Brett Ludwiczak
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MC&J: Week 10 in the Big Ten will see Ohio State trying to stay perfect against Rutgers
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
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The Buckeyes 18.5-point favorites heading into this week’s game against the Scarlet Knights in New Jersey.
Picks for Washington-USC, LSU-Alabama, and a number of other big games nationally can be found here.
Wisconsin (-9.5) v. Indiana - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Which team will have less of a hangover in this game? Wisconsin is coming off a 24-10 loss to Ohio State, while Indiana took Penn State to the limit last week. The Badgers are battered and bruised heading to Bloomington. Wisconsin has lost running back Chez Mellusi and quarterback Tanner Mordecai, while Braelon Allen and Chimere Dike were banged up against the Buckeyes
Brendan Sorsby threw for 269 yards against the Nittany Lions, but really 160 of those yards came on two touchdown passes. Still, at least the Hoosiers showed some fight against a tough opponent. I think the performance carries over to this week when Indiana returns home. Even though the Badgers end up winning the game, the Hoosiers are pesky and hang around at home.
Wisconsin 24, Indiana 17
Nebraska (-3) v. Michigan State - 12:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Who would’ve thought before the season that at this point of the season we’d be able to trust Nebraska more than Michigan State. Head coach Matt Rhule has turned the culture around in Lincoln, and it feels like now the Cornhuskers are expecting to win games and not feeling lucky when they do get a victory.
Calling Michigan State a mess might be an understatement. After winning their first two games of the season, the Spartans have lost six-straight games. Quarterback Noah Kim has thrown six interceptions this year, and I expect him to throw a couple more on Saturday since the Nebraska defense has gotten a bit of their mojo back this year.
With a win, Nebraska will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. The Cornhuskers are going to have a ton of motivation in this game, while Michigan State is playing out their disaster of a season. Give me the team playing smart, confident football right now.
Nebraska 23, Michigan State 14
No. 11 Penn State (-8.5) v. Maryland - 3:30 p.m. ET - FOX
Imagine how good Maryland would be if the season ended at the end of September. The loss to Ohio State in early October kicked off a three-game losing streak for the Terrapins, with their latest setback being a puzzling loss to Northwestern. Defense has been what has failed Maryland lately, as they have given up a combined 60 points to the Wildcats and Illinois.
Following their loss to Ohio State, Penn State survived a scare in State College last week from Indiana. This is a crucial game for the Nittany Lions to put things back together with a game against Michigan looming next week. Penn State gets back to running the football, while also tightening up on defense. I know Maryland has Taulia Tagovailoa, but if he can’t solve Northwestern and Illinois, I don’t see how he is going to find enough success against the Nittany Lions to halt his team’s slide.
Penn State 34, Maryland 21
Illinois v. Minnesota (-1.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Defensive backs for both teams have to be licking their chops heading into this contest. Quarterbacks Luke Altmyer and Athan Kaliakmanis have combined to throw 16 interceptions so far this season. An even more incredible stat is last week Kaliakmanis hit 200 yards passing for the first time this season in the 27-12 win over Michigan State.
Illinois had a week off to process blowing a fourth quarter lead to Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini might need a few more weeks off to try and put things back together since they are really struggling this year, and don’t have much room for error if they want to become bowl eligible. The running game hasn’t been there for Bret Bielema’s team, while the defense has taken a few steps back from last year.
Minnesota at least feels like the more complete of the two teams, which isn’t saying much. Somehow the Golden Gophers control their own destiny in the Big Ten West, but they also have a game against Ohio State ahead of them in a couple weeks. P.J. Fleck knows his teams needs to get as many wins as they can before coming to Columbus. They squeak out a win against the Fighting Illini on Saturday.
Minnesota 21, Illinois 17
Iowa (-5.5) v. Northwestern - 3:30 p.m. ET - Peacock
Honestly, Iowa fans probably have to feel like they won a national championship with the news this week that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz won’t return next year. Saying the Iowa offense has been trash would be an insult to trash. So far this season, the Hawkeyes have scored more than 24 points in just two games. Michigan transfers Cade McNamara and tight end Erick All Jr. have both been lost for the season to injury.
What Northwestern did last week to Maryland isn’t going to fly this week against the Iowa defense. For as bad as the Hawkeyes have been on offense, they have been that good on defense. There’s no chance quarterback Brendan Sullivan comes anywhere close to throwing for 265 yards and two scores like he did last week against the Terrapins. Iowa stays in the Big Ten West race with an ugly win against Northwestern.
