Last week, the Big Ten got off to a hot start with Northwestern upsetting previously No. 21-ranked Stanford, but failed to capitalize on all the other marquee, non-conference games and ended up with a really poor showing.
Michigan lost at Utah, Alabama buried Wisconsin, Marshall beat a Big Ten school for the first time in team history after taking care of Purdue and Penn State lost to Temple for the first time in 74 years. Ohio State prevailed on the road at Virginia Tech to salvage some luster, but the overall grade is a D+.
Penn State losing to Temple is unacceptable and Jim Harbaugh’s debut at Michigan was average at best.
This week in the Big Ten we have another slew of non-conference games highlighted by the Oregon Ducks at Michigan State Spartans battle. Here is a look at this week’s games. All odds taken from BookMaker Sportsbook.
BIG 10 GAMES OF THE WEEK
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Oregon State Beavers +15 at Michigan Wolverines -15, Total 48
Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan - Noon, ET, ABC
The Oregon State Beavers, led by former Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen, head to the big house to square off against the Michigan Wolverines in a Pac 12/Big 10 showdown.
Last week Oregon State struggled with an inferior team in Weber State for most of the first half before pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 26-7 victory. They will have to play much better if they plan on beating a Michigan squad that is favored by 15 points.
Michigan opened its 2015 season last week with a disappointing loss at Utah. Harbaugh found some positives, but also admitted the team has plenty of work to do across the board as it moves into a Week 2 matchup with the Beavers.
The key to the game will be the Michigan defense doing a better job against the spread offense. Oregon State wants to run the ball and will run plenty of read-option just like Utah did. The Wolverines need to do a better job securing the edge and forcing things inside. They also have home-field advantage, which should make things difficult on the Beavers true freshman quarterback, Seth Collins, who will be making his first road start.
Michigan’s running game gets on track against a weak Oregon State defense and Collins does just enough to keep the game manageable in a Wolverine win, 38-23. The play is on the OVER.
Oregon Ducks +4 at Michigan State Spartans -4, Total 67
Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan - 8:00 p.m. ET, ABC
A huge game is in store for us this week when the No. 5 Michigan State Spartans battle against the No. 7 Oregon Ducks. The winner of this game will emerge as a potentially elite playoff contender, while the loser will lose its margin of error for the rest of the season.
This line opened up at a pick’em and bettors have been all over the Spartans, pushing the spread all the way to -4. The Oregon Ducks are 7-3 straight up and against the spread in their last ten games as a betting underdog, including three straight outright upsets. This is the first time the Ducks have been an underdog since 2011.
Saturday’s total is set at 67. The OVER is 3-0 in Michigan State’s last three games versus Pac-12 teams.
Interesting nugget: this matchup is the seventh in the last 11 years that Top 10 teams will square off in the first two weeks of the season at a campus site. The higher ranked team has won five of the previous six matchups.
The difference in this game will be which defense has made the most improvement from Week 1 and which offense can control the pace of play. Oregon will look to press the tempo and get the Spartans on their heels as they run up and down the field while Michigan State wants to control the ball with long drives to control the clock and keep the Ducks offense off the field.
At the end of the day, the home-field advantage will take its toll on a young Oregon squad, forcing them to take chances, which will lead to costly turnovers and give Sparty the win. Michigan State wins 38-31.
Other notable Big Ten games:
Hawaii Rainbows +38 at Ohio State Buckeyes -38, Total 65.5
Big Ten Network, 3:30 p.m. ET
Ohio State puts up at least 50 points and rolls to its second straight win in 2015.
Iowa Hawkeyes -3.5 at Iowa State Cyclones +3.5, Total 52
FOX, 4:45 p.m. ET
The battle of Iowa. Be careful here, Iowa head coach, Kirk Farentz has a losing record against the Cyclones and if they lose this year it could be the end for him as coach of the Hawkeyes.
Bowling Green Falcons +8 at Maryland Terrapins -8, Total 68
CBS Sports Network, Noon, ET
Bowling Green put up 29 points last week against Tennessee, if they can do that again this week they may give Maryland a ball game.
Minnesota Gophers -6 at Colorado State Rams +6, Total 53
Big Ten Network, 3:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota needs to win this one for the Big Ten, a loss would be yet another embarrassing loss for the conference.
The College Football betting odds and props for this week’s games were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. Live wagering during commercials offers adjusted moneylines, totals and spreads. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
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