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10-25 Big Ten Picks posted on 10/25/2008
It’s an intriguing weekend in the Big Ten this week, as all five underdogs are at home. That is quite the rare feat, and we know that somebody is going to jump up and pull off an upset at home. So , which team will actually defend its home turf? I’m going with Michigan, despite the fact they haven’t been doing such a great job of winning at home so far this year. The three home losses this year have me thinking that the home-field advantage is less of a factor than is the Spartans’ one-dimensional offense. Michigan’s three poor defensive performances have come against Brian Johnson, Juice Williams, and Daryll Clark. Brian Hoyer is not on that level, and the Michigan front seven should be able to gang up on Javon Ringer and keep itself off the field.Otherwise, the other four road favorites should have enough in their arsenal to get wins. That includes Penn State, who is capable of making a big statement in the de facto Big Ten Championship. The offense hasn’t been slowed yet this year, and the Buckeyes will only be able to keep them in check for so long.
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Coming to Grips with the Big Ten posted on 10/22/2008
Quick -- name the 3rd best team in the Big Ten! You might have to get your hands dirty. You’re not sifting through grade-A football anymore. But no worries, you’ll find something. What did you come up with?... that can’t be right. Minnesota? Northwestern? Michigan State? Illinois? Okay, just abort this grizzly mission, then. Listen, I know it’s been awhile but what more can I say about this season now that most teams are already halfway through the conference schedule. In the span of 10 minutes sitting in a bar in Madison, Wisconsin, I watched the winningest program in the history of the sport lose to Toledo at home, and saw Juice Williams throw for 440 yards yet lose at home to Minnesota. A few hours later, I sat in Camp Randall Stadium to witness a once-Top 10 team that had lost 2 games at home in 4 years get beat by 41 points before a typically infamously raucous home crowd. So what gives?This is truly a very topsy-turvy season for some of the more common reasons, and some deeper reasons as well. While turnovers and poor quarterback play have been significantly responsible for the craziness that has occurred, it can not be overlooked that there are some serious tides that are changin’. For anyone who wondered, Michigan football will never quite be the way it has been for the last 40 years. I’m not saying they won’t be very good, and at times, better than they’ve been. All I’m saying is 2008 Michael Jackson resembles 1980 Michael Jackson more than the 2008 Michigan Wolverines resemble the Bo/Carr Wolverines – and that’s even disregarding the Adidas logo on the unis.
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Week 6 Big Ten Picks posted on 10/04/2008
Looks like a really entertaining weekend in the Big Ten, even if the rest of the country looks somewhat dull today. In a nutshell, I see the Nits struggling for a half at Ross-Ade, the getting their offense some big plays in the second half a la Oregon. I have no idea why the MSU-Iowa line is so low, I see Michigan State dominating the Hawkeyes. Indiana vs. Minnesota sounds like a great -- ok, maybe not great, but at least even? -- game. I'll give the edge to the Hoosiers after liking the unique looks they had with QB Kellen Lewis lined up at WR for parts of last week. Michigan and Illinois is another great game, I'll give the edge to Juice Williams making enough plays to win this one. Simply put, team with less turnovers = winner. I'm not as down on Wisconsin as others, and I'm not as high on the Pryor-led Buckeyes as others. Yet, I still think Ohio State will get the job done, more because I trust its defense to show up and force turnovers and give the Bucks good field position. Wells will have a Heismanesque game and many carries, as I think Tressel will keep Pryor reeled in against this Badger D.
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Week 5 Review, Big Ten Rankings posted on 10/02/2008
In the Big Ten, and all across the country, the beginning of conference play provided 2008 with an incredibly exciting and unpredictable weekend of college football. Nothing like college football to take our minds away from the absolute mess in our country now. While maybe I should pay more attention to my dwindling funds, I will continue to bury my mind in college football until the beginning of ’09.
While nothing in the conference quite rivaled the upsets of USC, Florida, and Georgia, Michigan’s shocker over Wisconsin was maybe more surprising than anything else that happened over the weekend. At least anyone who watched the first half of the game Thursday knew the Beavers had the stuff to shock the Trojans. No one in a half-sober mind would think that Michigan had a chance to mount a comeback against the Badgers at halftime as the boos poured down at the Big House.
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Big Ten Week 5 Blog, Sep. 27 Picks posted on 09/27/2008
FINALLY, college football begins today. Well, specifically it began Thursday night with Oregon State’s shocking victory over USC. While it might be impossible for today to match the drama of Thursday night, it is finally time when the FCS/Div I-AA/cupcakes go awayLast week was another successful one in general for the Big Ten. Nothing too spectacular, but they avoided the disasters that have seemed to strike the Big East, Pac 10, and ACC on different occasions this year. Purdue narrowly survived against Central Michigan, Michigan State dominated in the trenches against the Fighting Irish, and Minnesota surprisingly annihilated a struggling FAU team. Despite two losses, neither were unexpected – Iowa lost to Pitt by a single point in Pittsburgh, while Ball State rallied around fallen teammate Dante Love and dominated an Indiana team that looks like the conference’s weakest link at this point. Here are the
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