I’m not sure if this just isn’t my year or if Kevin has an inside man giving him some pointers on a weekly basis. But alas, I fall even further behind our Big Ten picks leader.
Perhaps I’m following suit of how conference teams have performed this year. Or, maybe I just don’t know Big Ten football as well as I thought. Either way, I am going to start making some bold predictions to get back into the hunt.
Stay tuned for this week’s picks, as Kevin and I debate and announce our friendly wager for the winner of this contest.
In the meantime, here are the picks from week 5:
Indiana vs. Northwestern
- Kevin’s Pick – Northwestern 45-17
- Dustin’s Pick – Northwestern 37-12
- Final Score – Northwestern 44-29
Indiana’s offense put up a fight, especially for a team without its starting quarterback. The Wildcats were able to fend off the Hoosiers, however, and are now off to a 5-0 start.
Penn State vs. Illinois
- Kevin’s Pick – Penn State 20-10
- Dustin’s Pick – Penn State 17-13
- Final Score – Penn State 35-7
This was much more heavily in the favor of the Nittany Lions than Kevin or I thought. If we learned anything from this game, it is that the Illini are bad…..really bad.
Minnesota vs. Iowa
- Kevin’s Pick – Minnesota 23-15
- Dustin’s Pick – Minnesota 28-10
- Final Score – Iowa 31-13
Neither of us gave Iowa a fighting chance after getting upset by the Central Michigan Chippewas a week ago. Minnesota was 4-0 and looked like a team that could hold off the Hawkeyes at home. That simply wasn’t the case.
Marshall vs. Purdue
- Kevin’s Pick – Purdue 31-28
- Dustin’s Pick – Purdue 57-24
- Final Score – Purdue 51-41
It’s hard to believe that Marshall put up 41 against the Boilers defense, especially considering the fact Purdue had a 42-14 lead at the half. Purdue needs to make some adjustments to its pass defense if it wants to be contending for a conference championship.
#14 Ohio State vs. #20 Michigan State
- Kevin’s Pick – Ohio State 21-13
- Dustin’s Pick – Michigan State 27-23
- Final Score – Ohio State 17-16
This was a great game. In fact, it was the only game we disagreed on this week, and it could have gone either way. With Urban Meyer as the head coach of the Buckeyes, Ohio State should be a serious threat in the conference for many years.
Wisconsin vs. #22 Nebraska
- Kevin’s Pick – Nebraska 24-20
- Dustin’s Pick – Nebraska 31-14
- Final Score – Nebraska 30-27
Another great game in the Big Ten. Kevin didn’t think that Nebraska would “own” the Badgers, and he was right. Wisconsin came to fight in Lincoln (where Jerod Morris spent the second week of his La Quinta trip) but fell just short in this one.
***
Season Totals
- Kevin – 47
- Dustin – 38
