| Date | Time | Visiting Team | Home Team | Site | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6 | 12:00 | Western Kentucky | Illinois | Champaign, IL | BTN |
| September 6 | 12:00 | McNeese State | Nebraska | Lincoln, NE | ESPNU |
| September 6 | 12:00 | Akron | Penn State | State College, PA | ABC/ESPN/2 |
| September 6 | 12:00 | Central Michigan | Purdue | West Lafayette, IN | ESPNEWS |
| September 6 | 12:00 | Howard | Rutgers | Piscataway, NJ | BTN |
| September 6 | 12:00 | Western Illinois | Wisconsin | Madison, WI | BTN |
| September 6 | 3:30 | Ball State | Iowa | Iowa City, IA | ESPN2 |
| September 6 | 3:30 | Maryland | South Florida | Tampa, FL | CBSSN |
| September 6 | 3:30 | Middle Tennessee | Minnesota | Minneapolis, MN | BTN |
| September 6 | 3:30 | Northern Illinois | Northwestern | Evanston, IL | BTN |
| September 6 | 6:30 | Michigan State | Oregon | Eugene, OR | FOX |
| September 6 | 7:30 | Michigan | Notre Dame | South Bend, IN | NBC |
| September 6 | 8:00 | Virginia Tech | Ohio State | Columbus, OH | ESPN |
| Bye: Indiana. All times eastern. My picks in bold. |
|||||
My Picks
Week 1: 13-1
Overall: 13-1
Biggest Game
Well there's 3 really. Obviously the big one in South Bend will keep everyone who reads this blog busy Saturday night. But if things aren't going so well for the Maize & Blue, perhaps you'd want to flip over the FOX to see how Sparty is doing in Eugene, or maybe how many touchdowns Virginia Tech is up on Ohio State on ESPN.
You can't go wrong with any of these games. With the rest of the league lining up against MAC schools or similar...its easy to know who to watch this weekend. Unfortunately, all 3 games are on at the same time...way to go Jim Delany!
Upset Alert
Well, I think the Big Ten's lesser games are all pretty vanilla this weekend. Maybe Western Kentucky upsets Illinois. That may be the biggest threat. Maybe Northwestern struggles with Northern Illinois. Maybe Maryland struggles with South Florida. Maybe Penn State struggles with Akron (we know the feeling). Who knows. Aside from Illinois, I don't see any major upset threats on the schedule this week...
Snoozer of the Week
...but I do see a snoozer! McNeese State at Nebraska will be over before the end of the first quarter. Western Illinois at Wisconsin, too.
Bold Predictions
Let's just jump ahead to the big 3.
I think Michigan State - Oregon could be the most entertaining game of the week. I think Oregon wins...but its very close...like they win with a late TD or a field goal. Its strength vs strength and I don't see how this game could disappoint.
Ohio State had a tough time pulling away from Navy a week ago. I don't think thats a great gauge of how good or not good this OSU team is. With a true-freshman QB and a struggling offense against a pretty good defense, that could be the deciding factor in this game. But its at night in Columbus...and that shouldn't be discounted. VT should win...but we'll see how much progress OSU can make in one week.
And for the matchup in South Bend, what else can we say? Its the final meeting between these two storied programs. Its under the lights. Its a statement game and a measuring stick, as always, for both teams. I think this game has the chance to be either a close shootout, or someone pulls away to a comfortable victory. Recent history favors Michigan in this game, and with the suspensions on the Notre Dame side, that could be enough to give Michigan the edge they need.
Stop back Friday for my Michigan prediction in our game preview!
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