Tomorrow might be the day where those in the presumptive basement finally get flooded. Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana have survived their first few weeks of games, despite having little expected of them for this season. All three of them face their hardest test in the early season tomorrow, and a victory will go a long way to earn them both respect and an eventual bowl bid come December.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes won their bitter rival with Iowa State last week in ugly fashion. Neither quarterback has Kirk Ferentz's confidence. Ricky Stanzi or Jake Christensen, whichever one gets more snaps on Saturday, will need to show improvement to score points against a talented Pitt defense. The Hawkeye defense has been fierce, and should keep the score low and close, but I suspect the more talented Pitt team will get the win at home.
Minnesota: Adam Weber has done a suberb job this season, and it is clear that Tim Brewster's bunch actually might have some potential. I still think that firing Glen Mason before last season was one of the most spoiled and ill-advised coaching changes in a long while, Minnesota appears it could be back into bowl contention in the next couple seasons. Unfortunately, I think that QB Rusty Smith and an underrated FAU offense will rebound from being completely shut down last week against Michigan State. The pass-happy conditions of the Metrodome should favor the Owls as well. Look for this game to be the first of many for the Gophers this season where the loss of RB Duane Bennett becomes quite noticeable.
Indiana: I am abnormally excited for this game. Maybe it's because of my many years of playing as Ball State in my NCAA Football playstation dynasties. Maybe it's because I like the idea of two improved Hoosier State programs playing each other on the lights. Maybe it's because it features two of the great unheralded quarterbacks in the nation, Nate Davis for Ball St. and Kellen Lewis for IU. But the glory days of Ball St. Cardinals national championships is probably most to blame.
Anyhow, I wouldn't be surprised if the Cardinals go into Bloomington and win a shootout.
In other news, Beanie Wells is still out for the Buckeyes and Terrele Pryor is (half) in. Also, keep an eye on the Jonathan Casillas DUI-on-a-moped situation for Wisconsin. I'm not sure whether moped-related crimes are in the University of Wisconsin handbook as grounds for punishment, so we'll wait and see. I smell another road-games-only suspension, perhaps?
Saturday’s Big Ten Picks
Temple at Penn State (PSU -28, Big Ten Network 12:00 ET)
Penn State 45, Temple 16
Ohio at Northwestern (NW -11.5, BTN 12:00 ET)
Northwestern 34, Ohio 14
Iowa at Pittsburgh (Pick’em, ESPN2 12:00 ET)
Pittsburgh 20, Iowa 13
Central Michigan at Purdue (Pur -10.5, BTN 12:00 ET)
Purdue 41, Central Michigan 25
Troy at Ohio State (OSU -21, BTN 12:00 ET)
Ohio State 30, Troy 13
Notre Dame at Michigan State (MSU -8.5, ABC 3:30 ET)
Michigan State 21, Notre Dame 20
Florida Atlantic at Minnesota (Minn – 6.5, BTN 12:00 ET)
Florida Atlantic 20, Minnesota 17
Ball State at Indiana (IU – 3, BTN 7:00 ET)
Ball State 34, Indiana 31
Projected Big Ten Record: 5-3
Bye:
Wisconsin
Illinois
Michigan
Keywords: Badgers, Ball State, Big Ten, Boilermakers, Buckeyes, College football, Fighting Illini, Florida Atlantic, Golden Gophers, Hawkeyes, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, NCAA, Nittany Lions, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Spartans, Wisconsin, Wolverines
