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Purdue (3-7) at Iowa (6-4),
12 EST Big Ten Network
Why to watch: Alright,
Iowa. You’ve piqued everyone’s
interest after playing well
defensively all season long
before coming up with the BCS
shaker with the win over Penn
State. Now it’s time to keep the
train rolling. Winners of three
of their last four games, the
Hawkeyes need to get another win
to feel comfortable about going
bowling after they were left at
home last year with a 6-6
record. With a trip up to
Minnesota next week, they’d like
to get the next win as soon as
possible to be assured of a 13th
game. The painful Purdue season
rolls on as things aren’t quite
clicking like Joe Tiller has
hoped in his final year. His
team has lost six of its last
seven games, and if the one win
over Michigan, complete with the
hook-and-lateral to pull off the
win, wasn’t the Thank You Very
Much, Good Night moment for the
Tiller era, it sure seemed that
way. Purdue will beat Indiana
next week in Tiller’s final
game, but winning on the road
against the Hawkeyes would
likely be even sweeter.
Why Purdue might win:
Could Iowa be on letdown alert
after last week? The Boilermaker
passing offense is just
productive enough to keep the
good Iowa secondary working,
while Kory Sheets is running
well and providing a decent
balance, even if the team isn’t
amassing much in the way of
rushing yards. The Iowa lines
held up against Penn State, but
for the most part the defensive
front hasn’t gotten into the
backfield on a regular basis
while the O line struggles in
pass protection.
Why Iowa might win: Shonn
Greene. Purdue’s run defense has
gotten much, much better over
the course of the year, but it’s
still hardly a rock. Meanwhile,
the points haven’t been flowing
against anyone other than
Michigan. The offense has scored
seven points or fewer in four of
the last six games and is
struggling to find anything it
can consistently count on.
That’s not a good thing against
an Iowa defense that’s not
allowing much of anything on the
ground and is doing a great job
of forcing offenses off the
field.
Who to watch: Iowa RB
Shonn Grenne is now starting to
get a little All-America-like
attention, and soon he could be
on the fringe of the Heisman
talk. He won’t come within 27
miles of winning it, but by
running for 100 yards or more in
every game this year, and after
his 117-yard, two touchdown
showcase against Penn State,
he’s at least on the radar.
Before returning to the team
this year, his best day was
against Purdue in 2006 with 11
carries for 88 yards and a
touchdown in the 47-17 blowout.
What will happen: Don’t
expect fireworks. The Iowa
formula will work: run Greene,
get decent defense, and don’t
allow much on the ground. Iowa
will go through the motions and
win ugly.
CFN Prediction: Iowa 23 …
Purdue 7 ... Line: Iowa -14.5
Must See Rating: (5
Quantum Of Solace – 1
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) …
2.5
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Minnesota (7-3) at Wisconsin
(5-5),
3:30 EST ABC
Why to watch: The longest
running rivalry in D-I football
continues with plenty on the
line for each team, including
the Paul Bunyan Axe. Wisconsin
is trying to secure a bowl bid,
needing to get to seven wins to
be assured of a spot. With Cal
Poly coming up next week, a win
this week should be able to get
the job done to finish up the
lousy, disappointing season with
something positive. On the flip
side, Minnesota is assured of
getting a 13th game,
but it has to turn things around
in a big hurry after two
disastrous losses. After losing
to Northwestern on a pick-six in
the final moments, the Gophers
didn’t even show up against
Michigan in a horrendous 29-6
loss that wasn’t as close as the
final score might indicate. They
were supposed to be on a big run
with a winnable two-game
homestand, but now they’re
trying to get back on the
winning track before closing out
against Iowa.
Why Minnesota might win:
Wisconsin simply isn’t getting
anything out of the passing
game. There’s TE Garrett Graham,
and the occasional catch from
David Gilreath, but for the most
part, there’s nothing for the
Gopher secondary to be concerned
about. If the Gophers can force
a few early Badger fumbles and
make QB Dustin Sherer do
something positive on third and
long, they should have a shot.
However …
Why Wisconsin might win:
… the Minnesota defense has been
gashed over the last few weeks.
Northwestern QB Mike Kafka ran
wild two weeks ago, and Michigan
actually looked like Michigan on
the ground last week. The
Badgers destroyed Indiana’s
linebackers last week with the
running game, tearing off 441
rushing yards and 601 yards of
total offense with three players
going for over 100 yards.
Minnesota doesn’t have the bulk
to hold up for a full four
quarters after getting beaten on
by P.J. Hill, John Clay, and the
Badger running game.
Who to watch: Wisconsin
WR David Gilreath has been doing
a little of everything as a
decent wide receiver, a good
runner, and an elite return man.
He came up with eight carries
for 168 yards and two touchdowns
last week and will be used to
add a bit more flash and dash to
the pounding backfield. He only
has 22 catches for 329 yards and
two touchdowns on the year,
while he has 22 carries for 290
yards and two touchdowns. The
coaching staff is inventing ways
to get the ball in his hands.
What will happen: It’ll
be the Indiana game part two.
Wisconsin will pound away up the
middle, on the outside, and
everywhere in between as it runs
for well over 200 yards.
Minnesota will play better than
it has over the last two weeks,
but it won’t matter. The time of
possession will be lopsided to
UW’s favor.
CFN Prediction: Wisconsin
31 … Minnesota 16 ... Line:
Wisconsin -13.5
Must See Rating: (5
Quantum Of Solace – 1
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) …
3
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