing efficiency rating of 34.15. I don't care how good or bad Miami is...you won't not beat anyone with passing stats like that.

Illinois (vs Arizona State) was my only loss pick for the week...and they won. So here's to looking ahead to a better week 4!

All games are Saturday 9/24. All times eastern. B1G in CAPS. (Rankings: AP/Coaches)

Western Michigan @ #24/NR ILLINOIS

3:30 PM - BTN

INDIANA @ North Texas

7:00 PM - ESPN3.com

Louisiana-Monroe @ IOWA

12:00 PM - BTN

San Diego State @ #22/21 MICHIGAN

12:00 PM - BTN

Central Michigan @ #NR/23 MICHIGAN STATE

12:00 PM - ESPNU

North Dakota State @ MINNESOTA

7:00 PM - BTN

#9/9 NEBRASKA @ Wyoming

7:30 PM - Versus

Colorado @ OHIO STATE

3:30 PM - ABC/ESPN2

Eastern Michigan @ PENN STATE

12:00 PM - ESPN2

South Dakota @ #6/7 WISCONSIN

3:30 PM - BTN

Biggest "must-watch" games of the week (other than Michigan):
This is a very quiet week for the league in terms of national interest games. The train-wreck that is Ohio State's passing game will be on display to a national audience again this week as they host Colorado. But for my money, I'm more interested in seeing how well two of Michigan's "Baby Seal U" opponents stack up against legit B1G teams. Eastern Michigan travels to Happy Valley for a nooner, while the Broncos of Western Michigan travel to Champaign to battle the suddenly more interesting Fighting Illini.

Upset Alert!
Michigan should be on alert for San Diego State. We're going to dive deeper into this game later this week of course, but it's worth mentioning here. While I doubt Hoke will have his team looking past his former employer to Minnesota in the B1G opener, SDSU will be very eager to spoil the party in Ann Arbor.

Snoozer of the week
Indiana at North Texas. You're going to have to watch this on online since there's no TV coverage in deese here parts...adding an extra step for the casual fan, which frankly is one step too many.

Bold predictions!
I'm a little surprised at how bad Ohio State looked last week. While I didn't watch the game, I was pretty shocked at the stats and the final score. Hard to think a team with that much talent can be so bad. Miami isn't that good. The entire league just feels like a work-in-progress...yes, even you too Wisconsin. No real shocks this week as I think the league rights the ship and goes a perfect 12-0. At least they should. Possible upsets being SDSU over Michigan and Colorado over OSU. But all in all, should be a good week.