Standings:
1.) Draper 22-9 (1-5 upset)
1.) Seeberg 22-9 (1-5 upset)
1.) Schweinfurth 22-9 (0-6 upset)
4.) Hoying 21-10 (1-5 upset)
We're hitting the stride of the last classic-ish Big Ten season with a sneaky game of consequence out west. But that "west" will soon be central as the B1G's shiny new toys will be joining the fold next year, and each of them has their own ranked matchup to deal with this week. And, of course, never ever sleep on the Spoilermakers in West Lafayette.
Oregon Ducks @ Washington Huskies
Draper: A fun game in the last year of the Pac-12 that has real National Title implications. The Huskies have been a machine on offense led by Big Penix Energy, but the Ducks have been right on their tails with Big BoNix Energy. I expect fireworks in Seattle in which these teams go blow for blow all day. While I think Oregon may have the better defense (by a smidgen), Michael Penix has a real claim to Heisman frontrunner. The question is Oregon's balanced offense vs. Washington's fire passing attack. While I see my colleagues are quacking, I'm howling for a HUGE home win for the Huskies showing they're for real (in the Pac 12). Ore: 38--UW: 44
Hoying: Welcome to the discount Big Ten Championship, featuring next year’s discount Big Ten additions. USC is still in the mix, but in the second and final year of divisionless play in the Pac-12, the winner of this game has a cushy inside track to Las Vegas in December. Last year’s iteration in Eugene was a back-and-forth masterpiece that featured Penix barely outdueling BoNix. Fewer people remember that Oregon also gashed Washington on the ground in that game, and the Ducks have taken the same balanced offense into 2023. Washington’s air attack only gets more lethal by the week, but they don’t really have a credible rushing attack to back it up (sound familiar?). Add this to a somewhat suspect run defense for the Huskies and you have the recipe for the Ducks to take control of the Pac-12 farewell tour. Ore: 34—UW: 31
Hoying: Welcome to the discount Big Ten Championship, featuring next year’s discount Big Ten additions. USC is still in the mix, but in the second and final year of divisionless play in the Pac-12, the winner of this game has a cushy inside track to Las Vegas in December. Last year’s iteration in Eugene was a back-and-forth masterpiece that featured Penix barely outdueling BoNix. Fewer people remember that Oregon also gashed Washington on the ground in that game, and the Ducks have taken the same balanced offense into 2023. Washington’s air attack only gets more lethal by the week, but they don’t really have a credible rushing attack to back it up (sound familiar?). Add this to a somewhat suspect run defense for the Huskies and you have the recipe for the Ducks to take control of the Pac-12 farewell tour. Ore: 34—UW: 31
Schweinfurth: The battle of the transfer QBs! BoNix
versus the Penix. These two teams appear to be the class of the Pac-12 this year.
Both teams have been playing great defense, but I really think the offenses are
going to shine. This has all the markings of a shootout. It should be a fun one
to watch. Ore: 38—UW: 42
Seeberg: Game of the week with an IU quarterback. No, not "big noon" with UM and Indiana, thankfully, it's the battle of the nines as Bo NIX battles Michael PenIX and the Huskies. The Pac-TBD is remarkably legit, with a bunch of above average power five teams and these two CFP contenders. The loser probably isn't out of the conversation in all honesty. This one feels like a complete toss-up to me, but I think the Ducks are just enough better in the trenches to outlast a really good Husky team. Ducks late. Ducks: 31--Wash: 26
Seeberg: Game of the week with an IU quarterback. No, not "big noon" with UM and Indiana, thankfully, it's the battle of the nines as Bo NIX battles Michael PenIX and the Huskies. The Pac-TBD is remarkably legit, with a bunch of above average power five teams and these two CFP contenders. The loser probably isn't out of the conversation in all honesty. This one feels like a complete toss-up to me, but I think the Ducks are just enough better in the trenches to outlast a really good Husky team. Ducks late. Ducks: 31--Wash: 26
Iowa Hawkeyes @ Wisconsin Badgers
Draper: While the Ducks and Huskies will (should?) be setting the scoreboard on fire, the Badgers and Hawkeyes travel back to 19-diggity-2 where the forward pass was a glint in the eye of old John Heisman. This should be a defensive slugfest, but I wouldn't be surprised if the scores outdo those in Seattle (because college football). All evidence points to the winner here taking the B1G West (but who cares?). Iowa has been a trainwreck all year....that just keeps winning inexplicably. I have no faith that Wisconsin isn't right there in the dumpster with Iowa, but I think they can pull out a gross win at home. It would be funny for 2 defensive scores to keep Iowa alive, but I think they only steal one. Iowa: 13--Wisc: 20
