1. Iowa – Iowa is a team that is growing on me week by week. There is not much to say other than they win. It would be in their best interest to stop spotting teams 10 or so points in the 1st half. Stanzi is not flashy and is not going to light up the stat sheets but he continues to manage the game and get it done. The defense is excellent. Their ability to pressure while only rushing four allows them to smother receivers and create turnovers. I think too many people look at recruiting stars and decide for themselves that Iowa is not talented. I’ll go with the play on the field. Iowa deserves more respect than they are being given. Despite previous disasters at MSU, I think Iowa is going to roll this Saturday.
2. Penn State – I’m moving Penn State up this week, not because I’m a homer, but more because others have moved themselves down. Penn state cruised past Minnesota this week 20-0. The defense played lights out and the offense moved the ball at will. Minnesota seems to be a one trick pony and AJ Wallace took that trick away as Decker only had one catch in the game. PSU left a lot of points on the field and needs to capitalize on opportunities against better competition. Penn State heads to the Big House, which is never kind to Lions. Penn State should win, but I’m never confident when PSU plays Michigan.
3. OSU – Last week I stated that the OSU offense would lose them one or two more games. I was hammered by OSU fans claiming that I had no credibility due to that statement. Well, I agree on one point, I have no credibility period. I’m just a fan stating my opinion, but it has nothing to do with last week’s prediction. I just never thought it would happen against Purdue. I’m not really into the whole I told you so thing and I think they are smarting enough from the loss, so I’ll leave it at that. This week they hosts the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Ohio State University defense should shut down Minnesota and roll to a win. After last week who knows.
4. Wisconsin – Wisconsin lost to Iowa last week at home. The Badgers played well enough to win in the first half but fell apart in the second. Wisconsin made too many mistakes to overcome against a good team. I think they are a solid football team, especially on defense. The offense has a ways to go and needs to cut down on turnovers, but that can be said for every team in the Big 10. The Badgers are off this week.
5. Michigan State – MSU beat Northwestern 24-14 on Saturday. MSU is a team that had a rough go of it out of conference, but they are hanging around in the Big 10 and could jump right in the mix of things if they knock off Iowa this week.
6. Michigan – Michigan whooped up on Delaware State last week allowing them to rest allot of starters and get everyone healthy for Penn State this weekend. Michigan’s offense is going to score some points, but they’ll need to get some pressure on Clark to win this game. Penn State will try to shut down the run and put this game on the shoulders of a freshman QB. A win would go a long way for Michigan right now and it’s not out of the question.
7. Minnesota – Minnesota pretty much got dominated by PSU. The Gopher offense didn’t manage to generate anything that resembled a drive until the 4th Quarter and even then were stopped on 4th down at the goaline. I was actually impressed with the Gopher defense. They have some nice linebackers this year. Minnesota heads to the Shoe to take on a reeling OSU team that fell to Purdue last week. If Minny comes out and punches OSU in the mouth early anything can happen.
8. Purdue - Purdue laid the blueprint for all Big 10 teams to follow against the OSU offense. Stack the box and make Pryor beat you with his arm. Force the young wide receiver, I mean quarterback, to make decisions. Look for Purdue to keep rolling this week as they host hapless Illinois on Saturday.
9. Northwestern - Northwestern lost to MSU Saturday. They do battle with Indiana this weekend. I wonder which Indiana team is going to show up this week.
10. Indiana - Indiana beat Illinois last week to keep them in the basement of the Big 10 for another week and make them the laughing stock of the conference. This week Indiana has the chance to move up by beating Northwestern.
11. Illinois – Illinois remains winless in the Big 10 after losing to Indiana. Things are getting heated for Zook and this team has all but fallen apart. There is no doubt that there is talent on the roster but it sure is not translating onto the field. To put it bluntly they are pathetic!
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