Alright so last week was terrible as far as my picks went and I plan on doing a lot better this weekend. Although I can't really guarantee anything because this weekend could be the toughest to pick the winners and losers because I would argue that each game matches up teams that are pretty much equal. Here are the things I'm looking forward to this weekend followed by my Week 6 picks.
What to Watch For:
- Who will prove themselves in the matchup between the Buckeyes and Badgers?
- Will the Iowa offense get it together and limit the mistakes?
- Who will rush for more yards Shonn Greene or Javon Ringer?
- Will the Big Ten picture get clearer or more confusing?
Lets start off with the one game that I think is a pretty safe bet. That would be the matchup of Penn State traveling to Purdue. This will be the first road test for the Nittany Lions but they are just too strong and too well coached not to blow this open. The spread HD offense proves unstoppable again and Penn State coasts.
Penn State 48, Purdue 17
Now lets go with the games that I think could go either way.
Indiana at Minnesota should be a shootout. The biggest question I have is will Minnesota prove it is a better team by beating a Big Ten opponent. They are at home which should give them the upper hand and the Indiana secondary is hurting from injuries. This game is going to rest on the shoulders of both quarterbacks. The play of Indiana's Kellen Lewis and Minnesota's Adam Weber will likely decide this game. I'll go with Indiana in a wild one on the road.
Indiana 33, Minnesota 27
Next up is a battle of the running games which feature two of the top four backs in the country in Iowa's Shonn Greene and Michigan State's Javon Ringer. The difference in this game will be which defense steps up and stops the run. I see the Hawkeyes coming in hungry and not turning the ball over 5 times. Finally the Hawkeyes put the passing and running game together to play a complete football game. I'll say Javon Ringer doesn't rush for 200 yards and is held to 1 TD.
Iowa 24, Michigan State 20
Then there is Michigan which hosts the Illini. Michigan comes in sky high after their great comeback against Wisconsin last weekend but will they have enough this week vs Illinois? I'm not sure Michigan will pull this one out as their defense can't carry the team all season. I believe the Illini defense forces some turnovers and Juice Williams and the offense are able to keep their mistakes to a minimum against a very good defense.
Illinois 28, Michigan 20
Lastly is the big game for the Big Ten which features the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers. Camp Randall is an extremely tough place to play especially at night. This game will be extremely tough because both teams have a lot to prove. The Buckeyes haven't really played anyone since their embarrassing loss to USC and Wisconsin needs to overcome their second half let down to Michigan last weekend. I'm going to say the Buckeyes start slow as freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor struggles to get settled early on but the strong defense holds Wisconsin at bay. I believe Chris "Beanie" Wells will play a huge role in this game and the Buckeyes will ride him to victory.
Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 17
Season Record: 19-6
What are you look forward to most this weekend?
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3 comments:
I'm kind of split on this "is the Big Ten more clear" question. After Wisco lost to Ohio State, it kind of proved that Ohio State may come out on top...we'll find more after their encounter with Penn State. But I do have to say Wisco put up a good fight, I was pretty nervous after P.J. scored late in the 4th. But I am completely clueless about the Hawks. They have got everything there to be a great team, we should really be 5-1, honestly. Every loss we have had has just been so frustrating. I must say I hated watching the game this weekend because we have so much potential, but we just keep throwing it away with turnovers!
I'd agree that Ohio State could potentially run the table in the Big Ten and I think this coming weekend could make a big difference with Penn State playing at Wisconsin. The Hawks are frustrating because we continually show we are good until we get to the red zone then we never finish. Losing three games by 9 combined points is just terrible especially the way we have lost them.
I still think Penn State is the team to beat. I've been saying this for some time now. I think their defense is good enough to at least compete with OSU and there's no question about their offensive ability. The key factor is that the game between OSU and PSU is at Columbus where the Nitany Lions have never won.
As for the Hawks, we're out of the Big Ten race, but I wouldn't mind if we could put things together and spoil a few seasons for our remaining opponents. It's gotta start with a turnaround against Indiana though.
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