Brett Ludwiczak
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MC&J: Texas travels to Michigan in Week 2’s marquee matchup
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Plus, picks for all the other games with point spreads involving Big Ten teams this weekend.
Last week ATS: 13-10 (3-2 National, 10-8 B1G)
The first week of games is always so tough to pick since there are so many questions still left to be answered about who is going to step up to replace departed players for teams. Also, a lot of the matchups end up being games against Group of Five or FCS schools.
Anytime you can finish the opening weekend with a positive record you’ll gladly take it.
Duke v. Northwestern (-2.5) - Friday 9/7 9:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Northwestern opened up their season with a solid 13-6 over Miami (OH), who will be in the mix to win the MAC this year. Quarterback Mike Wright did most of the work for the Wildcats on offense, throwing for 178 yards and adding 65 yards and a score on the ground. Northwestern’s defense was outstanding, holding the RedHawks to just 40 yards rushing and forcing two turnovers.
Remember Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy? The big sophomore is now at Duke, throwing for nearly 300 yards in his debut with the Blue Devils. Much like Northwestern, Duke was able to use their defense to stifle their opponent, giving up just 110 total yards to Elon. In what is likely to be a low-scoring game, I’ll side with Murphy and the Blue Devils since I feel Murphy is a little more capable of stringing together some drives to get Duke into scoring position.
Duke 21, Northwestern 17
No. 3 Texas (-7.5) v. No. 10 Michigan - 12:00 p.m. ET - FOX
Had it not been for Washington, this would have been a rematch of the national title game. Who knows, maybe Texas would have won that game and Jim Harbaugh would have bolted for the NFL as a three-time loser in the College Football Playoff. There are some who think both of these teams are headed to this year’s expanded playoff, but I think the Wolverines end up losing at least three games this year.
Texas had no problem in their opener, as Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-0 win over Colorado State. Even Arch Manning got into the game and was able to record his first career passing touchdown for the Longhorns. Texas has an impressive group of receivers, and they’ll have to be at their best since there are still questions about their running game after CJ Baxter was lost for the season due to injury.
Michigan didn’t impress me in their opener against Fresno State. Had it not been for Will Johnson’s pick-six in the fourth quarter, the score would have truly shown how much the Wolverines struggled. I’m not exactly sure what head coach Sherrone Moore was trying to accomplish, starting Davis Warren over Alex Orji and only giving Donovan Edwards 11 carries in the game.
Texas is a whole different animal than Fresno State, and the Longhorns win by at least 10.
Texas 28, Michigan 17
Bowling Green v. No. 8 Penn State (-34.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Penn State was very impressive in their 34-12 win over West Virginia last week. New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is bringing some pop with him from Kansas, which could have Drew Allar as a Heisman Trophy sleeper if he has a few more performances like we saw from him against the Mountaineers. Add in running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and opponents will have their hands full trying to slow down the Nittany Lions.
After saying so many nice things about Penn State, I must be taking the Nittany Lions this week, right? Wrong. This feels like it could be a bit of a letdown spot for them. Not saying Penn State is on upset alert, but Bowling Green does have a quarterback in Connor Bazelak, who used to play in a Power 5 conference, so he is familiar with the big stage.
The Falcons should be able to keep the final score margin inside 30.
Penn State 42, Bowling Green 14
Akron v. Rutgers (-23.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Playing Ohio State takes a lot out of opponents. Just ask Akron quarterback Ben Finley, who was punished by the Buckeyes before leaving Saturday’s game. Rutgers isn’t the offensive juggernaut Ohio State is, but the Scarlet Knights have shown under Greg Schiano they can take care of business against teams they should beat.
Rutgers 37, Akron 10
Iowa State v. No. 21 Iowa (-2.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - CBS
El Assico is back! This year’s edition should be a fun watch. Not only do the Cyclones have quarterback Rocco Becht and running back Abu Sama III back, the Hawkeyes are coming off a 40-point performance last week against Illinois State. Iowa really got their act together after halftime on offense, putting up 34 points in the second half. Cade McNamara threw three touchdown passes in the victory.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25604085/usa_today_24122893.jpg "NCAA Football: Illinois State at Iowa")
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Find something you love doing as much as Matt Campbell loves losing to Iowa. Following last year’s 20-13 Hawkeye victory, Campbell is now 1-6 against Kirk Ferentz. The only victory for Campbell came in 2022 when the Cyclones won 10-7. I’m having a hard time seeing Campbell’s squad making it two wins in the last three years.
