The B1G looked a little more respectable in the opening weekend of the 2013 season, but only a little. There really aren’t too many conference games to get excited about in week 2, but lets take a look anyways.
South Florida @ Michigan State 12:00
Michigan State was one of the more disappointing teams last week. The offense looks like the returners have not improved, and they are without their two biggest playmakers (Bell and Sims). The Spartans desperately need one of their 4 QBs to take hold of the starting role. South Florida still has some talented players that could challenge Michigan State, but I think the Spartans will grind out an ugly win.
Eastern Michigan @ Penn State 12:00
I think Hackenberg will continue to gain confidence with each start. Look for Penn State to try to get the rushing attack on track this Saturday against the Eagles. Penn State should roll in this one.
Tennessee Tech @ Wisconsin 12:00
The Badgers continue their daunting nonconference schedule. Gordon and White will be looking to finish with more yards than the entire Tennessee Tech team.
Cincinnati @ Illinois 12:00
The Bearcats took it to Purdue last weekend, but it is unknown if most of that was due to Purdue’s ability or Cincinnati being better than expected. This one should be a high scoring game, and I think the Bearcats will be able to outscore the Illini.
Missouri State @ Iowa 12:00
The Hawkeyes will be looking to bounce back against Missouri State. Iowa surprisingly kept the game against Northern Illinois pretty close, so that shows me that they are better than I expected or the Huskies are just an average MAC team. I think it is a little bit of both, and look for Iowa to have a big weekend.
Indiana State @ Purdue 12:00
The Sycamore defense is awful (73 points to IU) and the Purdue offense isn’t much better (7 points against Cincy). I think Indiana State will score 20+ points, but the Boilers have to be able to crack 30 against these guys.
San Diego State @ Ohio State 3:30
A few years ago this matchup might be more anticipated, but the Aztecs are coming off of a loss to an FCS team and OSU is coming off a disappointing 20 point win over Buffalo. I have a feeling that SDSU will come out angry and try to forget about the debacle of last weekend, but the Buckeyes are just too talented and will pull away for a very comfortable win.
Syracuse @ Northwestern 6:00
Cuse looks to even its record against B1G opponents, but it’s a tougher task this weekend against Northwestern. The Wildcats return home after the conference’s best win in week 1, and will hopefully get Colter and Mark back from injuries. I think Syracuse will score more against Northwestern, but the Wildcats are going to push 40 with either Colter or Siemian.
Navy @ Indiana 6:00
I probably could have gone with the Syracuse/ Northwestern game for the marquee matchup, but I wanted to give the Hoosiers some love. This game is intriguing on paper because of the two contrasting styles. Indiana will finish with more passes on the opening drive as Navy does for the game. I actually think the Midshipmen’s best defense will be their running attack and ability to control the clock. This will be a big test for the Hoosier defense. It is tough to prepare for Navy’s unique offense. I think Indiana will pull this game out, but it could be very high scoring.
Southern Miss @ Nebraska 6:00
Lets see how the Husker’s defense responds to being the laughing stock of the conference. I don’t think the Golden Eagle offense is as potent as Wyoming, but Nebraska has the uncanny ability to make any offense look decent. Look for Martinez, Cross, and Abdullah to finish with over 100 yards on the ground.
Minnesota @ New Mexico State 8:00
The Golden Gophers really didn’t play that well last week, but came away with a blowout victory. I will be very interested to see how the Minnesota offense responds, especially Philip Nelson. The Aggies should be one of the worst teams in division one this season, so Jerry Kill’s team should get some good practice on the road Saturday night.
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