B1G Week 5 Preview

Luckily week 5 is a pretty light lineup for the B1G as I will be in Japan for work.  I will try to keep the blog updated while overseas, but it might be a light week.  I will try to at least make a Minnesota preview.

Miami (OH) @ Illinois 12:00pm
Miami is not a very good MAC team this year, and Illinois looks to be improved from last season.  I think Nathan Scheelhasse will have another big game through the air as new OC Bill Cubit is very familiar with the Red Hawks.  Look for Illinois to try different things on defense to try to force more big plays (sacks and turnovers).  

Northern Illinois @ Purdue 12:00pm
The Huskies already beat Iowa this season, and are looking for their 2nd B1G win.  I have said multiple times that Purdue is the worst team in the conference, so if NIU could beat Iowa I wiill be expecting them to do something similar to the Boilermakers.

Iowa @ Minnesota 3:30pm
This game is really intriguing and should give better clarity to the bowl teams in the conference. Even though the Hawkeyes are not performing up to their standards, fans still expect a bowl berth.  Minnesota, on the other hand, is trending in the opposite direction, and the Gophers have the talent to be in the postseason.  Both teams will need this win if they plan on getting to 6 wins.  The Hageman - Weisman matchup should be one of the better storylines around the conference this week.  I think the Minnesota rushing attack should be able to ground out another 250+ yard game.  It will be interesting to see if Iowa can force the Gophers into passing situations (3rd and longs).  If not Minnesota should win relatively easily.

Wisconsin @ Ohio State 8:00pm
This matchup has produced some of the most memorable B1G games in the past decade, and this year should be no different.  It will be the Buckeye's first real test of the season.  I am still unsure about how good the OSU defense is, and right now I guess they are on a similar level as Arizona State.  Wisconsin was able to shred that defense for 300+ yards on the ground.  The key matchup in this one will be the Buckeye front 7 in first and second downs. The Badger weakness is in the passing game, and if Stave is faced with 3rd and longs Ohio State will win this game comfortably.  At this point it seems reasonable to expect Stave to pass for about 150 yards, but the Badgers will likely need at least 400 to win this game.  I expect Melvin Gordon and James White to have another big game.  On the OSU offensive side of the ball it will be interesting to see if Braxton Miller is able to shake off the rust and if Meyer has his Heisman hopeful on a leash.  Wisconsin really struggled to contain the Sun Devil passing attack, and the Buckeyes have a lot more weapons.  Some combination of Miller and Guiton should be able to break at least one big passing play. The new Badger 3-4 defense should be able to dial up different blitzes to confuse the inexperienced OSU offensive line, but will they be able to contain either running quarterback?  Night games in the 'Shoe are always intimidating, and I think Stave will make too many mistakes in the passing game to give Wisconsin a chance late.  Ohio State should escape with a close high scoring win.