10 of the conferences teams are in action this week, gearing up for the start of B1G play. Most teams are playing inferior opponents to get some game speed practice and to get younger players valuable experience for if/when their number is called when the games matter more. There are a couple of intriguing this games week, however, so lets take a look around the league.
UAB @ Ohio State 12:00pm
This one is a bit of a mis-match since UAB is terrible. Ohio State should be able to get their younger defensive linemen in the game, and continue to work on their tackling. Braxton Miller will put up huge numbers, and probably will be able to take a seat after 3 quarters. The Bucknuts shouldn’t have any problems this week.
UTEP @ Wisconsin 12:00pm
The Miners gave Oklahoma all they wanted in the season opener, and only gave up 24 points to the Sooners. It looks like the Badger offense is just bad. O’Brien has been benched for Stave, so Wisconsin looks to build confidence in the signal caller position before conference play. I don’t see UTEP being able to score more than 10 points in this one, so the Badgers should be able to escape with a low scoring victory.
Central Michigan @ Iowa 12:00pm
The Hawkeyes seemed to get some offensive struggles worked out last week, and should be able to continue that progress against the terrible Chips. This is a much needed game for Iowa who will be looking to put up some big offensive numbers at home.
South Dakota @ Northwestern
Northwestern is shaping up to be a contender in the Legends Division, and likely would be the favorite in the Leaders right now. They will get a chance to continue to work out their quarterback situation on Saturday. South Dakota beat a terrible Minnesota team a couple of years ago, but I doubt they will be able to hang around very long in this one.
Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State 3:30pm
Well, Michigan State has finished their two real non-conference games and are going back to stomping all over the MAC. The Ron English led Eagles have no chance in this game. Sparty should be able to work out some younger, athletic, real receivers than the bums they started the season with. Maxwell will bounce back and put up a lot of yards. Bell will likely run wild as well. This one will be over at the coin flip.
Idaho State @ Nebraska 3:30pm
Another snoozer. The Huskers get Rex Burkhead back and will likely enter him back into the offense slowly. Abdullah will get enough carries to go over 100. Nebraska could have 3 100 yard rushers in this one.
Temple @ Penn State 3:30pm
Penn State is coming off their impressive win over Navy. They seemed to mesh well on offense and look to continue against the Owls. Temple has never won in Beaver Stadium, but this week might be their best chance ever. This looks to be a close game, but I like the Nittany Lions to give O’Brien his first winning streak.
Syracuse @ Minnesota 8:00pm
This has been highlighted as the game of the week. Of course the Notre Dame vs Michigan is the high profile game this week, but I will cover it in depth tomorrow. The Golden Gophers are coming in at 3-0, while the Orange are 1-2. Syracuse has a very good passing offense that put up 41 points against Northwestern. I think Syracuse is the better team in this matchup, especially with Minnesota QB Gray out for a couple of weeks with an ankle injury. Look for Nassib to put up big numbers against the Gophers.
Louisiana Tech @ Illinois 8:00pm
Illinois doesn’t get much of a break this week before B1G play. LaTech is the highest scoring team in college football so far, and will likely be able to move the ball against the Illini. It will give the defense a very good test. The Illinois linebackers have said they have the best front seven in the nation, well they will need to show up big Saturday night. I think Scheelhasse’s return will help the Illini outscore the Bulldogs in this game, but it could make for an exciting watch.
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