Big Ten Fearless Predictions, Week 1, Part 2

Preview and predictions for the week one Big Ten games

Big Ten
Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Michigan State | Minnesota
Northwestern | Ohio State | Penn State | Purdue | Wisconsin

Big Ten Week One Fearless Predictions

Indiana State at Purdue  1 pm  September 2, 2006 
Why to Watch: If you're the type that enjoys the macabre brutality of a car crash, Aljazeera war footage or the Arliss/Cheap Seats "comedy" block, this is for you. Purdue closed out last year on a solid note winning three straight, but it was still a wildly disappointing season finishing 5-6 despite a slew of veteran starters and a favorable schedule. The Boilermakers will be frothing at the mouth to get the new season underway and should go on a great run playing Miami University and Ball State after this light scrimmage. Indiana State had a rough first year under Lou West going 0-11 getting blasted by an average score of 43 to 17.5 and is on a 17-game losing streak.
Why Indiana State Might Win: Purdue might decide to put last year's team back on the field. The only chance ISU has of keeping this interesting after the first few drives is if the Boilermaker offense starts making mistakes and the secondary plays down to its inexperience.
Why Purdue Might Win: Indiana State should be a bit better than 2005, it can't be any worse, but the defense has no prayer of stopping the Purdue offense if it's balanced and not turning the ball over. Teams converted 49% on third downs last season on the Sycamores, and Purdue should have no problem matching that mark.
Who to Watch: This has to be when the passing game clicks for Purdue, and that means QB Curtis Painter has to show he's more than just a mobile option runner. He has a live arm averaged 4.8 yards per run, but he has to get his completion percentage up into the 60s. ISU has two good defensive linemen in junior Prenny Stokes and senior Madison Miller. If they're not pressuring Painter, this will be ugly early.
What Will Happen: The Purdue football team might score more in this game than the basketball team will score in any game this year.
CFN Prediction: Purdue 63 ... Indiana State 3 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Pants Off, Dance Off) ... 1
Final Score: 

Akron at Penn State  3:30 pm EST  ESPN2  Saturday, September 2nd
Why to watch: How often do you get to see a matchup of defending conference champions? It's not USC vs. Texas, but Akron and Penn State are each looking to repeat last year's success and each has a lot to prove. The Zips won the MAC title over Northern Illinois on a last gasp touchdown pass and are the favorites to win the East again, but they failed to beat a bowl bound team and lost to Memphis 38-31 in the Motor City Bowl. J.D. Brookhart is one of the hot young names in the coaching ranks and he can make even more noise if his team has a good game in Happy Valley. Penn State wants to come out smoking before next week's showdown at Notre Dame.
Why Akron might win: There are just enough pieces in place to make life tough for the Nittany Lions. It's the opener, so it'll take awhile for both teams to shake the rust off and it should take at least a few quarters for the Penn State passing game to click. It's Anthony Morelli's big debut as Penn State's starting quarterback and there might be a few problems early on with one of the MAC's best secondaries. Akron's Luke Getsy is the best quarterback in this game.
Why Penn State might win: Akron doesn't have the firepower to keep up if this gets into any sort of a shootout. While Getsy will be one of the MAC's brightest stars, he's working with a new receiving corps and doesn't have Brett Biggs to hand the ball off to. The Penn State linebacking corps isn't exactly the group you want to go against when you're trying to find a running game. Everything will have to click for Akron to keep this close and that includes the special teams. Breaking in two new kickers isn't a plus.
Who to watch: It'll all be about Morelli. He doesn't have to be Michael Robinson, but he has to be efficient and he has to limit his mistakes. Getting star receiver Derrick Williams back to go along with Deon Butler will help. Now Morelli has to prove he can constantly get them the ball. ... Akron sophomores Dennis Kennedy and Alex Allen are speed backs who have to show they can provide the same all-around production as Biggs provided. The more they take the pressure off Getsy, the longer the Zips will stay in the game.
What will happen: Morelli will have a wonderful game, but the stars will shine brightest on defense. The Penn State defensive front seven will dominate.
CFN Prediction: Penn State 31 ... Akron 14 ... Line: Northwestern -3.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Pants Off, Dance Off) ... 2.5 
Final Score: 