Hoying: I know it’s literally the midway point of the season, but there’s a good chance one of these teams could have the final Big Ten West crown wrapped up when the clock hits zeroes in Madison. Fittingly for this dumpster fire of a division, the other five teams are among the worst in the Power 5 FBS Division I, so the title game berth is going to one of these two mediocre squads by default. As you probably know, Wisconsin still has to host the Buckeyes circa Halloween, but the other B1G East teams left for these teams are Rutgers and Indiana, which means there’s a very good chance that one of these teams will crawl out of the sludge of this matchup, waltz to 11-1, and be in prime position to have a 2014 Wisconsin Badgers-esque time against one of the three-headed monster. As for who that team will be, this is always a game where you can pencil in the Badgers unless they have a million turnovers. The Hawkeye D is good, and a plus turnover ratio has been the key to their 2-game B1G winning streak, but Wisconsin is perfectly content to keep the ball on the ground, grind it out, and dare the Hawkeyes to score. Which they can’t. Iowa is currently churning out a 33% Eckel rate (% of drives including a 1st-and-10 inside the opponent 40 or a big-play TD), and they get a miserable 2.63 points on each Eckel. Unless Iowa can get the ball to jump around out of the Badgers’ hands, they can put their last hopes of a Big Ten Championship for the foreseeable future to bed early. Iowa: 10—Wis: 20
Hoying: I know it’s literally the midway point of the season, but there’s a good chance one of these teams could have the final Big Ten West crown wrapped up when the clock hits zeroes in Madison. Fittingly for this dumpster fire of a division, the other five teams are among the worst in the Power 5 FBS Division I, so the title game berth is going to one of these two mediocre squads by default. As you probably know, Wisconsin still has to host the Buckeyes circa Halloween, but the other B1G East teams left for these teams are Rutgers and Indiana, which means there’s a very good chance that one of these teams will crawl out of the sludge of this matchup, waltz to 11-1, and be in prime position to have a 2014 Wisconsin Badgers-esque time against one of the three-headed monster. As for who that team will be, this is always a game where you can pencil in the Badgers unless they have a million turnovers. The Hawkeye D is good, and a plus turnover ratio has been the key to their 2-game B1G winning streak, but Wisconsin is perfectly content to keep the ball on the ground, grind it out, and dare the Hawkeyes to score. Which they can’t. Iowa is currently churning out a 33% Eckel rate (% of drives including a 1st-and-10 inside the opponent 40 or a big-play TD), and they get a miserable 2.63 points on each Eckel. Unless Iowa can get the ball to jump around out of the Badgers’ hands, they can put their last hopes of a Big Ten Championship for the foreseeable future to bed early. Iowa: 10—Wis: 20
Schweinfurth: Iowa has a great defense and still
has the worst offense known to man. Wisconsin has a serviceable defense, but is
still adjusting to more of a spread style. This game may be which team can
actually find the endzone. Iowa might actually win this game with under 10
points. Iowa: 13—UW: 6
Seeberg: Yuck, this one won't be pretty. First to 20(ish) wins! The Badgers have put in four workman-like wins this year sandwiched around a loss to Washington State that honestly doesn't look too bad. The Hawkeyes have a laughably inept goose egg in Happy Valley and a squeaker at home against Purdue. I don't think that offense is going to do enough to stifle Jump Around. Badgers ugly. Iowa: 10--Wisc: 17
Seeberg: Yuck, this one won't be pretty. First to 20(ish) wins! The Badgers have put in four workman-like wins this year sandwiched around a loss to Washington State that honestly doesn't look too bad. The Hawkeyes have a laughably inept goose egg in Happy Valley and a squeaker at home against Purdue. I don't think that offense is going to do enough to stifle Jump Around. Badgers ugly. Iowa: 10--Wisc: 17
Southern California Trojans @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Draper: Say what you will about the Irish, but their schedule is BRUTAL. OSU, Duke, Louisville, then USC??? Doesn't sound like a murderer's row, but Duke and Louisville on the road are pretty good. I don't know if they can get off the mat again. The OSU game almost cost them Duke and the energy was just trash against the Cardinals. The good news? USC's defense is still led by Alex Grinch! SC still has Caleb Williams (which really does mean something), but this feels like a put up or shut up for old man Sam Hartman. If the Irish don't light up the scoreboard, Freeman might need to find a realtor. If the Irish defense can fix some of last week's woes and just keep scoring, I think many of last week's sins will be forgiven. Arizona had USC beat and gagged it away. Make no mistake, Arizona is trash. If the Irish had a single WR, they'd be in good shape, but the TEs will be enough to keep up while the defense gets a key stop or 2. Irish win close. SC: 31--ND: 34