New offensive coordinator is going to open up the Iowa offense just enough to put the Hawkeyes in position to possibly make the CFP.
Iowa 24, Iowa State 14
Michigan State v. Maryland (-9.5) - 3:30 p.m ET - Big Ten Network
Michigan State may have won their season opener, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. The Spartans pulled out a 16-10 victory in head coach Jonathan Smith’s first game in charge in East Lansing. If Michigan State can’t handle their business at home against an inferior opponent like Florida Atlantic, what hope do they have against a team like Maryland, who was hitting on all cylinders in their opening game win over UConn?
The Terrapins win the first Big Ten game of the season by at least 10 points.
Maryland 38, Michigan State 20
Eastern Michigan v. Washington (-25.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Washington opened up their life in the Big Ten with an easy win over FCS foe Weber State. This week the Huskies move up to playing FBS teams, as Eastern Michigan makes the trip out to Seattle. The Eagles are replacing a lot on offense from last year’s team, which isn’t something you want to be doing against a defense that only allowed three points to Weber State.
Chris Creighton always fields pesky teams that punch above their weight limit when taking on Power 5 schools. I just think asking the Eagles to stay within four touchdowns on Washington is asking a lot. The Huskies looked good with the combo of quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jonah Coleman. The duo is only going to get stronger as they get more reps together.
Washington 41, Eastern Michigan 13
No. 19 Kansas (-5.5) v. Illinois - 7:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Just a few years ago nobody would have cared about this matchup. Now the battle between the Jayhawks and Fighting Illini is actually an interesting one. Kansas will be fighting for the Big 12 crown this year with quarterback Jalon Daniels running the offense. Devin Neal rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the season opening 48-3 win over Lindenwood.
Luke Altmyer is back for another season as Illinois quarterback, and tossed four scores against Eastern Illinois last Thursday. This game could be one of the most exciting of the weekend, as both offenses have the potential to put points on the board. To me, Kansas is just a little more of a complete team and I could see Daniels leading the Jayhawks to a score late in the fourth quarter to secure the victory for Kansas.
Kansas 38, Illinois 31
Colorado v. Nebraska (-7.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - NBC
Colorado opened up their 2024 season by squeaking by North Dakota State 31-26 in Boulder. Sheduer Sanders was outstanding in the victory, passing for 445 yards and four touchdowns, finding two-way star Travis Hunter three times in the end zone. The issue with Colorado is they are still pretty weak in the trenches. Dallan Hayden was the leading rusher for the Buffaloes, but the former Buckeye only had 20 yards rushing.
Dylan Raiola impressed in his first collegiate game, completing 70 percent of his passes in the blowout of UTEP. What was most impressive about the Cornhuskers last week was how fierce their defense was. Sanders will put up some numbers but the difference is going to be how much better the lines of Nebraska are than what Colorado has to offer.
The Cornhuskers gain some revenge for last year’s loss as Matt Rhule continues to inject some excitement back into the Nebraska fan base.
Nebraska 41, Colorado 30
Boise State v. No. 7 Oregon (-18.5) - 10:00 p.m. ET - Peacock
Oregon’s season opener against Idaho was very puzzling. Even though Dillon Gabriel completed 41 of his 49 passes for 380 yards, the Ducks only beat Idaho by 10 points in Eugene. Now Oregon has to try and stop Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who ran for 267 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-45 win over Georgia Southern.
While the defense of the Broncos did leave a lot to be desired with their performance against Georgia Southern, they were able to get some stops in the fourth quarter to pull away and secure the victory. Oregon certainly will be more efficient on offense, but I think Boise State has more than enough to keep this game from getting out of control.
Oregon 45, Boise State 34
Utah State v. No. 13 USC (-28.5) - 11:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
I’ll be honest, I was not expecting USC to look as good as they did on Sunday night in Las Vegas against LSU. If the Trojans can keep playing defense like they did against the Tigers, they are going to be tough to beat this year. It just goes to show you how terrible former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was at his job, since D’Anton Lynn has been able to change the culture on defense after coming over as defensive coordinator from UCLA.
