Illinois at Iowa
Iowa -11, Over/Under 46
Iowa’s injuries and Illinois still being a bit of a mystery thanks in large part to getting waxed by UNC and then beating Nebraska has me avoiding the spread like a plague. The under is extremely tempting; however. Iowa’s defense has improved each and every week and Illinois is coming off their best defensive performance of the season. Let’s just stick to that.
Indiana at Penn State
PSU -6.5, O/U 54.5
Not sure what PSU team Vegas has been watching but I’ll gladly take those points. Honestly, I would take Indiana straight up. I think they are playing much better football. PSU has only one game reach more than 55 points and while Indiana has had all of there games be over, their defense hasn’t taken on an offense as bad as this PSU’s. I’ll snag that under too and cross my fingers.
Maryland at Ohio State
OSU -33, O/U 54.5
I know OSU will blow a team out and cover one of these huge spreads at some point, the problem is figuring out when. For as bad as Maryland has been, in their losses they are losing by an average of 40-11 so, wait, that’s already 29 points. Factor in the fact they were held to 6 points by West Virginia and shutout by Michigan and OSU’s defense might be better than both of them, and you get the feeling this is the week OSU finally covers. Oh, rumors of this being Randy Edsall’s last game also can’t help team morale. I’ll take OSU to cover. I’ll take the under though since I doubt the Terps even score point.
Michigan vs Northwestern
UM -7.5, O/U 35
Wowza what an over/under. These are the top defenses in the nation. I’m feeling something around 16-10, which is still under. Can’t believe I’ll take that. I don’t see Northwestern losing by more than a touchdown, if they even lose. I’ll take the points.
Michigan State at Rutgers
MSU -13.5, O/U 54.5
Remember last year when MSU lost to Oregon and then pounded Eastern. Then they had two tight games against Nebraska and Purdue and everyone lost confidence in this team and wrote them off. Yeah, they beat Indiana 56-17 after that game. This team is gonna be good and angry for dropping in the polls and people (other than me) writing them off. Cover and over baby, let’s go green and white!!!
Minnesota at Purdue
UM -3, O/U 45.5
Gophers are not in high scoring games. Just one of their games this year would cover this over. Their defense is too good to let that happen, even if the offense is woeful. So is the offense woeful enough for have me taking the points? Hmm, it is tempting but I think for one more week I’ll give coach Kill some leash to turn this boat around. Gophers and under.
Nebraska vs Wisconsin
NU -1.5, O/U 49
Fun fact, Wisconsin’s defense is 4th in the nation and Nebraska’s offense has slipped in games against power-5 teams. I’ll take that under and give me those points. Huge road win for Bucky.
Lightning Round:
Illinois/Iowa – Under
Indiana/Penn State – Points, Under
Maryland/Ohio State – OSU, Under
Michigan/Northwestern – Points, Under
Michigan State/Rutgers – MSU, Over
Minnesota/Purdue – UM, Under
Nebraska/Wisconsin – Points, Under
Big Ten and Counting 