Hoying: Does Notre Dame ever play a game during daylight hours? Did LSU trade them their kickoff times in return for Brian Kelly? This should help the Trojans’ body clocks, but there’s no telling whether they’ll be ready for low 50’s, wind gusts, and rain. USC QB Caleb Williams is transcendent, but anyone who remembers the Ohio State Northwestern game last year will know that bad weather games are won on the ground. And that would be exceptionally bad for the Trojans; they play run D like their defenders are wearing magnets with the same polarity as the running backs. And Notre Dame has Au[d]ric Estime and the rest of the four horsemen that you saw wearing down the usually stout Ohio State run D in the second half. I’m not convinced that USC would have the upper hand even if Williams is free to cook; they’ve managed to make each of their last three games way closer than they needed to be by letting the other team move the ball seemingly at will. After a hot start, the Irish haven’t scored more than 20 points in any of their last 3 games, but that should change in a big way on Saturday. If they ever figure out how to pick up a third down. The wobbly wheels start to fall off the Trojan Playoff wagon. USC: 31—ND: 35
Hoying: Does Notre Dame ever play a game during daylight hours? Did LSU trade them their kickoff times in return for Brian Kelly? This should help the Trojans’ body clocks, but there’s no telling whether they’ll be ready for low 50’s, wind gusts, and rain. USC QB Caleb Williams is transcendent, but anyone who remembers the Ohio State Northwestern game last year will know that bad weather games are won on the ground. And that would be exceptionally bad for the Trojans; they play run D like their defenders are wearing magnets with the same polarity as the running backs. And Notre Dame has Au[d]ric Estime and the rest of the four horsemen that you saw wearing down the usually stout Ohio State run D in the second half. I’m not convinced that USC would have the upper hand even if Williams is free to cook; they’ve managed to make each of their last three games way closer than they needed to be by letting the other team move the ball seemingly at will. After a hot start, the Irish haven’t scored more than 20 points in any of their last 3 games, but that should change in a big way on Saturday. If they ever figure out how to pick up a third down. The wobbly wheels start to fall off the Trojan Playoff wagon. USC: 31—ND: 35
Schweinfurth: Notre Dame has had a gauntlet of a
month. Ohio State, Duke, Louisville, and now USC. It finally caught up with
them last week. The Irish looked all out of sorts on defense. The good news for
them, USC chooses not to play defense. The problem is that Caleb Williams is
still the Trojan QB. It just doesn’t look good for the Irish. The Trojans’ lack
of defense keeps the Irish in this, but Williams is just on another level right
now. USC: 42—ND: 35
Seeberg: I'm less and less impressed with the golden domers after our last-second win in South Bend, and more and more impressed with USC, at least on the offensive side of the ball. The Irish WRs might actually get separation in this game, and Sam Hartman will have time to find them. The Trojans will absolutely score it, however. I can talk myself into either team winning this one, but I don't think the Irish are ready just yet to beat a Big 10 powerhouse. So weird saying that. USC: 34--ND: 28
Seeberg: I'm less and less impressed with the golden domers after our last-second win in South Bend, and more and more impressed with USC, at least on the offensive side of the ball. The Irish WRs might actually get separation in this game, and Sam Hartman will have time to find them. The Trojans will absolutely score it, however. I can talk myself into either team winning this one, but I don't think the Irish are ready just yet to beat a Big 10 powerhouse. So weird saying that. USC: 34--ND: 28
Miami Hurricanes @ North Carolina Tar Heels
Draper: Miami is coming off of the most hilarious loss of all time last week against a PUTRID Georgia Tech team. I don't care if the UM running back was 100% down before fumbling (he was), you don't just come back to normal after your coaches literally went from a 99.999% chance of winning and did the 7 things you cannot do....in order...in a minute. Absolutely brutal (but hilarious--Go Noles). The Tarheels have looked fantastic outside of a game they stole from App State. This will be more of the same. Drake Maye takes care of business. UM: 17--UNC: 34
