Alright dear readers, here we go…league debuts for a lot of teams. It is officially the mad dash to Indy. Thirteen teams in action with four league match ups. As a little side dish, there is a really interesting out of conference slate that includes Indiana traveling to Cincy. To quote Jurassic Park, “hold onto your butts.” All times are central.
Game of the Week:
- Minnesota at Michigan State
The Gophers faced three cupcakes and devoured them all, out scoring their opponents 147-17. Their defense is as good as advertised and their offense is shining since returning to their previous OC Kirk Ciarrocca. Traveling to East Lansing is clearly their toughest test of the young season though. It is UM’s first road trip and Payton Thorne is a way better quarterback than the first three they faced. For Michigan State they are coming off a humiliating defeat at Washington. Their biggest off season improvement need, pass defense, was shredded in Seattle and their ground game has failed to come anywhere close to repeated some of the performances that Kenneth Walker III had last year. Sparty is going into this one with some self doubt while Minnesota is full of confidence. If MSU is able to flip the script, they can gain a massive confidence boost for league play while the Gopher’s hopes at winning the west will take a hit.
- Saturday, 2:30 PM, BTN
Sleeper:
- Wisconsin at Ohio State
Sure this one might get ugly if UW’s defense struggles and/or QB Graham Mertz becomes a turnover machine again but there is no denying this is OSU’s toughest task to date. UW’s defense is better than Notre Dame’s and their offense is WAY better than the Irish’s. Perhaps UW can replicate some of the things the Golden Domers did to slow OSU down while scoring enough to make a game of it. For OSU they have the more talented roster. They just need to execute to their full potential and they’ll win.
- Saturday, 6:30 PM, ABC
Don’t Forget:
- Maryland at Michigan
The Wolverines are a dominate 3-0 but their opponents have been three of the worst teams in America. Maryland presents their first real test. Maryland has the potential to put up a lot of points so if UM’s defense isn’t ready for their speed – something CSU, Hawai’i, and UConn don’t have – or if UM’s offense falters, there is a puncher’s chance for Maryland to breakthrough. At the very least, check in periodically on this game to see of the Terps are hanging around.
- Saturday, 11:00 AM, Fox
Snoozer:
- Central Michigan at Penn State
I suppose there is a slight chance that Penn State will be hung over after the dominating win at Auburn but I think they are just locked in. CMU is 1-2 on the season traveling to Happy Valley. Theoretically, this should be done by half.
- Saturday, 11:00 AM, BTN…or check in on that Maryland/Michigan game! There’s way better stuff to watch than this one.
Upset Alert:
- Chattanooga at Illinois
The Illini are sitting pretty at 2-1 – probably should be 3-0 – and now host a FCS tune up. But the Mocs are no joke coming in at 3-0 and ranked in the FCS top 10. Between an unusually early bye week, a Thursday game, AND a road trip to Madison next week, this game is perfectly sandwiched to get a sleepy bunch of checked out Illini. Losing this one would be a hard pill to swallow for the bowl hopeful program.
- Thursday, 7:30 PM, BTN
Elsewhere (Alphabetical Order):
Florida Atlantic at Purdue – The Owls are 2-2 but are coming off their first quality opponent (UCF) and lost 40-14. Meanwhile Purdue is probably a tad angry about how that Syracuse game went. Fully expect Prude to roll in this one as they look to feast on the overmatched visitor.
- Saturday, 6:30 PM, BTN
Indiana at Cincinnati – Bearcats are 2-1 and not too far off from 3-0 after dropping a hard-fought battle at Arkansas in week one. This program is one of the best run in the nation and will be an immediate force in the Big 12 next year. Indiana meanwhile is a very shaky 3-0 after a strange win against Illinois, surviving Idaho, then squeeking by Western Kentucky. For the Hoosiers to have any hope, QB Connor Bazelak will need to be the best player on the field.
- Saturday, 2:30 PM, ESPN2
Iowa at Rutgers – Get ready for some punts! Two great punters (Iowa’s Tory Taylor and RU’s Adam Korsak) will be called upon early and often as these teams have solid defenses and terrible offenses. This one might only be enjoyed by fans of the two teams…unless you are a true sicko hoping for a 3-2 final score.
- Saturday, 6:00 PM, FS1
Miami (OH) at Northwestern – A must win for NU’s bowl hopes. Losing to Duke and Southern Illinois put their bowl asperations into a danger zone as their league slate is brutal (PSU, Maryland, OSU crossovers). Dropping a winnable game against the 1-2 RedHawks could very well end any bowl opportunities. The defense has been putrid the last two weeks, they have got to sort out that side of the ball ASAP.
Bye Week:
Nebraska
Random Musing:
I wonder what the modern record for combined punts in a game is. Oh sure, there is probably some game from the old field position more rugby style days back in the 1900s where the teams both punted about 30 times for sixty some total punts. But what about modern times? 15 punts by each team for a grand total around 30 would be pretty damn high. Rutgers and Iowa might get there.
Big Ten and Counting 