College Football Week 12 Preview: Jim Tressel Needs Help from His "Friends"

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Game of the Week: Ohio State at Iowa (featuring Wisconsin at Michigan)

Sometimes you just need a little help from your friends. But when those friends happen to be your hated rival and a team 99 percent of your fan base would rather see on the back of a 1980's milk carton than on a football field, the Joe Cocker-esque request for assistance may fall on deaf ears.

But like today's politicians reaching across the aisle to help each other's cause or the recent pop culture faux pas when rapper Eminem produced a duet with pop sensations, Pink and Rihanna, Ohio State's temptation to dance with the Maize and Blue devil is warranted, if only, for survival.

The Buckeyes, who some considered BCS title contenders three months ago, need Michigan to beat Wisconsin this week at the Big House (or see Northwestern knock off the Badgers next week) to have a shot at sharing the Big Ten crown with Michigan State (assuming the Bucks and Spartans win out).

I know there are a lot of "what-ifs" in the previous paragraph, but these scenarios are our specialty.

Forgetting Ohio State's collaboration with the Wolverines for just a second, the Buckeyes need to take care of their own business at Iowa. The last time Jim Tressel's team left the state to face a ranked opponent; the Badgers brought the shock and awe with an opening kickoff return for a touchdown and a ground attack (188 yards and three TDs) that controlled the clock and sucked the life out of Ohio State.

The 31-18 loss in Madison placed OSU in a rare Big Ten predicament. They would need others to help their post-season cause instead of controlling their own destiny within the conference.

As for Iowa, the Hawkeyes have bungled their shot at the conference crown the last two weeks. A sub-par effort at Indiana required a late fourth quarter touchdown pass from Rick Stanzi to bounce out of Bloomington with an 18-13 win. However, head coach Kirk Ferentz would watch Rose Bowl aspirations wilt away this past Saturday when Northwestern challenged the Hawkeyes for 60 minutes and rallied for the 21-17 upset win to drop Iowa to 7-3 (4-2 Big Ten).

Although the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes both rank in the top 10 in points allowed per game, fifth (13.6) and seventh (15.0) respectively, Ohio State outranks their opponent in passing and rushing yards allowed per game in addition to the number of defensive interceptions (17 compared to 15).

Using our college football simulation engine, we simulated Ohio State versus Iowa 101 times and in one of the closest Game of the Week results, the Buckeyes win 57.4-percent of the time by an average score of 26-22.

Considering Wisconsin absolutely annihilated Indiana last weekend, to learn the Badgers are favored to win 89.1-percent of the time by an average score of 43-23 over Michigan isn't an unexpected simulation revelation.

It's just disappointing that, for just one week, those two crazy kids from opposite sides of the track couldn't work together to achieve a common goal.

Not to worry, I'm sure those clad in scarlet and grey have something in store for their "friends" from Ann Arbor on November 27th.

