Hey remember last week when I made such a nice preview with all the Friday and Thursday games labeled to make it as easy as possible for my readers? Well so in week two of course the league doesn’t have any week day games. What’s up with that? Anyway, a good slate in the Big Ten with some rivalry tilts, some power-five versus power-five games, and Ohio State and Rutgers entering league play. Maybe not a marquee week without any ranked foes squaring off a la that SEC tilt, but this is a really fun week here in the Big Ten. As always, all times are central.
Game of the Week:
Minnesota vs Fresno State
Yes, I realize there are rivalry games and two non-rivalry Big Ten vs ACC games as well as a Big Ten vs Pac 12 non-rivalry game. I don’t care. Fresno State scored 79 points last week. That is absurd, even against the smallest high school team in Maine. Minnesota’s defense will have their hands full as well as young qb Zack Annexstad because Fresno had FIVE interceptions against Idaho. Sure it is Idaho but they are coached by Bobby Petrino’s brother. They are supposed to be an offensive-minded club and Fresno made them look silly. Jeff Tedford is a heck of a coach and this is one tall task for Minnesota. A loss doesn’t end their season, but I think a win will make us take the Gopher threat more seriously. Fresno State might not be Alabama, but this is an opportunity to make a bit of a statement for the young Gophers and that has me very, very intrigued.
- Saturday, 6:30 pm, FS1
Sleeper:
Cy Hawk series! One of the more polite rivalries as I don’t think either fan base truly despises each other but a couple of times a year, it is fun to be sarcastic Iowans and make fun of the agricultural school or the head in the clouds ivory tower school. The fact is since Hayden Fry retired, Iowa State has made this a great rivalry. State won the first four of the Ferentz era. Then Iowa went on a 6-2 run and it looked like this was turning into Fry’s level of dominance. Alas, it was not the case. Cyclones won three of the next four. The last three years have gone Iowa’s way as the folks in Ames saw a coaching change but as Matt Campbell has gotten things turned around, we got to enjoy a thrilling 44-41 overtime tussle last year. Expect this one to be close again. Hard to know 100% what to expect other than it will be close because Iowa State’s game was cancelled after just a few minutes of action. Like the Iowa coaching staff, I have no tape to go off other than Iowa’s own Jekyll and Hyde opener against Northern Illinois.
- Saturday, 4:00 pm, Fox
Don’t Forget:
Welcome to the 99th meeting of the all-Pennsylvania classic. Nope, it’s not called that. It is called the Keystone Classic but I’m not sure anyone calls it that, either. Part of the problem is when these teams were independent, it was really easy to schedule each other every freaking year. Not so much any more and so the name kind of faded away. Anyway, after almost never missing a meeting, the rivalry took a break in 1992, of course right around the time the Nittany Lions were joining the Big Ten. They met a couple of times in the late 1990s and then in 2000. That was the last time until the 2016 meeting. A meeting Pitt famously pulled an upset in. Last year’s game went PSU’s way but also had its fun moments. The bottom line is it is great to see them playing each other again. It has been a rivalry of runs with Pitt owning a 14 game streak and PSU having an equally impressive 10 game streak. Even with lengthy runs, it has still been close overall sitting at 51-43-4 in favor of the Nittany Lions.
As for this year’s game…we all know PSU is figuring some things out defensively and it showed against App State but Pitt needs to find themselves some more offense. Just 33 points against Albany thanks to some sloppy turnovers won’t cut it against the scoring threat of Penn State. With some of the questions both clubs are trying to answer, I think this could end up being a back and forth pitched battle against two good but imperfect teams.
- Saturday, 7:00 pm, ABC
Snoozer:
The best thing about this game is the Western Illinois logo and mascot. Named after the marine’s nickname, WIU gets to go by the Leathernecks. Awesome stuff. Anyway, this is the only Big Ten vs FCS match-up of the week so I gotta call it the snoozer. Factor in WIU being 0-1 after losing out at Montana State and you can connect the dots on this being a putrid game.
- Saturday, 6:30 pm, BTN…Look at the Saturday night slate. I mean seriously, it is absurdly good. Unless you are a parent or a sibling of a player in this game, you have zero reason to watch.
Upset Watch:
Right End – Let’s see, every Big Ten team is favored in their game but…Rutgers. They are big underdogs at Ohio State with Vegas giving the Knights 34.5 points at the time of writing this. Here’s the thing though, it probably won’t be close but I do know RU’s defense is better than Oregon State’s. MAYBE the Knights get a moral victory and keep it within three touchdowns but I doubt it. Of course…if they were to pull off their biggest upset since joining the league, and arguably their biggest in program history, it would certainly qualify as coming on the right end of an upset.
