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For those of you new to BSD, and those of you that have killed off enough brain cells to forget, we have a tradition of pitting our staff against each other in a winner takes all (read: bragging rights) competition of prognostication prowess. Each week we show you the staff's picks for that weekend's Big Ten football games. The staffer with the best winning percentage is the champion.
But we don't leave you out, oh skillful reader, we give you a chance each and every week by giving you a poll so you too can pit yourself against the entire BSD staff. Check in each week and select the winners and we'll include your score right along with ours.
But wait, there's still more...being the efficient and time saving blog that we are, we combine two great things in one post. This is your one-stop shop for the Thursday night open thread! Every Thursday we concentrate on the games that air that evening and use this post as a place to talk about the action on the field, make silly fat jokes about Charlie Weis, and post pics and gifs of worn-out internet memes. Your inner 9-year-old self will be happy. So onto the fun.
Here's the slate of games tonight:
| 6:00 PM | No. 21 Texas A&M at No. 9 South Carolina | SEC Network | DirecTV 611/Dish 408 |
| 7:00 PM | Wake Forest at Louisiana-Monroe | ESPNU | |
| 7:00 PM | Eastern Illinois at Minnesota | BTN | |
| 7:30 PM | Idaho State at Utah | Pac-12 Network | Dish 406 Direct - screwed |
| 8:00 PM | Boise State vs. No. 18 Ole Miss* | ESPN | |
| 8:00 PM | Tulane at Tulsa | CBS Sports Network | |
| 10:00 PM | Rutgers at Washington State | FOX Sports 1 | DirecTV 212/219 - Dish 150 |
| 10:30 PM | Weber State at No. 19 Arizona State | Pac-12 Network | Dish 406 Direct - screwed |
We get to start off early with a battle of ranked opponents on the ESPN SEC wank-off-fest SEC Network. You can bet with the mothership in control there won't be any hype or hyperbole in that game. Also, we get to see the debut of Big Ten Powerhouse Rutgers as the travel to the west coast to take on Washington State. Hopefully I'll still be awake (read: sober enough to not pass out) by then. On to the editors' picks.
| Galen | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Cari | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Western Michigan | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Matt | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Western Michigan | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| bscaff | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Devon | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Jared | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Tim A. | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Cal | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Dan | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Western Michigan | Illinois | Cal | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Nick P. | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Cal | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Bill | Michigan State | UCF | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
| Chad | Michigan State | Penn State | Michigan | Indiana | Iowa | Ohio State | Purdue | Illinois | Northwestern | Nebraska | Maryland | Louisiana State |
The team is all in agreement on a lot of the games except for the Wildcats. That should be a great game and a good test for jNU. Bill gets this week's balls of steel award for picking against the Nittany Lions. Oh, I don't doubt he could be right, Penn State could lose that game, but when you get a flaming bag of dog shit on your front porch, Bill, you only have yourself to blame. Now on to your picks...