Big Ten Football Week 2: 12 Games, 12 Picks

Week 2 is upon us and the slate of games in the Big Ten is about as good as Week 1, perhaps a bit better. After a 10-2 record in the picks last week, this week the predictions should show some improvement. At least that's what all the coaches say.

Toledo at Ohio State

Toledo has not managed to score a single point against Ohio State in two tries, despite having a high-powered offense in both previous meetings. Toledo has a better offensive line this season and may be able to hold the Buckeye defensive front long enough to succeed in both the running and passing games. Look for running back Adonis Thomas to try to break 100 yards again after a solid Week 1 performance against New Hampshire.

Ohio State looked solid against the worst team in the MAC, Akron, but now they must deal with the best team in the MAC. Toledo likes to blitz, and quarterback Joe Bauserman will need to make quick reads to find the mismatches in the secondary. Ohio State will not be slowed significantly by the Rockets defense, which will be the difference despite OSU's defense giving up some points this week.

Ohio State wins by 24.

Florida Atlantic at Michigan State

The Spartans did not play well last week, racking up many penalties and poor plays against Youngstown State. This week, the Spartans may not need to be much better to beat the overmatched Owls. Expect Kirk Cousins to pick apart the FAU defensive backfield and MSU to use a lot of power running to salt this game away as quickly as possible.

Watch Michigan State's linebackers this week to see if they read plays well against a decent offense before facing Notre Dame next week. The Owls have an offensive line that may push around Michigan State's defensive line, but there is simply not enough talent for Florida Atlantic to keep up. MSU runs away early this week.

Michigan State wins by 34.

South Dakota State at Illinois

The Illini managed to skip the drama against Arkansas State with an easy yet unimpressive victory. This week, Illinois hosts another pesky squad that has taken major football programs to the edge the past two seasons. The best chance SDSU has is to get a couple of turnovers and bomb the ball all over the field, hoping to wear down the Illinois linebackers and safeties.

Meanwhile, Illinois will need to continue to develop offensive options other than quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase. Scheelhaase needs to limit the hits against him, so look for running backs Jason Ford, Donovonn Young and Josh Ferguson to see a lot of carries this week. This one should not be close, but it might be if Illinois is its usual inconsistent self.

Illinois wins by 21.

Oregon State at Wisconsin

This game looked like a good tune up for the Big Ten season until OSU lost to Sacramento State last week in a shocker. Similar to UNLV, Oregon State should be able to move the ball against the Badgers defensive front with power runs and short passes. However, Oregon State will need to have Ryan Katz play much better in the red zone and capitalize on all opportunities to stick around with Wisconsin because...

The Badgers offense will have another heyday against another weak defense. Oregon State will likely not have either of their starting defensive tackles, which spells trouble with the zone blocking scheme of Wisconsin coming. Montee Ball and James White will have big days to let Wisconsin roll easily.

Wisconsin wins by 37.

Virginia at Indiana

If Indiana struggled against Ball State, this week could begin to get much more ugly with an improving Cavaliers team coming to Bloomington. Hoosier quarterback Edward Wright-Baker should be able to take advantage of some mismatches with top receiver Damarlo Belcher. Indiana likely will struggle to get the running game going, and a one-dimensional offense is no offense at all.

Virginia will probably cause a lot of problems for Wright-Baker with defensive linemen Cam Johnson, Nick Jenkins and Matt Conrath pushing around the Hoosier offensive front. Virginia will likely be able to establish its own running game with Kevin Parks to take the pressure off first-year starting quarterback Michael Rocco. Virginia pulls away in the second half of this one.

Virginia wins by 17.

Alabama at Penn State

Joe Paterno cannot seem to make a decision as to whether Rob Bolden or Matt McGloin is the better quarterback. It probably does not help that neither one seems to separate from the other or play well when the opportunity arises, such as against Indiana State last week. Silas Redd surprisingly struggled to get the running game going last weekend until late in the game and will find the going even tougher against arguably the best defense in the country.

Cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and Dee Milliner should be able to shut down Penn State's primary receivers, which means whoever is quarterback will need to find his tight ends or slot receivers regularly to make a dent against Alabama. Despite the dominating performance last season, Alabama only put up 24 points against the Nittany Lions, who are even better on defense this season.

