Well all the speculation is done and in a few short hours the season will finally start. Three coaches will be making their debuts as all fourteen clubs are in action. There are some cupcakes but there are also some extremely intriguing games. Let’s take a look. Oh, as always, times are in central!
Game of the Week:
Wisconsin vs LSU (Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI)
Zero games feature two ranked opponents to open the season for the Big Ten but Wisconsin’s defense is one of the best in the land and LSU’s offense is woefully one-dimensional. This should keep the game competitive but perhaps some magic up north in the Packers’ historic home will allow for an opening day upset.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ABC
Sleeper:
Western Michigan is the popular pick to win the MAC and their offense is scary good. Northwestern is a team with a very tough schedule so for their bowl hopes they can’t drop any winnable games, especially the ones at home. The NU defense was a strong one last year and that side of the ball will need to shine because if the Broncos’ air raid get going, an upset will be brewing. Oh, and I realize NU is hosting the game and should be on the other side but it makes the cheesy artwork look better to have them facing each other, no?
- Saturday, 11am, ESPNU
Don’t Forget:
Indiana travels to the sunshine state to take on FIU, a five-win club from a year ago that returns a solid QB and their head coach Ron Turner who knows his way around offense. IU should win the game, but I’m very intrigued to see how they look at the quarterback position after the outstanding Nate Sudfeld graduated.
- Thursday (TODAY!), 6:30pm, ESPNU
Snoozer:
Four Big Ten teams are taking on FCS clubs this week but none of them are as good as Michigan State. This one won’t be interesting after 10 minutes. That’s real time too, not game time.
- Friday, 6pm, BTN…honestly, get a life! Why are you staying at home on a Friday night to watch Michigan State-Furman!!!???
Upset Watch:
Right End – Only two Big Ten teams are underdogs. One is Wisconsin and the other is Rutgers. If you think RU can win at Washington, good on you. The smart upset nod is Wisconsin stunning the Tigers.
Wrong End – Northwestern is the obvious one so I’ll go in another direction. Minnesota welcomes a Pac 12 foe to the twin cities. While Oregon State shouldn’t strike much fear, they are a power five conference team and have an experienced coaching staff led by former Wisconsin head man Gary Andersen.
- Thursday (TODAY!), 8pm, BTN
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Illinois vs Murray State – Lovie Smith gets a pretty easy FCS club to square off against in his debut. Illinois should cruise to victory.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, BTN
Iowa vs Miami (OH) – RedHawks program has been on life support as they aren’t even competitive in the MAC. Iowa should feast.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, ESPNU
Maryland vs Howard – Terps welcome a FCS club to open up the D.J. Durkin era. Nice soft landing to pick up his first win.
- Saturday, 11am, BTN
Michigan vs Hawai’i – The Rainbow Warriors have a new coach and are experiencing growing pains as evident by their 51-31 loss to Cal in Australia. Wolverines feast.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPN
Nebraska vs Fresno State – The Bulldogs have been falling apart under Tim DeRuyter and their offensive and defensive numbers were terrible last year. Should be a cakewalk for NU.
- Saturday, 7pm, BTN
Ohio State vs Bowling Green – The Falcons have a really nice MAC program but their stud QB Matt Johnson graduated. Even with him an upset would have been an extremely tall order. Without him, I don’t think they have a chance.
- Saturday, 11am, BTN
Penn State vs Kent State – The Golden Flashes have a really good defense but zero offense. That is a good way to make the first quarter, maybe even the first half, somewhat interesting but PSU will pull away.
- Saturday, 2:30pm, BTN
Purdue vs Eastern Kentucky – EKU isn’t a FCS power and for a program starved for wins, this is an early opportunity for the Boilers to gain some confidence and a W.
- Saturday, 11am, ESPNN
Rutgers at Washington – One of the Big Ten’s worst traveling the entire country to play one of the Pac 12’s best. This one will be ugly.
- Saturday, 1pm, Pac12 Network
Big Ten and Counting 