This Week's Big Ten Picks and Predictions

Illinois over Minnesota 28-17

The Illini shake the upstart Gopher's after three quarters. Illinois establishes the running game and wins the time of possession battle 35-25. Average production on the stat line: Juice 175 yds passing, 60 yds rushing 1 int. Dufrene 95 yards- Benn will go over a 100 yds receiving and limited production from Cumberland and Uh Oh. Benn will take one to the house in special teams. This is a game the Illini will grind out and win in unspectacular fashion. Illinois will have a red zone turnover this game. I hope I'm wrong but I think the Illini come out a little sluggish early in this one. Weber and Decker will move the ball early before being shut down.

MSU over NU 35-21. Sparty and Javon Ringer don't settle for field goals but get touchdowns in the red zone against the Cats. Way to much Wildcat love going around the Chicago area this week. This is the week the Cats are exposed talent wise on D. One wild card in this one is that 3 Michigan State starting DB's are dinged up. Dantonio is not saying how bad it is, so if all 3 are out the game could be more of a shootout. Also, Sutton didn't practice yesterday. If that guy is hobbled it always seems to be worse than reported and his production goes down. The Cats are way overvalued and this is the week the bubble pops.

Penn State over Wisconsin 31- 21 JoePa's boys keep the train running by smacking the Badgers up in Camp Randall. Bret Bielema changes quarterbacks and Clay emerges as the feature back over the overrated P.J. Hill. The Spread HD slows a little this week, as the Penn State D scores or sets up points on two occasions. The Badger's legendary home field advantage is being unwound faster than a Lehman Brothers Credit Default Swap. Jump Around!!!!

Iowa over Indiana 14-7 Two teams on a downward trend battle it out so their fan bases can continue living the dream of "Christmas in Detroit" Thigpen of IU is a home run threat, but Kellen "The more I see the more I do" Lewis continues to have more of the most fundamentally unsound turnovers, which doom the Hoosiers. Shon Green will pile up the yards as quickly as he piles up missed classes, but the offensive brain trust of Ricky Christensen, Jeff Stanzi, Kevin Ferentz, and Kirk O' Keefe will keep it close for the Hoosiers.

Ohio State over Purdue-52-17 The Buckeyes finally get sick of underachieving and lay the wood on the Boilers. Tiller continues his journey down to Leon Burtnettland.

Michigan over Toledo 38-14 Tough guy Dick Rod challenges the Weasels, thus toying with Michigan fan's emotions, getting them all puffy before an even more brutal fall against Penn State the following week. Toledo's coach scores huge on the Zingerman's deli tray, so the trip is not a total loss for the Rockets.

Last Weeks Record: 4-1
Season Record: 7-3