Each week of the 2009 college football season, I will be examining all the games that a Big Ten team plays in. All kickoff times are ET and all poll numbers are from the coaches poll as provided by ESPN. All records are for conference play only. Week Seven is as follows:
Overview of Week Six
As I stated last week, I would never be happier to be wrong about the Wisconsin vs. OSU game. Thankfully, I was wrong, and the Buckeyes won the game – life is complete, until this Saturday. As for the rest of the games, I was fairly average with my in conference picks. My out of conference choices were somewhat off, as Virginia decided to actually show up, but were not too bad. Overall, I went 4-3 for the week.
Illinois (0-3) @ Indiana (0-2)
Well, lucky for one of these two teams, one of them needs to win this game, giving them a win in conference play. For Indiana, the win can not come soon enough, as they have just been dominated in their games in conference. For Illinois, they were dominated last week, but have fought tough and valiant games. While I expect the game to be mediocre (both teams had the exact same yardage last week), Indiana should be able to use their home to their advantage and squeak bye with a win. Illinois 7, Indiana 14. This game will be televised on BTN at 7:00 P.M. on Saturday.
Purdue (0-2) vs. #7 The Ohio State University (3-0)
While Ohio State might have problems on offense, with Terrelle Pryor not playing well and Dan Herron injured, they still are an amazing team. The reason for this is their defense, which is probably the best in the nation. Shutting out opponents in two games (including the potent offense of Toledo), the Buckeyes are able to keep the other team off of the scoreboard. Last week, against then-undefeated Wisconsin, OSU allowed 350+ yards, but only one touchdown – and that was on a trick play. The team forced two turnovers, both of which became touchdowns. OSU's defense should easily handle this game, and keep Purdue off the board for their 3rd shutout of the year. Purdue 0, OSU 38. This game will be televised on BTN at 12:00 P.M. on Saturday.
Article comments
1 - Adam
Minor nitpick: in your description of the Iowa/Wisconsin game, you say the badgers gave up two interceptions last week, both of which resulted in field goals. Pretty sure those were touchdowns. Other than that, seems like a pretty straightforward and sensible set of predictions. Well... we'll see how the penn state game turns out, but apart from that it's pretty straightforward.
2 - Robert M. Barga
I say that they both become touchdowns