Utah State was probably just happy to get on the football field after the offseason drama that resulted in the firing of head coach Blake Anderson. The Aggies rolled up over 600 yards of offense in a 36-14 win over Robert Morris last week. Quarterback Bryson Barnes actually led Utah to a win last year at USC so he’ll go into the game with some confidence.
While I’m not calling for Utah State to win this one, they could annoy the Trojans, who are working on a short week and have been hearing about how great they are after the win over LSU,
USC 48, Utah State 24
Western Michigan v. No. 2 Ohio State (-37.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Last week we rolled with Akron to cover the massive point spread against Ohio State. The play worked, as the Buckeyes won by ONLY 46 points.
There was some rust early on that contributed to Ohio State barely failing to cover the massive number against the Zips. The most notable issue for the Buckeyes was how much trouble they had running the football. Quinshon Judkins was bottled up in his Ohio State debut, with the Buckeyes running for 170 yards on the ground as a team.
At least Will Howard was able to find Jeremiah Smith early and often in the game. In his first collegiate game, Smith has already started to live up to the hype. The trifecta of Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate are only going to get better as the season moves along. The veteran leadership of Will Howard is also going to make this team so much more enjoyable to watch than what we saw from Kyle McCord last season.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25604086/2169390092.jpg "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: AUG 31 Akron at Ohio State")
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Western Michigan hung with Wisconsin last week, actually taking a 14-13 lead on the Badgers early in the fourth quarter. Although, I think that might have more to do with Wisconsin still struggling to find their identity under Luke Fickell than the Broncos being a team that is going to contend for the MAC title this year. Western Michigan is still pretty green on offense, which will likely show up more against Ohio State’s outstanding defense, who were able to score two touchdowns against Akron last week.
It probably sounds crazy to say the Buckeyes are going to improve after a 46-point win, but they will tighten up some areas this week. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins find some more running room this week, especially if guard Donovan Jackson returns to the lineup after missing last week due to injury. Next week Ohio State has a bye, so Ryan Day is going to expect a complete performance out of his team this week.
This feels like a game the Buckeyes should win by at least 40 points.
Ohio State 51, Western Michigan 10
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Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Plus, picks for all the other games with point spreads involving Big Ten teams this weekend.
Last week ATS: 13-10 (3-2 National, 10-8 B1G)
The first week of games is always so tough to pick since there are so many questions still left to be answered about who is going to step up to replace departed players for teams. Also, a lot of the matchups end up being games against Group of Five or FCS schools.
Anytime you can finish the opening weekend with a positive record you’ll gladly take it.
B1G games (All games Saturday unless otherwise noted):
Duke v. Northwestern (-2.5) - Friday 9/7 9:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Northwestern opened up their season with a solid 13-6 over Miami (OH), who will be in the mix to win the MAC this year. Quarterback Mike Wright did most of the work for the Wildcats on offense, throwing for 178 yards and adding 65 yards and a score on the ground. Northwestern’s defense was outstanding, holding the RedHawks to just 40 yards rushing and forcing two turnovers.
Remember Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy? The big sophomore is now at Duke, throwing for nearly 300 yards in his debut with the Blue Devils. Much like Northwestern, Duke was able to use their defense to stifle their opponent, giving up just 110 total yards to Elon. In what is likely to be a low-scoring game, I’ll side with Murphy and the Blue Devils since I feel Murphy is a little more capable of stringing together some drives to get Duke into scoring position.
Duke 21, Northwestern 17
No. 3 Texas (-7.5) v. No. 10 Michigan - 12:00 p.m. ET - FOX
Had it not been for Washington, this would have been a rematch of the national title game. Who knows, maybe Texas would have won that game and Jim Harbaugh would have bolted for the NFL as a three-time loser in the College Football Playoff. There are some who think both of these teams are headed to this year’s expanded playoff, but I think the Wolverines end up losing at least three games this year.
Texas had no problem in their opener, as Quinn Ewers threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns in a 52-0 win over Colorado State. Even Arch Manning got into the game and was able to record his first career passing touchdown for the Longhorns. Texas has an impressive group of receivers, and they’ll have to be at their best since there are still questions about their running game after CJ Baxter was lost for the season due to injury.
