|
Buffalo
(1-1) at Penn State
(2-0)
12:00 PM Big Ten Network
Why to Watch: With
Michigan tanking, Ohio State
looking average on offense, and
Wisconsin having problems
against UNLV, the Nittany Lions
are quickly looking like the bad
boys in the Big Ten. Of course,
it's easy to look strong against
Florida International and Notre
Dame, but considering the
problems that top teams are
having all across the country,
Penn State fans won't complain.
Buffalo is coming off an
impressive 42-7 win performance
against Temple, which might turn
out to be the stepping-stone the
program needs for the rest of
the MAC season. Head coach
Turner Gill doesn't quite have
the same team he led when he
last visited Happy Valley as
quarterback of a great 1982
Nebraska squad, but his UB team
plays tough and won't quit even
if the Nittany Lions get up
early.
Why Buffalo Might Win: Sandwich
game. Penn State is coming off
the emotionally charged White
Out game against Notre Dame, and
has Michigan coming up.
Considering the way the the
Wolverines have struggled, you
can't blame the Nittany Lions
for thinking about starting out
hot. Buffalo plays a little bit
of defense with a decent
defensive front, so if Penn
State isn't fired up early on,
it could have problems running
the ball and will have a few
problems protecting QB Anthony
Morelli. UB gets into the
backfield, and the offense
doesn't make a lot of mistakes.
Why Penn State Might Win: Despite
the explosion against Temple
last week, Buffalo doesn't have
the offense to keep up the pace
if Penn State gets out to an
early lead, and it certainly
doesn't have the secondary to
keep the PSU receiving corps in
check. This is the same Buffalo
pass defense that made the
Rutgers passing game look like
Hawaii. As long as Morelli gets
a little time, he should be able
to throw the deep ball at will.
Who to Watch: Buffalo will never
be a big-time offensive
juggernaut this year, but it
could be consistent as long as
it realizes its limitations and
doesn't have to push too much.
There won't be much of a deep
passing game, but junior QB Drew
Willy can be strong on short to
midrange passes. A veteran in
the system, he had one of his
finest days last week with a 20
of 22, 190-yard, two touchdown
day, with an interception,
against Temple. He can't panic
against the active PSU
linebacking corps, and he has to
keep the chains moving.
What Will Happen: Penn State will
wake up by the second quarter
and put it away on two big
drives, but this will be a
go-through-the-motions
performance before getting to
Michigan.
CFN Prediction: Penn State 37 ...
Buffalo
10
... Line: Penn State -34
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 1.5
Central Michigan
(1-1) at Purdue
(2-0)
12:00 PM ESPN2
Why to Watch: In
a meeting of the We Hung 52 On
Toledo club, these two should
put on a fun offensive show that
could turn into the most
exciting Big Ten game of the
week. Purdue has scored 52
points in each of its first two
games, blowing out Toledo and
Eastern Illinois, and with Notre
Dame and Minnesota ahead, it has
a chance for a huge start with a
win this week. The nation's 13th
ranked offense has all the parts
working and needs to prove it
can keep the momentum going
against a top MAC team that's
looking to bounce all the way
back from a season opening 52-7
bombing against Kansas. New head
coach Butch Jones might have had
problems in his debut, but the
Chippewas got the win they
needed against Toledo to open
the MAC season, and now want to
make a national statement, while
throwing more of a scare into
the rest of the MAC.
Why Central Michigan Might Win: Purdue's
defense has been tremendous so
far, but CMU could have the
offensive balance to dictate the
tempo as long as it doesn't make
a slew of mistakes and as long
as the running game is
established early on. Toledo was
able to run the ball a bit on
the Boilermakers, but had to
abandon ship once the defense
started to struggle and once the
quarterbacks had to press to try
to keep up the pace. As long as
Purdue doesn't jump out to a big
lead, CMU should be able to
control things if Ontario Sneed
runs like he did last week,
running for 168 yards and three
touchdowns against Toledo. QB
Dan LeFevour isn't going to
panic on third downs and should
be able to keep the chains
moving. While the ball-control
offense should work in theory
...
Why Purdue Might Win: ... it all
might go out the window if the
CMU secondary struggles like it
did in the first two games. This
might be a veteran, talented
Chippewa secondary, but it
hasn't even been close over the
first two weeks with the Kansas
quarterbacks combining to
complete 26 of 35 passes for 308
yards and five touchdowns and no
interceptions, and Toledo
completing 26 of 42 passes for
381 yards and three touchdowns
with no interceptions. Drooling
all over the floor during film
study is ...
