Week 3 is here, and with it comes the most important nonconference week of the season for the B1G. Four teams will take on Pac 12 opponents and 3 others will face off against legitimate Division 1 foes.
Bowling Green State @ Indiana 12:00
Indiana made a splash in the opening week with an impressive offensive outburst, but the Hoosiers just couldn’t stop the unique Navy offense. This game is very intriguing. If Indiana wants to be a bowl team this season they will need to find a way to win this game, but the Falcons are the best team in the MAC and could be this year’s Northern Illinois. This one is going to be high scoring, and I actually think the Bowling Green defense will make at least one more stop than the Hoosiers and sneak out of Bloomington with a shootout win.
Western Illinois @ Minnesota 12:00
The Gophers continue to beat up on terrible opponents, and Western Illinois should be the worst of the bunch. Minnesota should be looking to get Philip Nelson going through the air. The Gophers should roll big time.
UCLA @ Nebraska 12:00
If you remember last year, a chunk of B1G teams played Pac 12 opponents around this time and it was highlighted by the Huskers going to the Rose Bowl against UCLA. You may also remember that QB Hundley and company racked up 600+ yards in what was an embarrassing game for Nebraska, and the rest of the conference. This year could be history repeating itself, except this year in Lincoln. Even though the Husker defense bounced back with a dominating performance against a team unlikely to win a game this season, I still think they are among the worst in the B1G. UCLA should again shred every aspect of these laughable black shirts. The questions will be, can Taylor Martinez make enough plays to hang in the game and will the road stadium force Hundley into more mistakes than Arm Punter. I want to see Nebraska win this game and try to turn the national opinion of the conference, but I just cant see them being able to outscore the Bruins.
Youngstown State @ Michigan State 12:00
When I looked at the Spartans schedule I assumed week 3 against FCS YSU would be a sleeper, but then after seeing the ineptitude of the MSU offense this game becomes more interesting. The Penguins are one of the better FCS teams, and likely have the best offense of the Spartan’s first three opponents. The Michigan State defense will likely still be able to dominate, but how long can that continue. One of Sparty’s 4 quarterback-like players needs to emerge as the leader of the offense, and maybe score more than 1 offensive score in this game. Michigan State moves to 3-0, but it still will not be pretty.
Iowa @ Iowa State 6:00
The battle of the Cy-Hawk trophy will again be a matchup that nobody cares about. The Hawkeyes are trying not to be the worst team in the B1G, while the Cyclones are coming off of a loss to an FCS team. This one should be some really ugly football, and will be full of 4th and 2 punts from the opponent 38 yard line.
Central Florida @ Penn State 6:00
The Hack Attack is out in full force in Happy Valley, and the Nittany Lions will get to test out their new shiny toy on a real opponent. UCF is easily the best team Penn State will face until the Michigan showdown next month. Look for the Knights to blitz often to try to confuse the freshman quarterback. This will result in at least one big passing play to Robinson. UCF has a pretty balanced offensive approach, and should be able to test the depth of the Nittany Lion front 7. I think Penn State will pull out a close victory.
Washington @ Illinois 6:00
The Illini surprised everyone when they dominated Cincinnati last weekend, and now people are talking about them as a dark horse in the Leader’s Divison. I still think they aren’t very good, but this weekend could change my opinion. I think Steve Sarkesian is a really good coach out in Spokane, and will bring a very athletic team to Chicago tomorrow. It is unlikely that the Illinois defense is much better from last year, so QB Price should have a huge day for the Huskies. I am interested to see how Bill Cubit and Nathan Scheelhasse handle one of the best defenses they will see this season. This game could be close for a half, but UW should be able to pull away.
Ohio State @ California 7:00
The Buckeyes will be playing their first road nonconference game tomorrow night when they travel to the west coast. California is leading the nation in passing yards so far this season even with a freshman quarterback. Ohio State will likely sit Braxton Miller to make sure he is healthy moving into conference play, but their offense is more than capable with Guiton under center. Northwestern scored 44 points on the Bears in the season opener, and the Buckeyes have a more prolific offense. I am interested to see how the sometimes soft pass defense from OSU can handle the Sonny Dykes attack. This game could be high scoring, but the Buckeyes have too much talent to let Cal hang around too long.
Notre Dame @ Purdue 8:00
In case you missed it, the Irish got beat in Ann Arbor last weekend. They now have to travel to West Lafayette for a matchup with their national rival, Purdue. The Boilermakers are clearly the worst team in the conference, and it isn’t close. I think Notre Dame is a BCS-caliber team, so this one will get out of hand quickly.
Western Michigan @ Northwestern 9:00
At the time, the Broncos impressed in their season opener against Michigan State. Now in the past 2 weeks we know the Spartan offense is bad, and Western lost to Nicholls State last weekend. WMU might be one of the worst teams in the MAC this season. Meanwhile, Northwestern has their sights set on the Rose Bowl. The Wildcats will need to continue to work on their pass coverage, and this game will be a good one to do it. Look for Northwestern to continue to rack up interceptions, and just blow the doors off of the Broncos.
Wisconsin @ Arizona State 10:30
The Badgers also go on the road for the first time under Gary Anderson. They travel to Tempe, where 100° heat and a stiff defense await. I want Wisconsin to be good this season, if only to challenge Ohio State in the Leaders Division, but for some reason I expect the Badgers to struggle in this game. The Sun Devils are becoming a prolific offense under Todd Graham, and their defense might be one of the best Wisconsin faces this season. I think we will find out a lot more about Wisco this weekend, but I am not sure we will like it.
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