Week 5 Big Ten Picks

We have a couple of final non-conference games this week, but for the most part we are in conference play for the rest of the season. There is also no Friday game this week, so it makes for a busy Saturday for the league. All but one of the games has a clear favorite, too.

Saturday

# 7 Penn State (3-0, 1-0) at Northwestern (2-2, 1-1) Noon, BTN

Northwestern had the surprise of the week last week with a 21 point fourth quarter comeback to beat Minnesota. As it turns out, the Wildcats are not as bad as expected. I didn't think they would win a conference game all year. Now, with their FCS game still to come, they might be able to dream of a bowl because of the futility of the Big Ten West. this week is a loss, however. Penn State 45, Northwestern 14

Louisiana (3-1) at Minnesota (2-2) Noon, BTN

Minnesota might need to be on upset alert this week. Louisiana is a decent 3-1 with the lone loss to Old Dominion. They have a pretty solid offense averaging close to 40 points per game and given what Minnesota's defense last week, they should be able to score. Can Minnesota's offense keep up? Minnesota 28, Louisiana 24

#2 Michigan (4-0, 1-0) at Nebraska (2-2, 0-1) 3:30pm, FOX

Can someone score more than 7 points against the Wolverines? It probably won't be Nebraska, who is avveraging 124 yards passing per game. Rutgers has played Michigan the best so far and it still lost by 24. Michigan 35, Nebraska 7

Indiana (1-2) at Maryland (4-0, 1-0) 3:30pm, BTN

Tayven Jackson is allegedly an NFL prospect, but my goodness the Indiana offense is awful. The Hoosiers barely got past a bad Akron team last week. Maryland has looked awfully good so far and it is still September, so September Maryland rules apply. The Terrapins should crack the top 25 this week after a win. Maryland 30, Indiana 10

Wagner (2-2) at Rutgers (3-1) 3:30pm, BTN

This one is going to be relegated to the BTN overflow channels in a, "we are contractually obligated to broadcast this game," fashion. Rutgers 56, Wagner 7

Illinois (2-2, 0-1) at Purdue (1-3, 0-1) 3:30pm, Peacock

This feels like an early "Loser Leaves Town" match for bowl eligibility. That should make for quite an entertaining game. I think we see Tyrone Tracy and Devin Mockobee have a big day as Purdue looks to establish them early. Purdue 31, Illinois 24

Michigan State (2-2, 0-1) 3:30pm, NBC at Iowa (3-1, 0-1) 7:30pm NBC/Peacock

Iowa is a 12 point favorite, so I just assume they are expecting a defensive touchdown or two. They should be helped by the fact that Michigan State is a shuffling corpse of a team right now. They have scored 16 points total in the last two games, but given how bad Iowa was on offense last week, that might be enough to beat them. Iowa 7, Michigan State 3

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