Michigan didn’t impress me in their opener against Fresno State. Had it not been for Will Johnson’s pick-six in the fourth quarter, the score would have truly shown how much the Wolverines struggled. I’m not exactly sure what head coach Sherrone Moore was trying to accomplish, starting Davis Warren over Alex Orji and only giving Donovan Edwards 11 carries in the game.
Texas is a whole different animal than Fresno State, and the Longhorns win by at least 10.
Texas 28, Michigan 17
Bowling Green v. No. 8 Penn State (-34.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Penn State was very impressive in their 34-12 win over West Virginia last week. New offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is bringing some pop with him from Kansas, which could have Drew Allar as a Heisman Trophy sleeper if he has a few more performances like we saw from him against the Mountaineers. Add in running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and opponents will have their hands full trying to slow down the Nittany Lions.
After saying so many nice things about Penn State, I must be taking the Nittany Lions this week, right? Wrong. This feels like it could be a bit of a letdown spot for them. Not saying Penn State is on upset alert, but Bowling Green does have a quarterback in Connor Bazelak, who used to play in a Power 5 conference, so he is familiar with the big stage.
The Falcons should be able to keep the final score margin inside 30.
Penn State 42, Bowling Green 14
Akron v. Rutgers (-23.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Playing Ohio State takes a lot out of opponents. Just ask Akron quarterback Ben Finley, who was punished by the Buckeyes before leaving Saturday’s game. Rutgers isn’t the offensive juggernaut Ohio State is, but the Scarlet Knights have shown under Greg Schiano they can take care of business against teams they should beat.
Rutgers 37, Akron 10
Iowa State v. No. 21 Iowa (-2.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - CBS
El Assico is back! This year’s edition should be a fun watch. Not only do the Cyclones have quarterback Rocco Becht and running back Abu Sama III back, the Hawkeyes are coming off a 40-point performance last week against Illinois State. Iowa really got their act together after halftime on offense, putting up 34 points in the second half. Cade McNamara threw three touchdown passes in the victory.
Find something you love doing as much as Matt Campbell loves losing to Iowa. Following last year’s 20-13 Hawkeye victory, Campbell is now 1-6 against Kirk Ferentz. The only victory for Campbell came in 2022 when the Cyclones won 10-7. I’m having a hard time seeing Campbell’s squad making it two wins in the last three years.
New offensive coordinator is going to open up the Iowa offense just enough to put the Hawkeyes in position to possibly make the CFP.
Iowa 24, Iowa State 14
Michigan State v. Maryland (-9.5) - 3:30 p.m ET - Big Ten Network
Michigan State may have won their season opener, but it certainly wasn’t pretty. The Spartans pulled out a 16-10 victory in head coach Jonathan Smith’s first game in charge in East Lansing. If Michigan State can’t handle their business at home against an inferior opponent like Florida Atlantic, what hope do they have against a team like Maryland, who was hitting on all cylinders in their opening game win over UConn?
The Terrapins win the first Big Ten game of the season by at least 10 points.
Maryland 38, Michigan State 20
Eastern Michigan v. Washington (-25.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Washington opened up their life in the Big Ten with an easy win over FCS foe Weber State. This week the Huskies move up to playing FBS teams, as Eastern Michigan makes the trip out to Seattle. The Eagles are replacing a lot on offense from last year’s team, which isn’t something you want to be doing against a defense that only allowed three points to Weber State.
Chris Creighton always fields pesky teams that punch above their weight limit when taking on Power 5 schools. I just think asking the Eagles to stay within four touchdowns on Washington is asking a lot. The Huskies looked good with the combo of quarterback Will Rogers and running back Jonah Coleman. The duo is only going to get stronger as they get more reps together.
Washington 41, Eastern Michigan 13
No. 19 Kansas (-5.5) v. Illinois - 7:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Just a few years ago nobody would have cared about this matchup. Now the battle between the Jayhawks and Fighting Illini is actually an interesting one. Kansas will be fighting for the Big 12 crown this year with quarterback Jalon Daniels running the offense. Devin Neal rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the season opening 48-3 win over Lindenwood.
Luke Altmyer is back for another season as Illinois quarterback, and tossed four scores against Eastern Illinois last Thursday. This game could be one of the most exciting of the weekend, as both offenses have the potential to put points on the board. To me, Kansas is just a little more of a complete team and I could see Daniels leading the Jayhawks to a score late in the fourth quarter to secure the victory for Kansas.
