Big Ten Week 9 Preview and Predictions

As we know the Big Ten has a national perception problem. Iowa is a top 5 team but put them on the field with a top SEC or PAC 10 team and many believe they would get blown out. We all know about Ohio State's issues and Penn State sort of came back from the dead last week to blow out a Michigan team that was every one's darling after starting 4-0.

So now what? A set of big games that will have the country on the edge of their seats? Nope. A very down week for match ups. There really isn't even a Big Ten Game of the Week.

A great week for the Big Ten Channel.

Now on to the show.................

New Mexico State at OSU: Holly lines Batman! Ohio State is favored by 43.5 points on Saturday. This should be a close one! Pryor's Backup 61 NMS 7

Indiana at Iowa: Remember when we though IU was pretty good after their performance at Michigan? Well, it turns out that Michigan wasn't as good as we thought. Same goes for Hoosiers who are fighting for a Bowl Game but won't get out of Iowa City with a win on Saturday. Classic let down game for Iowa but I still think they will win. Iowa is a 17.5 favorite. Iowa 24 IU 14

Purdue at Wisconsin: I think the Boilermakers would have a decent shot of winning this game if it was played at home. But they have to travel to Madison for this one. After losing 5 in a row, Purdue beat the #7 ranked Buckeyes and Illinois last weekend. Wisconsin is favored by a touchdown and will have to keep a close eye on the Boilermakers who are playing with nothing to lose. Wisconsin 20 Purdue 17

Michigan State at Minnesota: If this was week 3 or 4 I would have picked The Golden Gophers in this one easy. Michigan State's defense is getting better by the week (BTW: I thought it was a terrible call to run a blitz with one second left on the clock against Iowa, fill up the end zone with people and make it difficult for Iowa to find a throwing lane) and was one second away from beating a top 5 Iowa team last week. It will be cold in The Gophers new outdoor stadium and they would have a considerable home field advantage after dropping two straight games on the road to ranked Big Ten teams bu they have lost their top WR Eric Decker to an injury. The Spartans -3.5. MSU 27 Minnesota 21

Penn State at Northwestern: Penn State comes off maybe it's best performance in the Big House ever last week and Northwestern beat Indiana by one point. Penn State is clearly the better team but might find itself in a let down situation against the Wildcats. If JoPa and the boys come ready to play like they did last week, this game will be over at half time. PSU is favored by 14.5. Penn State 38 NW 10


The Michigan - Illinois game will be previewed tomorrow.