Big Ten Games for September 8th

Even though Michigan lost to ASU, I posted a 9-2 record last week making my overall record for Big Ten games 9-2. This week all 11 teams are in action against out of conference teams. Miami (OH) at Minnesota - The Gophers struggled and ended up losing last week by a point to Bowling Green. Pinnix had a nice day running for 168 yards. Minnesota scored 24 points in the 4th quarter to come up short. This week they play at home again against Miami (OH). I think the Gophers have their act together and should continue the momentum they had at the end of the game last week. Minnesota 27-19 Akron at Ohio State - The Buckeyes made short work of Youngstown State and in his first start Boeckman had 225 yards passing. This week should be no different for Ohio State. Akron will have a little more offensive power than the Penguins did last week, but no where near enough to compete with the Buckeyes. Ohio State 40-10 Eastern Illinois at Purdue - The Boilermakers are making a case for being the best offensive team in the Big Ten by putting up 52 points against Toledo. Curtis Painter had another good day and that should continue on to week 2. Defensive the Boilermakers need some work, but they should be able to work out some kinks. Purdue 48-13 Nevada at Northwestern - Pat Fitzgerald started his second season with a bang, shutting out Northeastern 27-0. This week they play a Wolfpack team that runs the Pistol offense. If you like the spread offense, you'll like watching this game. Tyrell Sutton will have a big day for the Wildcats and they will control the ball to win a close one. Northwestern 24-20 Bowling Green at Michigan State - As stated earlier, Bowling Green held off Minnesota to win their first game. Michigan State really surprised me by beating the tar out of UAB 55-18. The Spartans had almost 600 yards on offense, and I think they can do around 450 this week. Bowling Green is no push over but they are going through a bit of rebuilding phase. Jehuu Caulcrick will rush for over a 100 yards in a Spartan victory. Michigan State 28-17 Indiana at Western Michigan - Western Michigan took a thumping at the hands of West Virginia last week. Indiana is no West Virginia, but they do have a talented QB in Kellen Lewis who lead the team in both passing and rushing against Indiana State. The Hoosiers should get win #2, but it'll be a little tougher than last week. Indiana 31-20 Western Illinois at Illinois - The Illini came withing an eyelash of pulling the upset at home against Missouri last week. Juice Williams was hurt and did not play in most of the game, but this week he will be back. Illinois is an up and coming team in the Big Ten and they will flex their muscles this week against their state rival. Illinois 44-14 Syracuse at Iowa - Iowa had a tough time beating Northern Illinois last week, but they did hold the Huskies to 3 points. Syracuse on the other hand, looked atrocious at home against the Washington Huskies. Albert Young had a big game last week and will continue that into this week against the Orange. Young runs for 125 yards, Hawkeyes win. Iowa 30-3 Wisconsin at UNLV - The Badgers struggled early but in the end had a comfortable victory against the Washington State Cougars. Tyler Donovan, not PJ Hill was the star for Wisconsin as he threw for 284 yards and 3 TDs in his first start. UNLV is tough upfront but Wisconsin will be able to confuse them with a mix of pass and run. Wisconsin 39-11 Notre Dame at Penn State - Penn State looked extremely fast on defense and their offense click, winning 59-0 against Florida International. On the other hand, Notre Dame could not do anything right against Georgia Tech losing 33-3 at home. The 3 Irish QBs were sacked a combined 8 times in the game. The Nittany Lions are looking for revenge for being embarassed last season in South Bend. Freshman QB Jimmy Clausen gets his first ever start and takes his unbeaten streak into one of the most hostile places in the country. Sorry Mr. Clausen, you will get your first ever loss as a starter. Penn State 37-9 Oregon at Michigan - We cannot say anything more that hasn't been said about Michigan's loss to Appalachian State. It is up to the leaders of this team, Michael Hart, Chad Henne, and Jake Long, to get this team refocused. They can still win the Big Ten title and go to a BCS Bowl game. Oregon has the recipe for disaster for beating the Wolverines, a mobile quarterback in Dennis Dixon. Dixon has had games where he is turnover prone. The Ducks are a good team, but I have seen the this before with the Wolverines. Two seasons ago they were 3-3 when Penn State came to town, the Wolverines came together and won the game when no one thought they would. Michigan 31-27