College Football Week 12
Matchup	Win Percentage	Avg Score
Duke Blue Devils	16.8	22	Boxscore
@ Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	83.2	35
North Carolina State Wolfpack	18.3	23	Boxscore
@ North Carolina Tar Heels	81.7	34
Virginia Cavaliers	43.6	21	Boxscore
@ Boston College Eagles	56.4	22
Virginia Tech Hokies	57.9	32	Boxscore
@ Miami (FL) Hurricanes	42.1	27
Clemson Tigers	79.2	31	Boxscore
@ Wake Forest Demon Deacons	20.8	21
Florida State Seminoles	85.1	39	Boxscore
@ Maryland Terrapins	14.9	26
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	14.4	17	Boxscore
@ Cincinnati Bearcats	85.6	29
Connecticut Huskies	50.5	24	Boxscore
@ Syracuse Orange	49.5	23
West Virginia Mountaineers	74.3	29	Boxscore
@ Louisville Cardinals	25.7	18
Pittsburgh Panthers	82.2	31	Boxscore
@ South Florida Bulls	17.8	19
Illinois Fighting Illini	13.9	19	Boxscore
@ Northwestern Wildcats	86.1	33
Purdue Boilermakers	15.8	20	Boxscore
@ Michigan State Spartans	84.2	33
Ohio State Buckeyes	57.4	26	Boxscore
@ Iowa Hawkeyes	42.6	22
Wisconsin Badgers	89.1	43	Boxscore
@ Michigan Wolverines	10.9	23
Penn State Nittany Lions	92.1	36	Boxscore
@ Indiana Hoosiers	7.9	19
Eastern Michigan Eagles	7.9	12	Boxscore
@ Buffalo Bulls	92.1	29
Bowling Green Falcons	27.7	20	Boxscore
@ Toledo Rockets	72.3	28
Ohio Bobcats	46.5	25	Boxscore
@ Temple Owls	53.5	27
Miami (OH) RedHawks	60.4	23	Boxscore
@ Akron Zips	39.6	19
Kent State Golden Flashes	66.3	23	Boxscore
@ Western Michigan Broncos	33.7	16
Northern Illinois Huskies	95.0	40	Boxscore
@ Ball State Cardinals	5.0	11
USC Trojans	58.9	27	Boxscore
@ Oregon State Beavers	41.1	24
UCLA Bruins	75.2	29	Boxscore
@ Washington Huskies	24.8	20
Stanford Cardinal	87.1	36	Boxscore
@ California Golden Bears	12.9	20
Georgia State Panthers	5.0	6	Boxscore
@ Alabama Crimson Tide	95.0	63
Appalachian State Mountaineers	5.0	6	Boxscore
@ Florida Gators	95.0	54
Troy Trojans	5.0	18	Boxscore
@ South Carolina Gamecocks	95.0	43
Mississippi Rebels	13.9	17	Boxscore
@ LSU Tigers	86.1	34
Arkansas Razorbacks	80.2	40	Boxscore
@ Mississippi State Bulldogs	19.8	31
Tennessee Volunteers	86.1	31	Boxscore
@ Vanderbilt Commodores	13.9	14
New Mexico State Aggies	5.0	13	Boxscore
@ Nevada Wolf Pack	95.0	51
Fresno State Bulldogs	6.9	24	Boxscore
@ Boise State Broncos	93.1	45
San Jose State Spartans	7.9	17	Boxscore
@ Hawaii Warriors	92.1	38
Idaho Vandals	64.4	35	Boxscore
@ Utah State Aggies	35.6	32
Army Black Knights	11.9	15	Boxscore
@ Notre Dame Fighting Irish	88.1	31
Arkansas State Red Wolves	46.5	29	Boxscore
@ Navy Midshipmen	53.5	30
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders	79.2	32	Boxscore
@ Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	20.8	21
Weber State Wildcats	5.0	6	Boxscore
@ Texas Tech Red Raiders	95.0	56
Florida Atlantic Owls	7.9	16	Boxscore
@ Texas Longhorns	92.1	36
Nebraska Cornhuskers	43.6	26	Boxscore
@ Texas A&M Aggies	56.4	27
Kansas State Wildcats	48.5	22	Boxscore
@ Colorado Buffaloes	51.5	23
Oklahoma Sooners	69.3	34	Boxscore
@ Baylor Bears	30.7	27
Missouri Tigers	93.1	36	Boxscore
@ Iowa State Cyclones	6.9	16
Oklahoma State Cowboys	95.0	49	Boxscore
@ Kansas Jayhawks	5.0	19
Memphis Tigers	6.9	17	Boxscore
@ UAB Blazers	93.1	34
Marshall Thundering Herd	14.9	19	Boxscore
@ Southern Methodist Mustangs	85.1	33
Houston Cougars	40.6	34	Boxscore
@ Southern Miss Golden Eagles	59.4	39
UTEP Miners	60.4	35	Boxscore
@ Tulsa Golden Hurricane	39.6	32
East Carolina Pirates	74.3	32	Boxscore
@ Rice Owls	25.7	22
UCF Knights	80.2	32	Boxscore
@ Tulane Green Wave	19.8	24
New Mexico Lobos	5.0	12	Boxscore
@ Brigham Young Cougars	95.0	34
Colorado State Rams	45.5	23	Boxscore
@ Wyoming Cowboys	54.5	24
Utah Utes	65.3	32	Boxscore
@ San Diego State Aztecs	34.7	26
Air Force Falcons	94.1	34	Boxscore
@ UNLV Rebels	5.9	13
North Texas Mean Green	25.7	21	Boxscore
@ Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks	74.3	30
Florida International Golden Panthers	60.4	28	Boxscore
@ Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns	39.6	25