|
Northwestern (4-0) at Iowa (3-1),
12:00 EST, ESPN Classic
Why to watch: Iowa might
be a strong home team, but it
wasn’t able to beat Northwestern
the last time the two played in
Iowa City. 6-5 against the
Hawkeyes over the last 11
meetings, the Wildcats have done
more than hold their own. Now
they need a win to go 5-0 for
the first time since 1962, and
with home games against Michigan
State and Purdue to follow, and
relatively light road dates at
Indiana and Minnesota after
that, this could be the biggest
battle on the way to a truly
special start to the season. Of
course, that’s getting ahead
about 57 steps considering
Northwestern struggled against
teams like Duke and Ohio. Iowa
has been dismissed a bit after
losing to Pitt in a 21-20
battle, but the defense has been
tremendous over the first month
and the offense has found a
decent running game. With three
road dates in the next four
games, the Hawkeyes need this
win to show that the Pitt game
was an aberration, and to take
advantage of a key Big Ten home
game.
Why Northwestern might win:
Iowa can’t get its quarterback
play straight. The production
has been there, averaging 202
yards per game and getting
efficient play, for the most
part, but it’s been hard to find
a steady leader to run the show.
Is it Ricky Stanzi or Jake
Christensen? It’s Stanzi this
week, but he’ll be looking over
his shoulder after Christensen
threw for 124 yards and ran for
a score last week. In any event,
the upheaval has been a problem
for the Hawkeye offense.
Why Iowa might win:
Northwestern can’t get its
quarterback play straight.
There’s no quarterback
controversy like there is at
Iowa, but C.J. Bacher hasn’t
been close to the same player he
was last year when he led the
Big Ten if total offense. He has
been inefficient, he hasn’t been
consistent, and now he has
sprained fingers on his throwing
hand. He struggled last week
after hurting his hand throwing
four picks against Ohio, and he
should end up giving away a few
turnovers against the aggressive
Hawkeye defense.
Who to watch: It’ll be
hard to get First Team All-Big
Ten running back honors in a
league with Beanie Wells, Javon
Ringer and P.J. Hill, but Iowa’s
Shonn Greene and Northwestern’s
Tyrell Sutton should come close.
Sutton has done a little of
everything for the Wildcat
offense, but he left last week’s
game with a hamstring injury.
While he’s not 100%, he’ll play
and will be given a full
workload. Greene has been
magnificent so far. The Big
Ten’s second leading rusher,
behind Ringer, Greene has rushed
for over a 100 yards with a
touchdown in each of the first
four games. He outdueled Pitt
star LeSean McCoy last week,
rushing for 147 yards to McCoy’s
78 yards.
What will happen: Iowa’s
offense will struggle against
the Northwestern defensive line
that’ll be camped out in the
backfield, but the defense will
stop the Wildcat offense time
and again in the second half.
Northwestern won’t get its
running game going, and it won’t
be able to get enough from
Bacher to pull off the road win.
CFN Prediction: Iowa 23 …
Northwestern 14 ... Line: Iowa
-8
Must See Rating: (5
Debate No. 1 - 1 The 2008
Primetime Emmys) … 3
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
Wisconsin (3-0) at Michigan
(1-2),
3:30 EST, ABC
Why to watch: If
Wisconsin is really as good as
it’s capable of being, and if
Michigan really is as down as it
appeared in its first three
games, then this should be the
time when the Big Ten pecking
order starts to become
established. The Badgers, after
getting two weeks off after the
tougher-than-it’s-getting-credit-for
win at Fresno State, are as
healthy as they’ve been since
early last year, and a win in
the Big House would kick off the
make-or-break six-week stretch
on a solid note with home dates
against Ohio State and Penn
State to follow. While the date
at Michigan might not seem as
imposing as it might have
appeared before the season, it
would still be a big statement
considering the Badgers haven’t
won in Ann Arbor since 1994. For
Michigan, a win would all but
erase the problems of the first
three weeks. It’s the Big Ten
season now, and the slate is
wiped clean with a three-game
homestand to try to turn things
around (although the third game
is against Toledo, who’s from
the MAC). The offense hasn’t
worked, the defense has been
surprisingly soft and
underwhelming when it’s had to
come up with a key stop to bail
out the offense, and the special
teams have been mediocre. In
other words, the first three
weeks have been a bit of a mess.
Has Michigan tightened up, or is
this Wisconsin’s time?
Why Wisconsin might win:
Michigan can’t score. The
offense hasn’t found anything
that works so far. Forget about
running the spread like Rich
Rodriguez ran at West Virginia,
Michigan can’t get the ground
game going at all. The passing
game has been non-existent at
best, a detriment at worst.