Hoying: All right! Another undefeated matchu…what was that? The Hurricanes did what? OK, so absent perhaps the dumbest coaching decision I have ever seen, the Hurricanes would be 5-0 and still in the thick of the Playoff chase, but let’s not forget that they were in a position to lose at home to Georgia Tech, a team that had just lost to bad bad Bowling Green the week prior. That being said, NC almost dropped an early game to App State, but they’ve been generally as dominant otherwise as Miami has. The Canes should come out frothing at the mouth to wash out the bad taste of last week. Miami: 31—UNC: 23
Hoying: All right! Another undefeated matchu…what was that? The Hurricanes did what? OK, so absent perhaps the dumbest coaching decision I have ever seen, the Hurricanes would be 5-0 and still in the thick of the Playoff chase, but let’s not forget that they were in a position to lose at home to Georgia Tech, a team that had just lost to bad bad Bowling Green the week prior. That being said, NC almost dropped an early game to App State, but they’ve been generally as dominant otherwise as Miami has. The Canes should come out frothing at the mouth to wash out the bad taste of last week. Miami: 31—UNC: 23
Schweinfurth: Before last week, I may have
picked Miami here. And then Mario Cristobel forgot you are allowed to take a knee
to end games. I question weather or not the players trust the coaching staff at
all after that. On the other side, Drake Maye is starting to look like himself
again. It just doesn’t look good for the U right now. Miami: 21—UNC: 35
Seeberg: This is a ranked matchup after that absurd U debacle last week? Fascinating. The Tar Heels are humming right along against a mediocre schedule and up to #12 in the country. Miami should be out to prove something in this one, but on the road I don't think they'll have enough to get it done. Tar Heels pull away late. UM: 24--UNC: 35
Seeberg: This is a ranked matchup after that absurd U debacle last week? Fascinating. The Tar Heels are humming right along against a mediocre schedule and up to #12 in the country. Miami should be out to prove something in this one, but on the road I don't think they'll have enough to get it done. Tar Heels pull away late. UM: 24--UNC: 35
California, Los Angeles Bruins @ Oregon State Beavers
Draper: I really don't think either of these teams is that good. DJ Ukulele has had his resurgence in Corvallis, but....I just don't care. Chip handled the Cougs last week, but....I just don't care. These seem like 2 teams vying to finish in the 15-20 range at seasons end. I'll lean the Beavers and the turnover chainsaw to complete the sweep of LA this weekend. UCLA: 24--OrSt: 31
Hoying: One of the consequences of having 7 (!) ranked teams in a 12-team conference is that there is always a banger undercard for whatever juggernaut matchup headlines the day. And as the undefeated teams continue to fall, the cycles start to appear. Like Washington State beat Oregon State, who beat Utah, who beat UCLA, who beat Washington State. What does that say about this matchup? Does it matter that all four of the winners in the aforementioned cycle were playing at home? That may be the key to everything here, because I’ll be darned if I can find a material advantage for either of these teams. So I’ll take the easy way out. UCLA: 24—OrSt: 28
Hoying: One of the consequences of having 7 (!) ranked teams in a 12-team conference is that there is always a banger undercard for whatever juggernaut matchup headlines the day. And as the undefeated teams continue to fall, the cycles start to appear. Like Washington State beat Oregon State, who beat Utah, who beat UCLA, who beat Washington State. What does that say about this matchup? Does it matter that all four of the winners in the aforementioned cycle were playing at home? That may be the key to everything here, because I’ll be darned if I can find a material advantage for either of these teams. So I’ll take the easy way out. UCLA: 24—OrSt: 28
Schweinfurth: Oregon State has been a good story
thus far, but I do question is they have what it takes to hang with the better
teams in the Pac-12. UCLA has been a bit disappointing to this point, but I think
they bounce back on this one. UCLA: 20—Ore St.: 17
Seeberg: Another matchup of good-but-not-great Pac opponents. UCLA has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride lately, laying a massive egg on the road against Utah's 3rd string QB before beating a good Wazzou squad last week. The Beavers' D is a couple notches better than WSU's 98th ranked unit, and we saw what a physical defense can do to Chip Kelly's team in Salt Lake City. Bruins manage double digits, but can't quite get the road win. UCLA: 17--OrSt: 27
Seeberg: Another matchup of good-but-not-great Pac opponents. UCLA has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride lately, laying a massive egg on the road against Utah's 3rd string QB before beating a good Wazzou squad last week. The Beavers' D is a couple notches better than WSU's 98th ranked unit, and we saw what a physical defense can do to Chip Kelly's team in Salt Lake City. Bruins manage double digits, but can't quite get the road win. UCLA: 17--OrSt: 27
