Wow was last week bad. I’ve had a great season, but last week’s 2-4 showing was the worst of the season and none hurt more than the Iowa game. All week long I said Northwestern would win and then at the last second I wussed out and went with the Hawkeyes. After bashing Iowa all season long, I should have pulled the trigger on that one.
Oh well, we move on:
Penn State 34, Indiana 14
The Hoosiers have actually impressed me a little bit this season (although my expectations were extremely low) and Penn State is coming off a tough loss. Still, this game in Happy Valley and the Nittany Lions offense should roll.
Wisconsin 27, Michigan 17
The Wolverines have dominated this series and if you remember last year’s game when Michigan was trailing 19-0, you know weird things often happen in this series. But Wisconsin has won the last two meetings in Madison and right now, the Badgers are a much better football team.
Minnesota 24, South Dakota State 13
Some Gopher fans are actually worried about this game, but while SDSU is a pretty good team, they are still jumping up a class and on the road. Minnesota should be bowl eligible by the end of this one.
Purdue 35, Michigan State 34
This game is truely a toss-up and I’m going with the Boilermakers simply because they have played much better football at home and the Spartans have struggled on the road.
Northwestern 17, Illinois 13
NU’s defense has finally started to come together on a consistent basis and I’m not sold that Illinois has finally turned the corner. This is another tough pick, but the Kitty Cats are the better team and should pull this one out.
Ohio State 17, Iowa 9
Most prognosticators are acting like Iowa’s season is over and the Hawkeyes don’t have a chance in this one. It certainly will be an uphill battle on the road without Ricky Stanzi, but Iowa’s defense is still tops in the conference. The problem? Ohio State’s defense is right behind them and it will be a long day for Iowa’s offense.