Wisconsin’s defense gave up a
few big plays to Fresno State,
but there was only one touchdown
allowed. Michigan doesn’t have
the ability to crank out
consistent home runs on this
Badger D, which is finally
getting healthy, and there’s no
chance to crank out enough long
drives to keep the Badger O off
the field.
Why Michigan might win:
The Michigan run defense has
been solid. The defensive front
has been terrific at getting
into the backfield and allowed
Utah to net just 36 rushing
yards, Miami University to net
47, and Notre Dame 113.
Wisconsin isn’t afraid to throw
the ball, but it would rather
not. Not only will the Badgers
likely have a hard time
establishing their running game,
but QB Allan Evridge will likely
be under consistent pressure.
While Evridge is tough and can
take a beating, as shown in the
Marshall game, he needs time to
operate.
Who to watch: Is Sam
McGuffie really going to be the
Michigan running game? The
freshman is a spectacular
athlete who showed against Notre
Dame the ability to hit the home
run as a receiver, while
carrying the ball 25 times for
131 yards, but the Wolverines
need others to get involved.
McGuffie has carried the ball 50
times, and no other running back
has carried it more than eight.
What will happen:
Wisconsin’s offense is hardly
going to be a work of art, but
it’ll be effective enough when
it has to be. The Michigan
running game will be held under
100 yards and the passing game
will misfire when it needs to
come up with a key third down
play. The Badger will win, but
few will be impressed.
CFN Prediction: Wisconsin 23
… Michigan 13 ... Line:
Wisconsin -6.5
Must See Rating: (5
Debate No. 1 - 1 The 2008
Primetime Emmys) … 4
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
Purdue (2-1) at Notre Dame (2-1),
3:30 EST, NBC
Why to watch: Purdue was
a missed kick against Oregon
away from being 3-0, while Notre
Dame is coming off a 23-7 loss
to Michigan State that was a
tougher battle than the final
score might show. Each team has
been shaky in its own way, with
Notre Dame having problems
offensively and Purdue
struggling with its consistency,
and it’s not going too far to
suggest that this is a
crossroads game for each team.
Notre Dame’s schedule isn’t bad,
but if the offense has problems
like it has over the first few
games, it’s going to take some
breaks to beat the better teams.
Purdue is one of the better
teams the Irish has to face
until November, and no matter
how the Irish get the win, if
they can pull off the win, it’ll
show the team is finding ways to
make it happen. Purdue, on the
other hand, couldn’t put away
Oregon and had a nightmare of a
time finishing off Central
Michigan. With Penn State and a
trip to Ohio State over the next
two weeks, the Boilermakers
can’t afford a slip.
Why Purdue might win:
Notre Dame’s offense stinks …
again. Purdue’s Achilles heel
has been the run defense, and
there’s nothing to worry about
this week. Meanwhile, the
secondary gives up yards, but
doesn’t get bombed on. The Irish
offense isn’t going to go on
many, if any, long, sustained
drives. If there aren’t
turnovers or big plays from the
special teams, the offense
struggles to put points on the
board. If Purdue can come out
hot, a big early number could
put the game away.
Why Notre Dame might win:
The Purdue offense has been
hit-or-miss. Curtis Painter has
done the best he can with a new
receiving corps, and Kory Sheets
is having a nice year running
the ball, but the passing attack
is having problems coming up
with the big plays when needed.
The Purdue lines are fine, but
nothing special. They’re not as
good as the Michigan or Michigan
State lines.
Who to watch: Notre Dame
isn’t coming up with much in the
way of rushing production, but
it’s also not working hard to
establish the ground game.
Against Michigan State, the
Irish ran the ball just 22 times
and threw it 41 times. Robert
Hughes ran five times for nine
yards, and James Aldridge ran
four times for 13 yards. The
only running play that worked
was a trick to WR Golden Tate on
a 24-yard gain. Hughes ran for
79 yards and two touchdowns
against Michigan and 54 yards
against San Diego State. The
sophomore needs to be used far
more against a Purdue defense
that’s been spotty against the
run.
What will happen:
Purdue’s offense won’t be
effective, but it’ll do far more
than the Notre Dame attack.
Curtis Painter will get all the
time he needs to operate, and
he’ll be effective early on. The
Irish won’t be able to keep up.
CFN Prediction: Purdue 24 …
Notre Dame 16 ... Line: Purdue
-2.5
Must See Rating: (5
Debate No. 1 - 1 The 2008
Primetime Emmys) … 3
-
Click here to receive ATS
Consultants FREE selections
-
Big 10 Week
Five Fearless Predictions |