Nebraska over Ohio State in the title game.
Tough, tough conference to call. So many pick'em games that success in the conference is really going to come down to holding serve at home. I happen to think Nebraska is overrated due to their recent performance in the Big 12 North. The Big Ten "North" is a different kettle of fish, but for all the talk of Nebraska having a rough schedule in their inaugural Big Ten season, they get the other two contenders to the division crown at home, and I have them winning both, with Iowa beating Michigan State in Iowa City to claim second in the division. It's the most important season in recent Michigan State football history, as I only see one certain loss on the schedule, the trip to Lincoln, and predict they'll lose tossups at Notre Dame and at Iowa, but again, those are tossups. Deep drop-off in the division from there. Michigan fans are acting like Washington Redskins fans at the start of NFL free agency. Let's see how they do once the games start, and I have them following a similar path as Rich Rod's last year in charge: fast start, crash to earth. Their conference schedule is not favorable at all. Persa gets a lot of praise, but his absence last year exposed the Northwestern team as one that still doesn't have a running back and has no defense. An Achilles injury is a nasty one. Jerry Kill is a great hire for Minnesota, but he doesn't have the horses right now.
The "South" comes down to the Wisconsin at Ohio State game, which the home team will win. I'm alone in the woods when it comes to thinking they'll get into the title game, but after the visit to Lincoln, the schedule gets very manageable. Russell Wilson is an unknown quantity but will benefit from Wisconsin not having a true road game until the night game in East Lansing, which will be a tall task. Penn State strikes me as a run of the mill 8-win team that will not be in a lot of shootouts this year. They'll beat Illinois, and yes, I can't believe I'm picking Zook to win 9 games. We'll all have a laugh at that one in December I'm sure. It helps they aren't starting the season by getting beat by Missouri for once. Kevin Wilson is a superb hire by Indiana and with a benign non-conference slate, he only needs a couple wins in conference play to be bowl eligible. It helps they get Purdue at home, who suffer from talent and coaching deficiencies that weren't helped by the injury bug that plagued them last year.
10 bowl teams would be a real coup for the conference.
The game in South Bend will be close, the one in Iowa City will not. MSU by ten in that one, this is not Iowa's team of last year, and we will not get whipped at the lines this year.
ReplyDeleteWith an upset in Lincoln, we will go on to play against Wisconsin for the trip to the Rose Bowl.
Not such a good start for your prediction, huh? If Cousins continues to throw over 50 passes per game you guys will get stomped in the conference. Don't forget that your couch is a worthless piece of shit, so you've got that going for you. That is all douche bag. Enjoy your six wins.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to troll, at least spell correctly. Unless you think Dantonio is a couch, which is just weird.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I came to 9-3 for MSU with losses at Notre Dame, at Iowa and at Nebraska, so at 2-1, they're doing exactly what I predicted.
Man am I looking forward to the game Saturday night. I really believe the Badgers are for real and expect some form of revenge for last years loss. It will be great to see what Russell and company can do against a legitimate defense. I told my boss before the Nebraska game that they were not going to be a test. It's hard to be a top echelon team if you don't throw the ball. One last thing I think the Badger defense is underrated.
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