Moving Weekend in the Big Ten

Last week produced a variety of games in the Big Ten: Nebraska and Iowa won by pretty anticipated margins, and Penn St proved that it could beat a capable opponent on the road.  Surprisingly, Purdue defeated Illinois, which started the season 6-0.

Michigan St shocked Wisconsin in EL

Even more surprisingly, Michigan St pulled off the upset of the week, beating Wisconsin on the final play of the game with a Hail Mary pass to Keith Nichol.  Why Bret Bielema burned timeouts on MSU's drive to try and get the ball back with less than 30 seconds left I will never understand, as Wisconsin would have had all the momentum going into overtime.  Regardless, Michigan St pulled out a season-changing win and turned the tables in the Legends Division.  Even if the Spartans lose to Nebraska this weekend, their schedule lines up favorably compared to Nebraska's for the remainder of the regular season.


Looking at the picks from last week I went 3-2, but was very close on the scores of some games:
Indiana (1-6, 0-3) @ Iowa (4-2, 1-1)
Make it: Iowa 34 - Indiana 10
Actual: Iowa 45 - Indiana 24
Iowa's offense was better than I expected, and Indiana's as well.  Clearly Iowa's defense is hurting after losing Adrian Clayborne and Tyler Sash to the NFL.


Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) @ Minnesota (1-5, 0-2)
Make it: Nebraska 45 - Minnesota 13
Actual: Nebraska 41 - Minnesota 14
Pretty close with this one, as Nebraska could have scored more points if they left their starters in during the 4th quarter.


Penn St. (6-1, 3-0) @ Northwestern (2-4, 0-3)
Make it: Penn St 27 - Northwestern 23
Actual: Penn St 34 - Northwestern 24

Really close with this one as well, Penn St managed a bit more offense in this one, maybe because Joe Pa finally decided to stick with one quarterback throughout the game.

Illinois (6-1, 2-1) @ Purdue (3-3, 1-1)
Make it: Illinois 30 - Purdue 20
Actual: Purdue 21 - Illinois 14
Couldn't pull the trigger on the upset for this one, but should have.  Illinois' offense continued to have problems like it did against Ohio State, and Purdue controlled this game until the 4th quarter

Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0) @ Michigan St (5-1, 2-0)
Make it: Wisconsin 27 - MSU -17
Actual: MSU 37 - Wisconsin 31
Michigan State's Special Teams and Wisconsin's mistakes determined this game, as Russell Wilson threw a ball away in the end zone that resulted in intentional grounding, and allowed Michigan St to come in untouched to block a punt and recover it for a touchdown.  Kirk Cousins also shredded the Wisconsin defense, including a Hail Mary touchdown to Keith Nichol on the final play of the game.

Last week: 3-2

This upcoming week features six league match-ups, highlighted by 11 Michigan State at 14 Nebraska at 12:00 on Saturday, and 15 Wisconsin at Ohio St at 8:00 Saturday night. 

Purdue may have trouble stopping Denard Robinson

Purdue (4-3, 1-2) @ Michigan (6-1, 2-1)
Purdue surprised many last week by upsetting Illinois, and looked strong against Minnesota the week before.  This game should come down to which defense can make some stops, and I'm betting on Greg Mattison's unit to come through.  Denard Robinson should also be fully healed from any hits he took during the Michigan State game two weeks ago.
Make it: Michigan 34 - Purdue 23

Northwestern (2-5, 0-4) @ Indiana (1-7, 0-4)
This is a great chance for both teams to get their first conference victory of the season, and I think Northwestern will prevail.  The Wildcats have a bit too much offense for the Hoosiers, who looked better last week against Iowa, but still need to put a solid 60 minutes together.
Make it: Northwestern 38 - Indiana 31


Michigan State (6-1, 3-0) @ Nebraska (6-1, 2-1)
Big game for both teams, as the winner controls their own destiny in the Legends Division.  This matchup favors Michigan St, as their defensive line can counter the strength of Nebraska: their running game.  Although Michigan St didn't look very good in their previous two road games, I think they pull this one out in another close one.
Make it: Michigan St 23 - Nebraska 20

Iowa (5-2, 2-1) @ Minnesota (1-6, 0-3)
No contest in this one, as Minnesota has been awful this year.  Iowa has an easy one before they play Michigan next week.
Make it: Iowa 37 - Minnesota 10

Illinois (6-2, 2-2) @ Penn State (7-1, 4-0)
Wow, Penn State has looked solid since losing to Alabama earlier in the year.  The offense even came together last week against Northwestern.  Expect a relatively low-scoring game in this one, with the home team coming out on top.
Make it: Penn St 23 - Illinois 13

And finally... Wisconsin (6-1, 2-1) @ Ohio State (4-3, 1-2)
Ohio State has a chance in this one if they can grab an early lead.  The Buckeyes now have LT Mike Adams and RB Boom Herron back, giving them a chance in this game.  However, Braxton Miller will need to be very careful with the ball.  If Ohio St loses the turnover battle in this one, they have no chance against an angry Wisconsin team
Make it: Wisconsin 27 - Ohio St 17

Check back next week for more Big Ten football reports, and maybe an article about the NBA Lockout.