Who to Watch: ... Purdue QB
Curtis Painter, who's putting up
huge numbers for the second
straight year. Helped by a
tremendous receiving corps and a
good enough running game to take
the pressure off, the junior has
been phenomenal over the first
two weeks with ten touchdown
passes and no interceptions. To
beat CMU, Painter doesn't have
to force things and he won't
have to do everything by
himself. As long as he makes
quick decisions and reads the
right matchups early on, CMU
won't have enough in the
secondary to adequately cover
all the weapons.
What Will Happen: The Kansas win
over Central Michigan might
foreshadow what Purdue can do.
The Boilermakers have the same
offensive balance, only with
better personnel. No, the
Chippewas aren't going to get
annihilated like they were in
Lawrence, but they won't be able
to stop Painter and the passing
attack. Purdue will try to
establish the running game
first, and then will realize how
easy it'll be to throw.
CFN Prediction:
Purdue 45 ...
Central
Michigan 30
... Line: Purdue -19
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2.5
The Citadel
(2-0)
at Wisconsin
(2-0)
12:00 Big Ten Network
Why to Watch: O.K.
Wisconsin, it's time to start
looking like that top five team
you're supposed to be. The
Badgers struggled, way, way too
much with UNLV, needing a big
late drive and a diving Tyler
Donovan touchdown run to finally
get the lead and put the game
away. With Iowa coming up next
week, the Badgers need to start
jelling right now, but they
might have a tougher task than
expected against a Citadel team
that won its first two games by
a combined score of 111 to 14.
No, the Bulldogs won't win, but
they might be pesky for at least
a half.
Why Citadel Might Win: Badger
fans freaked out by what they
saw against UNLV last week might
see a mirror image this week as
The Citadel bring the same kind
of spread offense, but with the
ability to throw deeper. The
offense is second in the FCS in
scoring and first in scoring
defense. This is an active
defense with the quickness to
bother the Badgers just like
UNLV did. However ...
Why Wisconsin Might Win: ... the
Bulldog wins came against
Charleston Southern and Webber.
Charleston Southern and Webber.
The defensive line is good at an
FCS level, but it has no prayer
of holding up for a full sixty
minutes. Yeah, the Citadel
offense might be the same sort
of spread UNLV runs, but lost in
the near-upset was how the Rebel
offense didn't exactly work
against the Badgers. Wisconsin
has way too much speed at
linebacker for the Bulldogs to
be consistently effective.
Who to Watch: Games against teams
like The Citadel are for tuning
up and getting ready for the
bigger games ahead, and
Wisconsin needs the work. With
starting receiver Paul Hubbard
out for several weeks with a
knee injury, the time is now for
junior Marcus Randle El to live
up to his potential, and Kyle
Jefferson, a tall, speedy talent
with all the tools to become a
star, to breakout. The Badgers
need to unearth a new deep
threat in a hurry, or Luke Swan
and Travis Beckum will be
swarmed over by defense for the
next month.
What Will Happen: After a
lifeless performance against
UNLV, the Badgers will be
energized at home and will make
this a laugher after three
drives.
CFN Prediction:
Wisconsin 52 ... The Citadel 7
... Line: No Line
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 1
Illinois
(1-1) at Syracuse (0-2)
12:00 PM ESPNU
Why to watch:
When schedules were released,
both programs circled this date
as a winnable game. It had
better be, or the heat on
Illinois’ Ron Zook and
Syracuse’s Greg Robinson will
become unbearable before they
dive into their respective
conference seasons. Has the
Orange reached rock bottom with
losses to Washington and Iowa by
a combined score of 77-12, or
are there more levels of
despair? It could find out this
week against a program that’s
been just as futile over the
last two years, but has the
young talent to be excited about
the future. The Illini
rebounded from an emotional
opening day loss to Missouri by
escaping with a
tougher-than-expected win over
Western Illinois. If it has any
hopes of ending a six-year
post-season drought, beating a
stumbling Syracuse team is a
must. If Syracuse has any hopes
of keeping Robinson as a head
coach, coming up with a win is a
necessity.
