Iowa
(4-5) at Northwestern
(5-4)
12:00 PM ESPN2
Why to watch: Iowa dominated
this matchup for year, but
Northwestern has made it a good
yearly battle over the last
decade and has won two straight
in the series. Now this becomes
a good battle for a bowl bid
with Iowaturning its
season around with a thrilling
overtime win over Michigan State
to win two of the last three.
With almost certain wins against
Minnesota and Western Michigan
to close things out, a win in
Evanston will likely mean a 7-5
regular season record.
Northwestern is trying for bowl
eligibility to the second week
in a row after struggling in a
loss to Purdue, and with Indiana
and Illinois to close things
out, it might be now or never
for a chance at a 13th game.
Why
Iowa might win: Will the
running game that showed up last
week make the trip to Evanston?
From out of nowhere, the
Hawkeyes started moving the ball
on the ground against Michigan
State, and it ended up leading
to an overtime win. The
Northwestern run defense held
Eastern Michigan in check two
weeks ago, but it's been
mediocre in Big Ten play, giving
up more than 200 yards to
everyone but Michigan. The
Wildcat defensive line isn't
anything special and can be
pushed around, while there's no
real pass rush to deal with. Why Northwestern might win:
Iowa's offensive showing against
Michigan State might be a
mirage. This isn't a consistent
attack with no passing game and
not nearly enough production
throughout the year from the
line. It's possible for
Northwestern, and the Big Ten's
best passing game, to get up
early, make Iowa press, and hope
it doesn't suddenly find a
groove like it did last week
when ... Who to watch:
... Albert Young came up with
his best games in two years.
With 34 carries for 179 yards
and two touchdowns, Young was
the Iowa offense in the win over
Michigan State. With so many
problems in the receiving corps,
and so many issues finding a
passing attack that can balance
out the attack, Young will have
to be the focal point yet again.
Northwestern might have lost
last week, but it got its start
back with Tyrell Sutton
returning from an ankle injury
to run 12 times for 72 yards.
Brought along slowly, if he can
regain his pre-injury form, all
of a sudden the Northwestern
offense might go from
ultra-productive to unstoppable. What will happen:
Northwestern's offense has been
explosive, but it's only put up
the monster numbers against the
miserable defenses. Iowa's
defense might not have killer
stats, but considering the
team's offensive woes, it's been
fantastic. It's not going to be
a pretty game with the Hawkeyes
taking advantage of a few
Northwestern turnovers to
generate their points. CFN Prediction:
Iowa
20 ... Northwestern 17
...
Line: Northwestern -1 Must See Rating: (5
Heidi Klum on Victoria's Secret Fashion
Show - 1 Heidi Klum on
Oprah) ... 2
Michigan
(7-2) at Michigan State
(5-4)
3:30 PM ABC Why to watch:
Has it really been five years
since Michigan State beat
Michigan? In what's always an
intense rivalry, the Wolverines
have controlled things over the
last few years, with some of the
wins sending the Spartans into
ugly tailspins. At the moment,
MSU is already in a funk losing
two straight and four of the
last five games with only a big
win over Indiana to break the
gloom. With a road trip to
Purdue and a home game against
Penn State, the potential is
there for an ugly end to the
year, so a win is desperately
needed right now to show that
things have quickly changed in
the Mark Dantonio era, and to be
in a hunt for a bowl bid.
Michigan has roared its way back
into the 2007 season with a
seven-game winning streak with a
brutal three-game stretch to
close things out. A win this
week is a must with a road trip
to Wisconsin and a date with
Ohio State to close. Why
Michigan might win: Michigan
State's defense isn't nearly as
good as the statistics. It's
been great at getting into the
backfield, and it has aggressive
athletes, but any defense worth
its salt doesn't give up 230
rushing yards to Iowa. While
Brian Hoyer has been throwing
well, MSU has to run will to
win. That could be an issue
against a Wolverine run defense
that has problems against
running quarterbacks, but has
been consistently strong in
recent weeks. Since giving up
331 yards to Oregon, now one has
gotten more than 137, including
Illinois, Purdue, Penn State and
Minnesota. The Wolverine
defensive front seven should
control things early. Why Michigan State might win:
Michigan's offensive line will
give up sacks allowing 15 so
far. It's not like the Michigan
quarterbacks are going to take
off for big runs, and compared
to most Big Ten quarterbacks,
will be sitting ducks for the
MSU defense. Ohio State also has
a statue at quarterback in Todd
Boeckman, and it has a terrific
offensive line. When MSU got
into the Buckeye backfield, it
forced two huge mistakes that
changed the game around. The
same could happen this week. A
few big hits could quickly
change the tone of the game and
could give the MSU offense the
opportunities to get easy
points. Who to watch:
Just how healthy is Michigan?