THE Ohio State University Buckeyes @ Purdue Boilermakers
Draper: Top 5 undefeated OSU vs. unranked Purdue....tale as old as time. While the echoes of the past resound, and I'm sure Peacock will show the stat that unranked Purdue has beaten a top 5 opponent an astounding 18 times while second place is 11 times. Also, 5 of those upsets was, you guessed it, THE Ohio State Buckeyes. Unfortunately for Purdue, none of those Purdue teams nor those OSU teams are on the field in West Lafayette this weekend. I have a sneaky feeling that this might be a game in which a few things click early and often for the scarlet and gray. Egbuka didn't make the trip, but Marv is still an alien. The Oline gets better this week against a hapless Purdue Dline and starts imposing their will a bit. It won't translate to the big boys, but this team is due for a complete game against an overmatched opponent. Trey is set to return and I expect at least one explosive from him in the running game with a few deep shots from McCord. Don't sleep on Xavier Johnson stepping in for Egbuka as well as a little Carnell Tate action. The Silver Bullets will continue the bend don't break approach against the Texas transfer and stifle the Boilers. Bucks roll. OSU: 48--PU: 10
Hoying: Everywhere you look (there’s a heart…) you will hear nightmare tales of Ohio State’s woes at historic Ross-Ade Stadium. But these stories rely on data that is, paradoxically, both too biased toward recency and stretching back too far on the timeline. Let me explain: everyone knows the Buckeyes have lost 5 of their last 8 games at Purdue, right? Do you know why that statistic always stops at 8? Because Ohio State took home a win on 8 of their previous 10 visits to West Lafayette. Also, those 8 games everyone loves to bring up? Those span 19 years, stretching all the way back to the late Cooper years, when the quality and consistency of Ohio State football was nowhere near today’s standard. As for those 5 losses? Well, Purdue might have been better than Ohio State in 2000, 2004, and 2011. 2018 Purdue was perfectly crafted to take advantage of the few flaws of a near-elite Ohio State football team. And 2009…well you’ll go broke if you try to bet on repeats of that game happening. Every coach gets one baffling impossible-to-predict loss. Let’s hope Day’s was Oregon in 2021. Anyway, as far as this game goes, it may be tempting to label it as a trap game on the road nicely sandwiched between home dates with the undefeated #3 and #4 teams in the Big Ten East. But you may have heard me say before that traps have to have the capacity to be sprung, and Purdue doesn’t really excel at anything. Yeah, the “CJ Stroud is actually really good” domino that knocked Quinn Ewers to Texas has resulted in QB Hudson Card ending up at Purdue but he’s been woefully inconsistent so far. And the defense is horrible, although that was also true in 2018. Everyone remembers Rondale Moore from that game (and rightfully so) but Anthony McFarland was just as lethal for Maryland and Ohio State was able to barely scrape out a victory in College Park. The difference was finishing in the red zone, as the Buckeyes outgained the Boilermakers on the night back in 2018, but after the first three quarters, Purdue had 3 TDs and Ohio State had three field goal attempts and six total points to show for their efforts. I suppose the inconsistencies in the Buckeye run game could similarly keep points off the board here but the difference is that the Boilers don’t have a Rondale Moore to make us pay this time. At worst you get something like the “Holy Buckeye” game, but, warts and all, I don’t think this team’s offense is anywhere near as bad as the 2002 Midseason Experience Starring Lydell Ross and Maurice Hall. Buckeyes win comfortably and set their fryers on bigger fish. OSU: 38—PU: 6
Hoying: Everywhere you look (there’s a heart…) you will hear nightmare tales of Ohio State’s woes at historic Ross-Ade Stadium. But these stories rely on data that is, paradoxically, both too biased toward recency and stretching back too far on the timeline. Let me explain: everyone knows the Buckeyes have lost 5 of their last 8 games at Purdue, right? Do you know why that statistic always stops at 8? Because Ohio State took home a win on 8 of their previous 10 visits to West Lafayette. Also, those 8 games everyone loves to bring up? Those span 19 years, stretching all the way back to the late Cooper years, when the quality and consistency of Ohio State football was nowhere near today’s standard. As for those 5 losses? Well, Purdue might have been better than Ohio State in 2000, 2004, and 2011. 