Big Ten Week 6 Preview and BSD Challenge

Another week of Big Ten play is over and done with, but the intrigue remains – Maryland may have taken over as Team Chaos from Indiana, and Iowa apparently suffered a letdown after coming thisclose to beating Penn State just a week before. How will this week’s B1G games go down? Let’s find out!

Big Ten Week 6 Preview

Illinois (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) at Iowa (3-2, 0-2)

Saturday, 12:00 PM at Iowa City, IA

Line: Iowa -18

The Illini couldn’t handle Nebraska, while Iowa got shut down by Michigan State. Looking at Illinois’ schedule, I’m not sure how many wins I see left. Iowa, meanwhile, still can cause some chaos in the West. I’ll take the Hawkeyes to right the ship.

Prediction: Iowa 27, Illinois 10

Minnesota (3-1, 0-1) at Purdue (2-2, 0-1)

Saturday, 3:30 PM at West Lafayette, IN

Line: Purdue -4

Minnesota lost to Maryland in what was – to me, at least – a head scratcher, as Maryland is down to their 18^th quarterback. Purdue is coming off a bye, but I honestly don’t have much faith in this game in general. I’ll go with the Boilermakers, but I could see this game going a bunch of different ways.

Prediction: Purdue 28, Minnesota 20

Charleston Southern (2-2) at Indiana (2-2, 0-2)

Saturday, 3:30 PM at Bloomington, IN

Line: No Line

After the Hoosiers’ week 3 game against Florida International was canceled due to Hurricane Irma, they were quickly able to fill the gap in their schedule with Charleston Southern. That’s all I have to say about that, as Indiana is going to mop the floor with the (looks up team name) Buccaneers. Sure, why not.

Prediction: Indiana 56, Charleston Southern 7

Maryland (3-1, 1-0) at #10 Ohio State (4-1, 2-0)

Saturday, 4:00 PM at Columbus, OH

Line: Ohio State -30.5

Give Maryland credit, despite not having many (any?) healthy options at quarterback, they still managed to topple Minnesota. Despite their heroics, I just don’t see them hanging with the Buckeyes in any meaningful way. Ohio State rolls.

Prediction: Ohio State 42, Maryland 14

Michigan State (3-1, 1-0) at #7 Michigan (4-0, 1-0)

Saturday, 7:30 PM at Ann Arbor, MI

Line: Michigan -11

So maybe Michigan State isn’t as bad as some people expected? Or maybe Iowa sold out to beat Penn State and just didn’t have it in them to play the next week? In any case, Michigan is still REALLY good on defense, so it appears points will be hard to come by in this game. I like the Wolverines, though not necessarily to cover the spread.

Prediction: Michigan 24, Michigan State 17

#9 Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0) at Nebraska (3-2, 2-0)

Saturday, 8:00 PM at Lincoln, NE

Line: Wisconsin -12

Nebraska beat up on a really bad Illinois squad, but still managed to look not that great doing so. Looking at their schedule, I don’t see many – if any – sure wins remaining. Wisconsin, meanwhile, almost got caught sleeping by Northwestern. The Badgers may be the best team in the West, but they still look like they’d slot into the fourth position if they were in the East. The Badgers will win this game, and continue to climb the rankings, setting up a (probably) overrated appearance in the Big Ten title game.

Prediction: Wisconsin 31, Nebraska 17

Bye Week:

Rutgers (1-4, 0-2) (Mercifully)

BSD Staff Picks

The following games this week were decided unanimously by the staff:

• #4 Penn State over Northwestern
• Iowa over Illinois
• Indiana over Charleston Southern
• #10 Ohio State over Maryland
• #9 Wisconsin over Nebraska

That means only two games this week showed any signs of dissent. Most of the writers like the Boilermakers over the Golden Gophers, but Aaron, Dlando, and DenaM all went with Minnesota. Eli, ever the rebel, thinks that Michigan State will take down their hated big brother. What say you, dear reader? Did the masthead get it right?