It's been able to get away with
not having a healthy Chad Henne
or Mike Hart for the last few
weeks, but while the backups
have been more than just solid,
Michigan will likely go with its
banged up stars. Henne and Hart
are supposed to play after
missing the Minnesota game, and
while that's a plus, there has
to be a way to keep the backup
Wolverine backs involved after a
big week against the Gophers.
Brandon Minor was terrific with
21 carries for 157 yards and a
score, while Carlos Brown ripped
off an 85-yard run on the way to
132 yards and two scores. In
other words, Hart doesn't have
to carry it 40 times. What will happen: Never
discount the emotional fire in a
rivalry, and MSU will be
sky-high at home. However, the
Wolverine defense will overcome
two big Javon Ringer runs to
close down the rest of the
Spartan offense, while Mario
Manningham and the Michigan
receiving corps will do just
enough to get crush a big late
momentum swing. CFN Prediction:
Michigan
31 ... Michigan State 23...
Line: Michigan -4.5 Must See Rating: (5
Heidi Klum on Victoria's Secret Fashion
Show - 1 Heidi Klum on
Oprah) ... 3
Illinois
(6-3) at Minnesota
(1-8)
8:00 PM Big Ten Network Why to watch:
Illinois has its bowl
eligibility, but now its looking
for big things with a shot at a
New Year's Day bowl game still
there, and a ten-win season
still possible after getting by
Ball State last week. With a
trip to Ohio State next week,
getting past an awful Minnesota
team healthy and confident is a
must. The Gophers have history
on their side, if nothing else,
winning the last three against
the Illini by a combined score
of 112 to 20. The season has
been one of the worst in the
school's long history, coming
within an overtime win over
Miami University of being
winless, while losing to a Sun
Belt team (Florida Atlantic), a
FCS team (North Dakota State), a
MAC team (Bowling Green), and
going 0-for-5 in the Big Ten.
With only one home game left
against Wisconsin, after going
on the road to deal with Iowa,
it might be now or never for a
second win in the Tim Brewster
era. Why
Illinois might win: The
Gopher defense continues to be
the worst in the country.
Michigan didn't have Mike Hart
or Chad Henne last week but it
still cranked out 561 yards of
total offense. Only two teams
haven't hit the 500-yard mark,
Ohio State in a 30-7 loss (459
yards) and Indiana in a 40-20
loss (463 yards). The pass
defense has been awful
throughout, while the run
defense has gone into a steady
decline, allowing a whopping 701
yards over the last two weeks.
Minnesota doesn't have the
linebackers to come close to
handling the Illinois read
option running game. Juice
Williams and Rashard Mendenhall
should go crazy. Why Minnesota might win:
Minnesota should be able to take
a deep breath and not worry a
lick about its secondary for a
week. The beleaguered group
won't get tested too often with
Illinois certain to try running
the ball over and over and over
again. The Illini passing game
has shown signs of life at
times, but it's still the least
efficient in the Big Ten and is
only cranking out 147 yards per
game. Any opportunity for safety
Dominique Barber to cheat up and
play the run is a positive, but
for him to do so ... Who to watch:
... the freshman corners will
have to play like veterans. No,
Illinois isn't going to throw it
35 times, but it'll look to come
up with a few big plays with its
star freshman Arrelious Benn
against Ryan Collado and Kyle
Theret, true freshman who've
been given their shot at corner
after nothing else was working.
Throw in true freshman free
safety Curtis Thomas, and the
Gophers are playing with an eye
on the future. Also getting work
is true freshman Duane Bennett,
a tough, quick back who ran for
106 yards against Michigan.
He'll be the focal point of the
Minnesota offense over the final
three games. What will happen:
Minnesota is way overdue for a
good break, and it's not going
to get one this week. Never
count out a Ron Zook coached
team against anyone, whether
it's Ohio State or Minnesota,
but this week it'll be all about
Illinois running the ball 50
times for close to 400 yards. CFN Prediction:
Illinois
34 ... Minnesota .17 ..
Line: Illinois -11.5 Must See Rating: (5
Heidi Klum on Victoria's Secret Fashion
Show - 1 Heidi Klum on
Oprah) ... 2