Kansas 38, Illinois 31
Colorado v. Nebraska (-7.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - NBC
Colorado opened up their 2024 season by squeaking by North Dakota State 31-26 in Boulder. Sheduer Sanders was outstanding in the victory, passing for 445 yards and four touchdowns, finding two-way star Travis Hunter three times in the end zone. The issue with Colorado is they are still pretty weak in the trenches. Dallan Hayden was the leading rusher for the Buffaloes, but the former Buckeye only had 20 yards rushing.
Dylan Raiola impressed in his first collegiate game, completing 70 percent of his passes in the blowout of UTEP. What was most impressive about the Cornhuskers last week was how fierce their defense was. Sanders will put up some numbers but the difference is going to be how much better the lines of Nebraska are than what Colorado has to offer.
The Cornhuskers gain some revenge for last year’s loss as Matt Rhule continues to inject some excitement back into the Nebraska fan base.
Nebraska 41, Colorado 30
Boise State v. No. 7 Oregon (-18.5) - 10:00 p.m. ET - Peacock
Oregon’s season opener against Idaho was very puzzling. Even though Dillon Gabriel completed 41 of his 49 passes for 380 yards, the Ducks only beat Idaho by 10 points in Eugene. Now Oregon has to try and stop Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who ran for 267 yards and six touchdowns in a 56-45 win over Georgia Southern.
While the defense of the Broncos did leave a lot to be desired with their performance against Georgia Southern, they were able to get some stops in the fourth quarter to pull away and secure the victory. Oregon certainly will be more efficient on offense, but I think Boise State has more than enough to keep this game from getting out of control.
Oregon 45, Boise State 34
Utah State v. No. 13 USC (-28.5) - 11:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
I’ll be honest, I was not expecting USC to look as good as they did on Sunday night in Las Vegas against LSU. If the Trojans can keep playing defense like they did against the Tigers, they are going to be tough to beat this year. It just goes to show you how terrible former defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was at his job, since D’Anton Lynn has been able to change the culture on defense after coming over as defensive coordinator from UCLA.
Utah State was probably just happy to get on the football field after the offseason drama that resulted in the firing of head coach Blake Anderson. The Aggies rolled up over 600 yards of offense in a 36-14 win over Robert Morris last week. Quarterback Bryson Barnes actually led Utah to a win last year at USC so he’ll go into the game with some confidence.
While I’m not calling for Utah State to win this one, they could annoy the Trojans, who are working on a short week and have been hearing about how great they are after the win over LSU,
USC 48, Utah State 24
Western Michigan v. No. 2 Ohio State (-37.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Last week we rolled with Akron to cover the massive point spread against Ohio State. The play worked, as the Buckeyes won by ONLY 46 points.
There was some rust early on that contributed to Ohio State barely failing to cover the massive number against the Zips. The most notable issue for the Buckeyes was how much trouble they had running the football. Quinshon Judkins was bottled up in his Ohio State debut, with the Buckeyes running for 170 yards on the ground as a team.
At least Will Howard was able to find Jeremiah Smith early and often in the game. In his first collegiate game, Smith has already started to live up to the hype. The trifecta of Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate are only going to get better as the season moves along. The veteran leadership of Will Howard is also going to make this team so much more enjoyable to watch than what we saw from Kyle McCord last season.
Western Michigan hung with Wisconsin last week, actually taking a 14-13 lead on the Badgers early in the fourth quarter. Although, I think that might have more to do with Wisconsin still struggling to find their identity under Luke Fickell than the Broncos being a team that is going to contend for the MAC title this year. Western Michigan is still pretty green on offense, which will likely show up more against Ohio State’s outstanding defense, who were able to score two touchdowns against Akron last week.
It probably sounds crazy to say the Buckeyes are going to improve after a 46-point win, but they will tighten up some areas this week. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins find some more running room this week, especially if guard Donovan Jackson returns to the lineup after missing last week due to injury. Next week Ohio State has a bye, so Ryan Day is going to expect a complete performance out of his team this week.
This feels like a game the Buckeyes should win by at least 40 points.
Ohio State 51, Western Michigan 10
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