Last week wasn’t great, but it could have been worse for the Big 10. Northwestern had one of the biggest upsets of the day, but Nebraska’s Hail Mary loss defined the day.
There weren’t any other big statement wins for the conference, but this week brings new opportunities.
Here’s our breakdown of week 2 for the Big 10 conference.
Last week: 6-7 ATS
Oregon at Michigan State (-4)
The last time Oregon was an underdog, Stanford paid the price.
Of course, that was in 2011 when the Ducks entered a game against Andrew Luck as an underdog, and left the game as a 53-30 winner. Oregon has been favored in every game since then, which happens to be 46 consecutive games.
That will all likely end Saturday when the Ducks travel to Michigan State. The line opened as an even spread, but it has been pushed to four points in favor of the Spartans.
So why are the Ducks finally entering a game as an underdog? For starters, their defense looked mediocre against FCS foe Eastern Washington last week, and while Michigan State didn’t blow away Western Michigan in week 1, the betting public just has more faith in the Spartans.
Michigan State has done well against power 5 conference teams in the last two years and it features plenty of returnees with the experience needed to beat the Ducks. Oregon has some question marks this season and this isn’t the same team that finished runner-up last season. Oregon won’t be able to match Michigan State’s physicality, so we’re siding with the betting public on this one. – Go chalk with Michigan State
Minnesota (-5) at Colorado State
Jim McElwain is now at Florida but his mark has been left on the Colorado State program.
The talent is better and there are enough returnees off a 10-win team from last year which should create several challenges for the Golden Gophers. The Rams likely won’t have the same success from a year ago, but Minnesota is coming off a hard-fought loss to TCU last week, and we’re not buying the Golden Gophers, especially with having to travel to Colorado State.
We weren’t high on the Golden Gophers in the offseason, and despite staying with TCU last week, we still aren’t sold. We expect Minnesota to suffer a letdown this week, so we’re taking the points. – Go against the chalk with Colorado State
Other Big 10 games with a betting line
Odds provided by Oddsshark
Oregon State at Michigan (-14.5) *Moved today by 1.5 points
Bowling Green at Maryland (-7.5)
Buffalo at Penn State (-19)
Miami (Ohio) at Wisconsin (-32.5)
Washington State at Rugters (-3.5) *Moved today by 1 point
Hawaii at Ohio State (-41)
Iowa (-3) at Iowa State
South Alabama at Nebraska (-27)
Florida International at Indiana (-7.5)