Iowa 20, Northwestern 10
Purdue v. No. 3 Michigan (-32.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - NBC
The good news for Michigan is they don’t need to steal signs to beat up on Purdue. The Boilermakers are the latest in a long line of cupcakes the Wolverines have on their schedule to start the season. Things will get real for Michigan next week when they have to travel to Penn State. Until then, it’s going to be more of the same for the Wolverines, as they beat up on a Purdue team that hasn’t had anything go right in Ryan Walters’ first season as head coach.
Plus, Jim Harbaugh might be chapped Michigan is ranked third in the first CFP rankings, so he could keep his foot on the gas a little longer in this game.
Michigan 48, Purdue 10
No. 1 Ohio State (-18.5) v. Rutgers - 12:00 p.m. ET - CBS
The Buckeyes are coming off a 24-10 win at Wisconsin, but really the score could’ve been a lot more lopsided had it not been for three turnovers in the game. TreVeyon Henderson returned to the field and had one of his best performances in scarlet and gray, totaling over 200 yards of total offense in the game. Along with Henderson, Marvin Harrison Jr. not only continued his streak of 100-yard games, establishing himself as a legit Heisman Trophy contender.
Rutgers haven’t even played their first game in November and they are already bowl eligible. It’s obvious Greg Schiano is turning around the football program in East Piscataway for the second time. The Scarlet Knights don’t play sexy football, but they do play hard. That might be enough against teams like Indiana, Michigan State, and others. It won’t fly against Ohio State, though. The talent gap is too big for Rutgers to overcome on Saturday.
What the Scarlet Knights want to do is run the football, control the clock, and then use their defense to make some plays. Ohio State is great at stopping the run, which will force Gavin Wimsatt to make more plays. I just don’t see Wimsatt being able to solve the Buckeye secondary, which is playing at a high level this year. The only victory for Rutgers in this one is they won’t let Ohio State score at least 49 points, which is something the Buckeyes have done in each meeting since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten.
Ohio State 41, Rutgers 13
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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 John Fisher/Getty Images
The Buckeyes 18.5-point favorites heading into this week’s game against the Scarlet Knights in New Jersey.
Last week ATS: 5-7 (4-3 National, 1-4 B1G)
Season ATS: 74-74 (33-44 National, 41-30 B1G)
Picks for Washington-USC, LSU-Alabama, and a number of other big games nationally can be found here.
B1G games
Wisconsin (-9.5) v. Indiana - 12:00 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Which team will have less of a hangover in this game? Wisconsin is coming off a 24-10 loss to Ohio State, while Indiana took Penn State to the limit last week. The Badgers are battered and bruised heading to Bloomington. Wisconsin has lost running back Chez Mellusi and quarterback Tanner Mordecai, while Braelon Allen and Chimere Dike were banged up against the Buckeyes
Brendan Sorsby threw for 269 yards against the Nittany Lions, but really 160 of those yards came on two touchdown passes. Still, at least the Hoosiers showed some fight against a tough opponent. I think the performance carries over to this week when Indiana returns home. Even though the Badgers end up winning the game, the Hoosiers are pesky and hang around at home.
Wisconsin 24, Indiana 17
Nebraska (-3) v. Michigan State - 12:00 p.m. ET - FS1
Who would’ve thought before the season that at this point of the season we’d be able to trust Nebraska more than Michigan State. Head coach Matt Rhule has turned the culture around in Lincoln, and it feels like now the Cornhuskers are expecting to win games and not feeling lucky when they do get a victory.
Calling Michigan State a mess might be an understatement. After winning their first two games of the season, the Spartans have lost six-straight games. Quarterback Noah Kim has thrown six interceptions this year, and I expect him to throw a couple more on Saturday since the Nebraska defense has gotten a bit of their mojo back this year.
With a win, Nebraska will be bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. The Cornhuskers are going to have a ton of motivation in this game, while Michigan State is playing out their disaster of a season. Give me the team playing smart, confident football right now.
Nebraska 23, Michigan State 14
No. 11 Penn State (-8.5) v. Maryland - 3:30 p.m. ET - FOX
Imagine how good Maryland would be if the season ended at the end of September. The loss to Ohio State in early October kicked off a three-game losing streak for the Terrapins, with their latest setback being a puzzling loss to Northwestern. Defense has been what has failed Maryland lately, as they have given up a combined 60 points to the Wildcats and Illinois.