Quarterback A.J. McCarron and his backups threw four interceptions against a weak Kent State defense and will not be able to afford similar mistakes in a hostile environment at State College. Penn State will play much better than a season ago, but Alabama will simply not surrender many points against a questionable Nittany Lions offense.

Alabama wins by 14.

New Mexico State at Minnesota

Now we see if Minnesota really was that good last week at USC, or if the Trojans just came out uninspired once again under Lane Kiffin. New Mexico State is one of the worst teams in FBS football, but Aggie quarterback Andrew Manley did throw for 362 yards against a decent Ohio University defense last weekend. Minnesota struggled mightily to stop Matt Barkley, so the Aggies may put up some points using the passing game.

However, New Mexico State could not stop anything the Bobcats wanted to do on the ground, so expect Minnesota to exploit this weakness even more. Minnesota has a good offensive line that will open big holes and lead the Gophers to an easy win.

Minnesota wins by 35.

Fresno State at Nebraska

Nebraska might not feel like a Big Ten member quite yet, but the Cornhuskers need to continue gearing up for their brutal starting stretch in October conference play. Fresno State is a good test between a sleepwalk against Chattanooga and a third game against Washington in 12 months. The Cornhuskers will need to be careful though, as the Bulldogs always seem to knock off a couple AQ teams every season.

If Fresno State is going to win, they might do it by completely shutting down Taylor Martinez and the Nebraska passing game. As long as Nebraska has to earn their yards slowly on the ground, then FSU will stick around into the second half. Although Rex Burkhead will have another big game, Martinez needs to improve this week to keep the Huskers on cruise control.

Nebraska wins by 14.

Notre Dame at Michigan

The past two seasons, Michigan has won this showdown, but both games have had fantastic finishes and both games have been decided by the skills of Denard Robinson. This year Brian Kelly will have his defense ready to stop the power running game of Robinson and running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, leaving Robinson some openings to beat the Irish defense with his arm.

Robinson does have all his receiving weapons back, including Darryl Stonum and Roy Roundtree, who will be tough match ups for the Irish secondary.

Brian Kelly has decided that Tommy Rees will start the game this week, but he will likely use a quick hook for Dayne Crist once again if Rees struggles early. The Michigan defense was opportunistic against Western Michigan and will be licking its chops after watching the Irish turn the ball over five times in the opener.

Michael Floyd has been a tough player to stop for the Michigan defense the past two years, and he could be poised for a breakout start after being the primary target of Tommy Rees last week. Both teams will put up points as in previous years, but this time, Notre Dame will come up with a big stop against Robinson instead of allowing him to steal the game.

Notre Dame wins by 4.

Eastern Illinois at Northwestern

Northwestern pulled off the game of the week in the conference last week, knocking off Boston College on the road. One troubling factor was the success BC had in the passing game, with a much better quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo facing the Wildcats this week. Eastern Illinois will stay in this game unless Northwestern's defensive backfield steps up.

Dan Persa will be held out until absolutely necessary, and that will likely be the Big Ten opener in three weeks. Thus, sophomore Kain Colter will need to continue to play well in his absence. Northwestern could use a running game to develop against these weaker teams as well. Northwestern will not suffer a letdown against such an outclassed team.

Northwestern wins by 20.

Iowa at Iowa State

Iowa State used to be a real thorn for the Hawkeyes to deal with, but not in the past three years. Even with a rebuilding Iowa team, the Cyclones are overmatched once again this year. Northern Iowa ran all over the Cyclone defensive front, and Marcus Coker will have a career day.

Cyclone quarterback Steele Jantz made plays when he had to last week, but he only completed 45% of his passes. Jantz will need to do much better against a tough Iowa secondary. That will not happen, as Iowa will pressure Jantz and force a couple bad throws and turnovers to blow the game open.

Iowa wins by 31.

Purdue at Rice

Purdue faces a second straight interesting test for a team of their caliber with their first road game of the season. Purdue was able to do well late against Middle Tennessee, but will need to come out with a faster start this week. Rice can put up some points despite their struggles at Texas last week, so Purdue will need to win a shootout.

Thankfully the Boilermakers have a balanced offense with running back Ralph Bolden and quarterback Caleb Terbush splitting the majority of offensive plays. Terbush is still inexperienced and may be due for some mistakes, but the Owls defense is not good enough to capitalize on many of them if they do occur. Purdue will sneak away with another close victory, but the result will not be a surprise no matter who wins.

Purdue wins by 3.

Have a great Saturday!