There’s not a ton of action in week 1 in college football and the Big 10 is a walking billboard of that statement.
In nine games featuring Big 10 teams squaring off against fellow FBS teams, only one game features a spread of less than a touchdown – Northwestern at home against Western Michigan.
One game is a high profile matchup, with LSU traveling to Lambeau Field to face Wisconsin. The only problem for the Big 10 in that game is that Wisconsin is a 9.5-point underdog, and that might not even be enough against the talented Tigers.
On the positive side, this week shouldn’t be a disaster for the Big 10, which has happened in past week 1’s. The favored teams are so far ahead of the opposition that oddsmakers only expect three of the nine games to even stay within single digits.
Here’s one game I’m watching in the Big 10 that should be a spread to exploit.
Rutgers at Washington (-26)
Some experts expect Washington to win the Pac-12. I’m not going on that extreme, but this shouldn’t be close against an overmatched Rutgers team traveling cross-country.
The Huskies return pretty much their entire roster from a year ago. Chris Petersen has recruited well and Washington is poised to take a big step in the right direction this season. But this game isn’t about the season. It’s about Rutgers being awful.
There’s new coaches at Rutgers trying to implement an up-tempo attack with a bunch of players made for the pro-style offense. That never works well, at least in the early going.
The Huskies may start off a little slow, trying to work off some of the rust of the offseason. But that won’t last long and the Scarlet Knights’ new offensive approach will only create more opportunities for the Huskies’ offensive attack to put up more points. — Go chalk with Washington
Big 10 lines
Picks in bold
Oregon State (+13.5) at Minnesota
Indiana (-9) at Florida International
Western Michigan at Northwestern (-6.5)
Hawaii at Michigan (-41.5)
Bowling Green at Ohio State (-27.5)
Rutgers at Washington (-26)
LSU (-9.5) vs. Wisconsin
Miami (Ohio) at Iowa (-27.5)
Fresno State at Nebraska (-29.5)
