CFB51 College Football Fan Community
The Power Five => Big Ten => Topic started by: medinabuckeye1 on October 31, 2023, 12:53:26 PM
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This weekend all 14 B1G teams have B1G games:
- Illinois (1-4/3-5) +2 at Minnesota (3-2/5-3)
- Nebraska (3-2/5-3) -3 at Michigan State (0-5/2-6)
- Iowa (3-2/6-2) -5 at Northwestern (2-3/4-4)
- Wisconsin (3-2/5-3) -9 at Indiana (0-5/2-6)
- #9 Penn State (4-1/7-1) -9.5 at Maryland (2-3/5-3)
- #3 Ohio State (5-0/8-0) -18.5 at Rutgers (3-2/6-2)
- Purdue (1-4/2-6) +33 at #2 Michigan (5-0/8-0)
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The last 3 are easy picks. The first 4 are not easy picks.
What is Iowa now that they know their OC is toast? Do they make a statement, or do they fall on their faces in Evanston, wherein resides a revived NU football team?
IU had a pulse last week against PSU. Can they beat a depleted UW team at home?
What's the O/U for IL/MN? Like 12 or something?
Can UNL go on the road and beat a win-starved MSU squad?
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One thing that stands out is that nearly all the favorites are on the road. That tends to portend a lot of upsets.
Interestingly, the four teams tied atop the B1G-W at 3-2 are all favored but none are favored by much. They are only favored by 2 (MN), 3 (UNL), 5 (IA), and 9 (UW). Would anything surprise anyone at this point? Seriously, I wouldn't be shocked if all four won nor if all four lost.
The final question I'd like to address is Maryland, WTF is going on with the Terps?
At the end of September the Terps were 5-0 and on the cusp of being ranked. Seriously, they were first among "others receiving votes" and only 9 points behind #25.
Then, in their first October game the Terps held a second-half lead on the road over the #4 team in the nation. The rest of October was an unmitigated disaster for the Terps:
- Outscored 27-0 the rest of the way by tOSU
- Lost 27-24 at home to an Illinois team which is still otherwise winless in league games.
- Lost to the fighting byes of Open Date U
- Lost 33-27 to Northwestern
If Maryland returns to "September Maryland" they could be a serious threat at home to Penn State. OTOH, if they continue as "October Maryland" they'll likely get blown off the field.
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What's the O/U for IL/MN? Like 12 or something?
Actually, the Iowa / NW game has an O/U of 29.5 points, which is a "modern" low record for Vegas.
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Can UNL go on the road and beat a win-starved MSU squad?
Rhule thinks sparty is hungry and will play inspired
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Rhule thinks sparty is hungry and will play inspired
On one hand, MSU does seem overdue for having a good complete game, on the other hand MSU has been really bad at finishing games, kind of like Nebraska was like under Frost. They always would find a way to fall apart in the 4Q.
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defensive coordinator Tony White, thinks Sparty might be overdue
White said Michigan State, the Huskers' opponent this Saturday, is not a team to be taken lightly despite its 2-6 record.
“They led at Iowa going into the fourth quarter,” White noted. “They were kicking Rutgers’ butt going into the fourth quarter.”
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defensive coordinator Tony White, thinks Sparty might be overdue
White said Michigan State, the Huskers' opponent this Saturday, is not a team to be taken lightly despite its 2-6 record.
“They led at Iowa going into the fourth quarter,” White noted. “They were kicking Rutgers’ butt going into the fourth quarter.”
Yup, and did nothing in the 4Q and ending up losing. This is more than bad luck, it's a pattern. I don't know if it's conditioning or a depth problem, but teams tire out for a reason.
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That Rutgers game was bonkers. I don't think I've ever seen a team with so much break bad in such a short amount of time. It was part bad luck and part stupidity (or choking??). Unreal.