2018 Purdue was perfectly crafted to take advantage of the few flaws of a near-elite Ohio State football team. And 2009…well you’ll go broke if you try to bet on repeats of that game happening. Every coach gets one baffling impossible-to-predict loss. Let’s hope Day’s was Oregon in 2021. Anyway, as far as this game goes, it may be tempting to label it as a trap game on the road nicely sandwiched between home dates with the undefeated #3 and #4 teams in the Big Ten East. But you may have heard me say before that traps have to have the capacity to be sprung, and Purdue doesn’t really excel at anything. Yeah, the “CJ Stroud is actually really good” domino that knocked Quinn Ewers to Texas has resulted in QB Hudson Card ending up at Purdue but he’s been woefully inconsistent so far. And the defense is horrible, although that was also true in 2018. Everyone remembers Rondale Moore from that game (and rightfully so) but Anthony McFarland was just as lethal for Maryland and Ohio State was able to barely scrape out a victory in College Park. The difference was finishing in the red zone, as the Buckeyes outgained the Boilermakers on the night back in 2018, but after the first three quarters, Purdue had 3 TDs and Ohio State had three field goal attempts and six total points to show for their efforts. I suppose the inconsistencies in the Buckeye run game could similarly keep points off the board here but the difference is that the Boilers don’t have a Rondale Moore to make us pay this time. At worst you get something like the “Holy Buckeye” game, but, warts and all, I don’t think this team’s offense is anywhere near as bad as the 2002 Midseason Experience Starring Lydell Ross and Maurice Hall. Buckeyes win comfortably and set their fryers on bigger fish. OSU: 38—PU: 6
Schweinfurth: Hoo boy. The Bucks are traveling
to Purdue. You know, the proverbial house of horrors. No team since the turn of
the century has a better win percentage against Ohio State than Purdue. The
Bucks have issue running the ball, but they still have Route Man Marv. No
Egbuka is a big blow, but Carnel Tate is a serviceable backup at this point. What
scares me is the weather. The Buckeyes already have issues running the ball. It
could be an issue if it’s a rainy game. This Purdue teams isn’t great, but if
the Buckeyes lose on Peacock, will anyone see it? I know I won’t. OSU: 28—Purdue:
9
Seeberg: An absolutely chilling statistic has circulated the world wide web this week. EVERY Ohio State head coach since Wes Fesler (he coached in the '40s, if you were wondering) has lost at least once AT Purdue. Ross-Ade is like the No. 2 court at Wimbledon, otherwise known as the Graveyard of Champions. These editions of the Boilermakers and Buckeyes are pretty typical on paper with OSU opening as a 3-TD favorite on the road (the number has since dropped to 19.5). Look closer and, well, things just aren't right here in Columbus. A painfully putrid 1.9 YPC last week is concerning to say the least. What's even scarier is even when adjusting for sack yardage AND the botched snap on the punt, the average was still just 2.9, which obviously won't get it done against the likes of PSU and UM. If this game were at night in West Lafayette my panic meter would be even a notch or two higher. An icky weather forecast (50s and possible rain) is bad for a fast-track team like our Buckeyes. Still, I can't imagine Purdue holding up on their own O-line, and the RBs and O-line should be hungry to silence the critics. I don't expect it to be pretty, but get the W and get out of that hellhole. OSU: 31--Pur: 13
Seeberg: An absolutely chilling statistic has circulated the world wide web this week. EVERY Ohio State head coach since Wes Fesler (he coached in the '40s, if you were wondering) has lost at least once AT Purdue. Ross-Ade is like the No. 2 court at Wimbledon, otherwise known as the Graveyard of Champions. These editions of the Boilermakers and Buckeyes are pretty typical on paper with OSU opening as a 3-TD favorite on the road (the number has since dropped to 19.5). Look closer and, well, things just aren't right here in Columbus. A painfully putrid 1.9 YPC last week is concerning to say the least. What's even scarier is even when adjusting for sack yardage AND the botched snap on the punt, the average was still just 2.9, which obviously won't get it done against the likes of PSU and UM. If this game were at night in West Lafayette my panic meter would be even a notch or two higher. An icky weather forecast (50s and possible rain) is bad for a fast-track team like our Buckeyes. Still, I can't imagine Purdue holding up on their own O-line, and the RBs and O-line should be hungry to silence the critics. I don't expect it to be pretty, but get the W and get out of that hellhole. OSU: 31--Pur: 13
Upset Special
Draper: Cal over Utah
Hoying: Auburn over LSU
Schweinfurth: Pitt over Louisville
Seeberg: Arizona over Washington State
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