Written by In The Bleachers
| 19 September 2008
Conference play starts next week for most of the teams so this is the last week for many of the bottom feeders to pad their wins. It will be interesting to see how Ohio State bounces back from their loss last week. The two key games on this week's schedule are Iowa at Pittsburgh and Notre Dame at Michigan State. Those are two games you should watch.
Ohio at Northwestern -
Big Ten Network 12pm - With a win, the Northwestern Wildcats will only be 2 wins away from bowl eligibility. They have used a balanced offensive attack and a solid defense that only given up a little more than 12 points per game. Their opponents, the Ohio Bobcats, gave Ohio State a scare a few weeks ago, but have yet to win a game. This will not be a cakewalk for the Wildcats. The issue going on with the Bobcats is the ability to get consistant play from their quarterbacks Boo Jackson and Theo Scott. The two have combined to throw 4 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in the first 3 games. On the flip side, CJ Bacher and Tyrell Sutton are a good one two punch. Ohio's defense will keep this game close, but in the end Northwestern gets the win.
Northwestern 24-18
Florida Atlantic at Minnesota -
Big Ten Network 12pm - If you are a Golden Gopher fan, you have to be elated so far this season. Minnesota has tripled their win total of 2007, Adam Weber has 6 touchdowns while competing passes close to 70% of the time, and Eric Decker is becoming a real threat at wide receiver. For the Owls of Florida Atlantic, spirts are not as high. In week one they lost to Texas 52-10, and remember before the game Coach Schnellenberger ran his mouth about how they were going to challenge Texas, and last week they got shut out 17-0 by Michigan State. Quarterback Rusty Smith has been struggling and isn't even completing 50% of his passes. The Owls gave up a ton of yards on the ground to the Spartans, but lucky for them, Minnesota's ground game is not where near the quality of Michigan State. FAU is going to have trouble containing Weber, and Minnesota has just enough of a rushing game to keep the Owls off balance. Gophers get to 4-0 with a win.
Minnesota 27-20
Troy at Ohio State -
Big Ten Network 12pm - There really isn't much more to say about Ohio State than has already been said. They were exposed against USC, and without Beanie Wells, they really need to find a threat on the ground. Insert freshman Quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Pryor has taken more than half the snaps in practice this week and will split time with Boeckman at quarterback. It wasn't just the offense that was exposed against the Trojans, but the Buckeyes' defense needs work too. They will get it this week when Troy brings in the 10th rated offense in the country. All of those yards came against the likes of Middle Tennessee State and Alcorn State. The Troy Trojans know how to beat tough opponents, but this week I think the Buckeyes are just too talent to let these Trojans beat them.
Ohio State 31-16
Temple at Penn State -
Big Ten Network 12pm - I should get a few laughs when I make this next statement: the Temple Owls will be Penn State's toughest test to date. Temple is much improved even though their record does not show it. They lost two close games to Connecticut in overtime, and on a last second hailmary pass against Buffalo last week. Penn State has just rolled over their opponents both offensively and defensively. They are 8th in the country, averaging close to 540 yards per game and quarterbacks Darryl Clark and Pat Devlin have combined for 7 touchdowns, 737 yards passing, and no interceptions. On the ground Evan Royster is averaging 8 yards every time he touches the ball. At wideout, both Jordan Norwood and Deon Butler are coming off a 100 yard game against Syracuse. Even though this will be their toughest test, the score will not be close. The Nittany Lions win easy and gear up for their Big Ten opener against Illinois.
Penn State 45-14
Iowa at Pittsburgh -
ESPN2 12pm - This should be the best game of the week as far as the Big Ten games are concerned. The Hawkeyes take their defense, which has only given up 8 total points this year, to Pittsburgh. The Panthers have strugged a bit on offense only scoring 44 total points against the likes of Buffalo and Bowling Green. LeSean McCoy is the cornerstone of their offense, but is going through a bit of a sophomore slump because he can't find any running room behind Pitt's offensive line. Iowa on the other hand is looking for consistent play from their quarterbacks. Both Ricky Stanzi and Jake Christensen have played this year, but neither have been consistent enough to become the full time starter. The key match up in this game will be Iowa's defensive line against Pitt's offensive line. Bill Stull has had issues throwing the ball down field and some question his arm strength, so for Pitt to be successful they are going to have to control the clock with McCoy. I think Iowa, although a little unproven, is better in the trenches and will use that decided advantage to win a close one.
Iowa 19-16
Central Michigan at Purdue -
Big Ten Network 12pm - For the third time in a calender year, the Boilermakers will face the Chippewas. Central Michigan's quarterback Dan LeFevour was Mr. All-Everything for them last year, but it seems teams have found a way to slow him down. He is not nearly effective on the ground, but he is still efficient passing the ball. Purdue lost a heart breaker last week to Oregon at home. In that game the Boilermakers were leading 20-3 in the second half, but couldn't hold on to win, losing in overtime. Even with the loss, Purdue showed that they can play with the upper tier of teams in the country. Unlike in years past, they have developed a running game with Kory Sheets, and now all they need is Curtis Painter to get back to form and the Boilermakers will start rolling. I think that begins this week. The previous two games between these schools were close, but I think Purdue is much better on both sides of the ball than the Chippewas.
Purdue 38-20
Notre Dame at Michigan State -
ABC 3:30pm - I have been a bit hard on the Irish, but in reality, they have not looked all that spectacular in their first two wins. Last week against Michigan, they capitalized on 5 turnovers to win that game, and while the defense looked strong, they did it against a Michigan offense who has yet to find an identity. The Spartans are an old fashioned running Big Ten team. They hand the ball of to Javon Ringer, since he is small he hides behind their big offensive line, and then at the last second cuts behind the for his yards. Michigan State right now is 2-1, with an opening week 7 point loss to Cal. For the Spartans to have success, Brian Hoyer must start producing. Notre Dame does have talent and speed on defense, and if Michigan State is one dimensional, the Irish will stop them. Notre Dame must get the same production from their quarterback Jimmy Clausen. In 2 games Clausen has 4 interceptions, and those could be key in a close game like this. This is the make or break game in my mind for Notre Dame. If they win, they quiet all the doubters (myself included), and if they lose people will point to the weak first two opponents that they had. I am still not a believer, therefore I am going with the Spartans. A steady diet of Javon Ringer gets the job done.
Michigan State 28-20
Ball State at Indiana -
Big Ten Network 7pm - The Indiana Hoosiers are one of 6 undefeated Big Ten teams coming into week 4. Both teams have high powered offenses, but they contrast in styles. Ball State uses a passing game led by Nate Davis. In 3 games, Davis has thrown for over 900 yards, with 9 touchdowns, and completing 75% of his passes. Indiana does most of their damage on the ground, led again by their quarterback Kellen Lewis. Lewis not only leads the team in passing with 314 yards, but he is also the leading rusher with 183 yards. If you like offense you will want to tune into this game. Indiana has only given up 16 points in two games, but don't let that fool you. It came against lesser competition, and honestly, I think Ball State holds the edge on defense too. Looking ahead at the rest of the Hoosiers' schedule, they need this win if they want to get to bowl eligibility. At the end of the year, Ball State will probably be playing for the MAC Championship, while Indiana will be sitting at home watching the bowl games.
Ball State 49-20
Last Week: 8-2 (.800)
Overall: 26-5 (.839)