Why Illinois might win:
The Illini defense and the
Orange offense are heading in
opposite directions. Coming off
its first shutout in seven
years, Illinois is gaining
confidence and looking for ways
to increase the roles of
blue-chip freshmen, such as LB
Martez Wilson and DT Josh
Brent. Syracuse, on the other
hand, has scored only one
meaningless touchdown in two
games, and was held to just five
first downs at Iowa last
weekend. Only Notre Dame has
permitted more sacks than the
Orange, which explains why QB
Andrew Robinson is struggling so
hard to move the chains. SU
can’t stop running quarterbacks,
and there are few better
scramblers right now than Juice
Williams.
Why Syracuse might win:
Precocious teams like Illinois
can be exciting, but also chock
full of mistakes and sloppy
play. Through two games, the
Illini have already made 14
penalties and seven turnovers,
which bodes well for an Orange D
that’s typically been
opportunistic under Robinson.
The key for Syracuse will be for
DE Jameel McClain and NT Arthur
Jones to create pressure,
forcing the erratic Williams
into momentum-changing errors.
Ron Zook is still on the
sidelines on the other side. For
the first time in a long time,
Robinson might not be outcoached.
Who to watch: There are
tackling machines, and then
there’s Illinois LB J Leman, a
tackling factory. The senior,
who led the Big Ten with 152
stops in 2006, already has 31
stops this year, and should
feast on a Syracuse offense that
makes precious few plays beyond
the second level of defense.
His play means SU will have to
bomb away, and that means the
Illini D line should be able to
tee off against a lousy Orange O
line.
What will happen: The
Illini will pounce on the
opportunity to nudge above .500,
using its athleticism and young
legs to kick the Orange while
it’s down. While Rashard
Mendenhall will lead the way on
the ground, true freshman
Arrelious Benn will do something
to show why he was the top-rated
prep receiver last year.
CFN Prediction:
Illinois 27 ...
Syracuse
17
... Line: Illinois -11
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2
Akron
(1-1) at Indiana (2-0)
12:00 PM Big Ten Network
Why to Watch: Is
Indiana really one of the Big
Ten's hottest teams? Really? The
Hoosiers came up with the
expected blowout of Indiana
State to start the season, and
then it kept the offensive
momentum rolling against Western
Michigan. How can you tell IU is
better than previous years? It
brought its C game to last
week's date in Kalamazoo, and
still won 37-27. Akron
desperately needs something to
jumpstart its season after
struggling to beat Army and
doing nothing offensively in a
20-2 loss to Ohio State. This
will be a key game to see if
Indiana really is worthy of
paying attention to over the
next several weeks, or if it's
just a typical Hoosier team
that'll be a flaming Big Ten
also ran, while it'll also be an
important game to see if Akron
will have any signs of life in
the MAC race.
Why Akron Might Win: The
defense hasn't been bad and
should be able to keep the
Hoosiers from getting out to any
sort of a big lead. On the other
side, Indiana's supposed
strength coming into the season
was the secondary, and it still
might turn out to be, especially
at corner, but the pass defense
has struggled so far and got
bombed on by Western Michigan.
Granted, it was in comeback
mode, but WMU still had few
problems as Tim Hiller threw for
343 yards and three touchdowns.
If Akron's offense was ever
going to bust out, this would be
the week. The Zip receiving
corps is good enough to do some
damage if ...
Why Indiana Might Win: ...
someone can get them the ball.
Akron's offense did absolutely
nothing against Ohio State, with
just 66 passing yards and three
first downs. No, Indiana's
defense isn't Ohio State's, but
it's better than an Army D that
kept the Zips in check. The
quarterback play hasn't just
been mediocre; it's been awful
with no consistency and no big
plays. If IU can get up by
double digits and force Akron to
throw, this could get ugly.
Who to Watch: Indiana's bread
will be buttered by the passing
game, but to beat Illinois and
Iowa in the first few weeks of
the Big Ten season, it needs to
find some offensive balance with
a running attack coming from
someone other than QB Kellen
Lewis. Marcus Thigpen started to
add a little bit of a punch with
an 81-yard performance against
Western Michigan, but it was on
22 carries. In a perfect world,
IU gets up early and then gets
the running game a little more
work. If Thigpen struggles, then
it'll be time to be concern.
What Will Happen: The Akron
offense will finally have a few
good moments, but not enough of
them. IU's offense will be
tested for the first time all
year and will need the fourth
quarter to finally pull away and
be comfortable.
CFN Prediction:
Indiana 26 ...
Akron
17
... Line: Indiana -12.5
Must See Rating: (5 Britney at
the VMAs - 1 Big Shots)
... 2
Big Ten Fearless Predictions, Week
Three, Part 2 |