The coming weeks will tell us a lot about the Big 10.
Are Iowa and Michigan State good enough to keep making their way through the Big 10 season? Will Northwestern completely implode? And can Michigan come back after the way it lost to the Spartans?
This week doesn’t offer up the big game, but you never know about a possible upset or two.
Here are two games we’ll keep an eye on this weekend. Last week’s betting guide for each major conference went 4-4. Overall for the season, the betting guides have been 6-6 in the Big 10 and 35-33 overall in the power-five conferences.
Indiana at Michigan State (-17)
We know that Michigan State deserved to lose that game on Saturday. Possibly in the history of college football has no team deserved to lose more than Michigan State did, since it was losing and won on a punter dropping the ball.
But sometimes those kind of wins jump-start a season.
The Spartans have been atrocious this season against the spread, covering one game, and that was last week as a touchdown underdog against the Wolverines.
The problem has been oddsmakers tendency to make Michigan State a big favorite, despite the Spartans’ inability to look like the team they were last season.
But we like what last week did to Michigan State. The offense didn’t look horrible against a stout defense and Michigan State competed for all four quarters on the road. That’s more than can be said all season about Michigan State.
As for the Hoosiers, since losing a close game to Ohio State, they’ve been a dumpster fire. Indiana lost by three touchdowns to Penn State and was clipped by a field goal while giving up 55 points at home last week to Rutgers.
The Hoosiers are trending down and we see the Spartans taking advantage. — Go chalk with Michigan State
Wisconsin at Illinois (+6)
We don’t believe Wisconsin is as good as many believe.
What have the Badgers done this season? Sure, it won at Nebraska, which hasn’t been known to close out any games. And we guess it competed for awhile against Alabama while the Crimson Tide was figuring out its quarterback position.
But it also lost at home to Iowa and looked flat against Hawaii, Troy and Purdue.
If the Badgers come out flat again this week, they will lose. We’re not completely sold on the Fighting Illini, but they aren’t as bad as many people likely believe.
They’re coming off a bye after giving Iowa all it could handle in Iowa City. Other than the 48-14 blemish at North Carolina, Illinois doesn’t have a bad loss.
The defense can make stops and the offense has shown it can move the ball. There’s something missing in Wisconsin and we believe Illinois will take advantage of the Badgers. — Go against the chalk with Illinois
Other Big 10 games
Northwestern at Nebraska (-7)
Penn State (-7) at Maryland
Ohio State (-21.5) at Rutgers