- Ohio State vs Rutgers, Saturday, 2:30 pm, BTN
Wrong End – Michigan State was not a well oiled machine against that experienced Utah State team a week ago. Now they have to do something Big Ten teams do poorly: head out west to take on a Pac 12 school. Worse, they have to go to the state of Arizona. Several Big Ten members have gone to Tempe or Tucson only to head back to the midwest with a big L. As for Herm Edwards’s team, they are 1-0 after throttling UTSA. I’ll fully admit that Utah State is much, MUCH better than the Roadrunners but based on the eye test, Sparky looks like they are in midseason form and Sparty doesn’t.
- Michigan State at Arizona State, Saturday, 9:45 pm, ESPN
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Indiana vs Virginia – Hoosiers looked good at times but not polished in the win at FIU. Meanwhile the Cavs got to tune a few things up against FCS Richmond in their opener. It is tough to get a read on where these two programs are as UVA played in a bowl last year but graduated a lot of talent while IU went 5-7 in 2017 but brought back quite a few key pieces. With so many unknowns, I think this game becomes a fun one as two team try to find a little bit more about themselves.
- Saturday, 6:30 pm, BTN
Maryland at Bowling Green – Falcons are expected to finish near the bottom of the MAC standings and lived up to those low expectations when they gave up 58 points a week ago at Oregon. Across the field Maryland knocked off Texas in their emotional opener. I think playing on the road is actually a good thing. It allows a still young Maryland club to re-focus. I expect the Terps to come out dialed in and walk away with the victory.
- Saturday, 5:00 pm, ESPN+
Michigan vs Western Michigan – If there is any team that Michigan can get their offense jump started against, it has to be a team like Western Michigan. The Broncos gave up 55 points and 560 yards a week ago to Syracuse. I get Dino Babers is an offensive minded coach, but c’mon Western, put a little back into your rowing. Too soon?
- Saturday, 11:00 am, FS1
Nebraska vs Colorado – This was always a fun game in 1990. Kidding, kidding. It is actually good to see these two old Big 12 rivals finally meet for the first time since 2010. Since Bill McCartney retired in Boulder, the Huskers have just poured it on, especially as the Buffs hired coach after coach after coach. With Frost rebuilding Nebraska and Mike MacIntyre trying to get Colorado back to the Pac 12 title game, both teams are looking for an early statement. NU of course didn’t play at all last week so that makes for an unusual start. Meanwhile, Colorado laid a licking on in-state rival Colorado State in the annual smoke ’em if you got ’em classic.
- Saturday, 2:30 pm, ABC
Northwestern vs Duke – Duke was a really tough team to get a read on for the podcast when we previewed the ACC. Daniel Jones is a nice quarterback but there are just so many new faces and the team is really thin so any injury issues could tank them. Then what happens, they dominate an Army team that won 10 games last season. Northwestern is the better team and gets to enjoy playing at home, but based on how the Blue Devils took it to the Black Knights, I’m more worried about this one than I was a couple of weeks ago. Should be a fun on up in Evanston.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, ESPNU
Purdue vs Eastern Michigan – After making a bowl in 2016 than being the hard luck team with a million close losses in 2017, Eastern came out angry against Monmouth and demolished them, 51-17. Still, anger, fire, and fury is great, but I’m not sure how they overcome the more talented team on the road. Purdue should be able to bounce back from the Northwestern loss.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, BTN
Wisconsin vs New Mexico – The Lobos obliterated Incarnate Word last week but that doesn’t completely erase a tremulous offseason that saw Bob Davie get suspended. Even with the Badgers being a little sleepy in their first 11 o’clock game, Bucky should steamroll them.
- Saturday, 11:00 am, BTN
Random Musing:
Sparty vs Sparky isn’t a new thing. These teams faced each other in 1985 and 1986. Michigan State won the ’85 match-up thanks to holding Arizona State to just three points in a 12-3 slug fest. Arizona State returned the favor the following year in a slightly more offensive affair, 20-17. The 1985 game was played in East Lansing while the following game was in Tempe, naturally. Thus even in the 1980s, Pac 12 teams don’t win in the midwest and Big 10 teams don’t win in the Pacific time zone. It is the circle of life, folks.
Big Ten and Counting 