Following their loss to Ohio State, Penn State survived a scare in State College last week from Indiana. This is a crucial game for the Nittany Lions to put things back together with a game against Michigan looming next week. Penn State gets back to running the football, while also tightening up on defense. I know Maryland has Taulia Tagovailoa, but if he can’t solve Northwestern and Illinois, I don’t see how he is going to find enough success against the Nittany Lions to halt his team’s slide.
Penn State 34, Maryland 21
Illinois v. Minnesota (-1.5) - 3:30 p.m. ET - Big Ten Network
Defensive backs for both teams have to be licking their chops heading into this contest. Quarterbacks Luke Altmyer and Athan Kaliakmanis have combined to throw 16 interceptions so far this season. An even more incredible stat is last week Kaliakmanis hit 200 yards passing for the first time this season in the 27-12 win over Michigan State.
Illinois had a week off to process blowing a fourth quarter lead to Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini might need a few more weeks off to try and put things back together since they are really struggling this year, and don’t have much room for error if they want to become bowl eligible. The running game hasn’t been there for Bret Bielema’s team, while the defense has taken a few steps back from last year.
Minnesota at least feels like the more complete of the two teams, which isn’t saying much. Somehow the Golden Gophers control their own destiny in the Big Ten West, but they also have a game against Ohio State ahead of them in a couple weeks. P.J. Fleck knows his teams needs to get as many wins as they can before coming to Columbus. They squeak out a win against the Fighting Illini on Saturday.
Minnesota 21, Illinois 17
Iowa (-5.5) v. Northwestern - 3:30 p.m. ET - Peacock
Honestly, Iowa fans probably have to feel like they won a national championship with the news this week that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz won’t return next year. Saying the Iowa offense has been trash would be an insult to trash. So far this season, the Hawkeyes have scored more than 24 points in just two games. Michigan transfers Cade McNamara and tight end Erick All Jr. have both been lost for the season to injury.
What Northwestern did last week to Maryland isn’t going to fly this week against the Iowa defense. For as bad as the Hawkeyes have been on offense, they have been that good on defense. There’s no chance quarterback Brendan Sullivan comes anywhere close to throwing for 265 yards and two scores like he did last week against the Terrapins. Iowa stays in the Big Ten West race with an ugly win against Northwestern.
Iowa 20, Northwestern 10
Purdue v. No. 3 Michigan (-32.5) - 7:30 p.m. ET - NBC
The good news for Michigan is they don’t need to steal signs to beat up on Purdue. The Boilermakers are the latest in a long line of cupcakes the Wolverines have on their schedule to start the season. Things will get real for Michigan next week when they have to travel to Penn State. Until then, it’s going to be more of the same for the Wolverines, as they beat up on a Purdue team that hasn’t had anything go right in Ryan Walters’ first season as head coach.
Plus, Jim Harbaugh might be chapped Michigan is ranked third in the first CFP rankings, so he could keep his foot on the gas a little longer in this game.
Michigan 48, Purdue 10
No. 1 Ohio State (-18.5) v. Rutgers - 12:00 p.m. ET - CBS
The Buckeyes are coming off a 24-10 win at Wisconsin, but really the score could’ve been a lot more lopsided had it not been for three turnovers in the game. TreVeyon Henderson returned to the field and had one of his best performances in scarlet and gray, totaling over 200 yards of total offense in the game. Along with Henderson, Marvin Harrison Jr. not only continued his streak of 100-yard games, establishing himself as a legit Heisman Trophy contender.
Rutgers haven’t even played their first game in November and they are already bowl eligible. It’s obvious Greg Schiano is turning around the football program in East Piscataway for the second time. The Scarlet Knights don’t play sexy football, but they do play hard. That might be enough against teams like Indiana, Michigan State, and others. It won’t fly against Ohio State, though. The talent gap is too big for Rutgers to overcome on Saturday.
What the Scarlet Knights want to do is run the football, control the clock, and then use their defense to make some plays. Ohio State is great at stopping the run, which will force Gavin Wimsatt to make more plays. I just don’t see Wimsatt being able to solve the Buckeye secondary, which is playing at a high level this year. The only victory for Rutgers in this one is they won’t let Ohio State score at least 49 points, which is something the Buckeyes have done in each meeting since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten.
Ohio State 41, Rutgers 13
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