Western Michigan at Indiana  6 pm EST   Saturday, September 2nd
Why to watch: Of the six matchups between the Big Ten and MAC in the first weekend, this should be the most competitive game. Indiana almost got tagged in last year's season opener against Central Michigan coming away with a 20-13 win, and there should be just as many problems against the high-powered Western Michigan attack. Indiana has to find wins everywhere it can get them, and it certainly can't afford to give away a home game against a MAC team. This should be a fun shootout with lots of big plays and plenty of passing yards.
Why Western Michigan might win: If the Broncos can somehow find a way to replace the production of top receiver Greg Jennings and star tight end Tony Scheffler with a host of prospects, quarterback Ryan Cubit will get them the ball. Cubit appears to be 100% after hurting his knee last year and was razor sharp throughout fall practices. If this gets into a firefight, the Broncos should be able to keep up.
Why Indiana might win: Western Michigan doesn't have the secondary to slow down the Hoosier receiving corps. The Bronco linebackers are good enough to stonewall the IU ground game for a half and should generate a little bit of pressure on QB Blake Powers, but it won't be enough to keep the Hoosiers from cranking out 300 passing yards. While the Bronco defensive line has a little bit of size, it'll have a hard time holding up against the big IU offensive line.
Who to watch: With the off-the-field issues stemming from domestic battery charges behind him, Indiana WR James Hardy appears ready to explode. He was unstoppable against the mediocre teams last year, but he struggled against the big boys. Now the 6-7 sophomore is in better shape slimming down about ten pounds to a lean 208 and is noticeably quicker. With a good supporting cast taking some of the heat off, Hardy should have a huge day.
What will happen: Western Michigan doesn't have the defense to slow down what the Hoosiers will want to do. A team like WMU doesn't just replace players like Jennings and Scheffler right away.
CFN Prediction: Indiana 38 ... Western Michigan 27 ... Line: Indiana -4
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Pants Off, Dance Off) ... 2.5 
Final Score: 

Wisconsin at Bowling Green  7 pm EST  GamePlan  Saturday, September 2nd
Why to watch: Game one in the Bret Bielema era comes in a strange MAC road game for Wisconsin. The Badgers beat Bowling Green 56-42 in last year's season opener, but they have to replace their receiving corps and running backs. The Falcons are moving on after star quarterback Omar Jacobs left early for the NFL, and they also need to replace most of their top receivers and running backs. With an easy four game stretch coming up (Buffalo, at FIU, Kent State and at Ohio), Gregg Brandon's boys could go on a big-time run if they can pull off the upset.
Why Wisconsin might win: Can Bowling Green reload fast enough to do anything against the Badger D? Wisconsin's problems are on offense; the defense should be spectacular. With one of the Big Ten's best defensive lines and a tremendous linebacking corps, the Badgers should stuff the Falcon running game without a problem. If the line can consistently get into the backfield, it'll be a long night for the Falcons. That might be easier said than done because ...
Why Bowling Green might win: ... BGSU's strength is on the offensive line. Center Kory Lichtensteiger and 350-pound guard Derrick Markray will soon be playing on Sundays and aren't going to be dominated. Wisconsin has to deal with a slew of problems on offense from QB John Stocco's knee injury to the loss of projected top receiver Marcus Randle El to the replacements looking to get their feet wet on the line. If this gets into any sort of a shootout, Bowling Green might have the advantage.
Who to watch: Who's going to catch the ball? Randle El suffered a season-ending knee injury in summer practice making an already inexperienced Badger receiving corps even shakier. Juniors Jarvis Minton and Paul Hubbard have to play like seasoned veterans right away or else it might be back to the drawing board to come up with a steady passing game. Bowling Green lost 130 catches 1,883 yards, and 20 touchdowns of production from Charles Sharon and Steve Sanders, so Robert Ruiz and Marques Parks have some big shoes to fill..
What will happen: Wisconsin's defense and offensive line, as inexperienced as it may be, will take over in the second half and squash what might look like an upset in the making.
CFN Prediction: Wisconsin 27 ... Bowling Green 17 ... Line: Wisconsin -7
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Pants Off, Dance Off) ... 3
Final Score: 

Eastern Illinois at Illinois  7 pm  September 2, 2006 
Why to Watch: It's year two for the Ron Zook experience at Illinois, and while it'll likely be 2007 before there's a noticeable difference in overall production, the team needs to get off on the right foot after several awful campaigns. 14th ranked Eastern Illinois is no pushover finishing 9-3 last season with a perfect 8-0 record in the Ohio Valley Conference before losing to Southern Illinois in the D-IAA playoffs. Longtime Panther head coach Bob Spoo will miss the game recovering from surgery, so the coaching era of Mark Hutson, the offensive coordinator, kicks off.
Why Eastern Illinois Might Win:  Is the Illinois defense appreciably better? New defensive coordinator Vince Okruch will want to send everything including the kitchen sink to generate pressure, but the secondary isn't experienced enough to handle things if EIU QB Mike Donato is getting the ball off.
Why Illinois Might Win: The offense should be far better and the team should be faster. The improvement in overall athleticism and talent comes at the expense of experience, but the Illini should be able to run past EIU. The backfield tandem of Pierre Thomas and E.B. Halsey is good enough to carry the attack and keep the Panther offense off the field.
Who to Watch: Tim Brasic is the Illinois starting quarterback ... for now. The coaching staff loves him and he knows the offense, but super-frosh Isiah "Juice" Williams and freshman Eddie McGee could also see time. Of course, that means Illinois has to be in the lead to be able to experiment like it would like to, but Zook had no problems playing Chris Leak as a freshman at Florida, and has said Williams will get a series or two of work in the first half.
What Will Happen: It'll take about a half for Illinois to get control, but the ground game will take over in the second half to avoid the shocker.
CFN Prediction: Illinois 34 ... Eastern Illinois 17 ... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 skip the birth of your first born - 1 Pants Off, Dance Off) ... 1.5 
Final Score: 

Big Ten Week One Fearless Predictions