The Big Ten football season is back with all of the teams in action in Week 1. The conference is led by the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes, who are ranked No. 1 in all the polls. Michigan State and Wisconsin are the only other two ranked teams, No. 5 and No. 20, respectively.
Nebraska, Wisconsin and Michigan all have new coaches. The Cornhuskers hired Mike Riley, Jim Harbaugh was named the Wolverines coach and the Badgers hired Paul Chryst.
It should be another exciting season in the ground and pound Big Ten Conference, and there are some interesting non-conference matchups this weekend.
BIG 10 GAMES OF THE WEEK
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Michigan Wolverines +5.5 at Utah Utes -5.5, Total 47
Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah - 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX1
The Michigan Wolverines travel west to square off against the Utah Utes in a Big 10/Pac 12 showdown live on Fox1. Jim Harbaugh takes over the reigns at his alma mater and looks to quickly turn things around and return Wolverine football to what it once was. He will have his hands full playing on the road against a team that has beat them the last two times. Take note of this: when Rich Rodriguez started out his Michigan era, he lost his first game to Utah. Last year Brady Hoke lost to the Utes at the big house in Ann Arbor, which led to him getting fired at the end of the year. Looks like another loss for Michigan!
The Utes play like Michigan used to by pounding the ball and imposing their physical style with a tremendous pass rush and great special teams. Utah was a surprise team a year ago, going 9-4, but now they are no longer a sleeper squad and everyone will be gunning for them.
This game looks like a pound-and-ground, field position game, but you know Harbaugh will have a few tricks up his sleeve to put some points on the board and keep the game close. The betting total opened at 46 and is drifting up and currently sits at 47. It’s the first game of the year, young kids will make mistakes, which will lead to both teams putting points on the board. The play is on the OVER 47.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Wisconsin Badgers +10 at Alabama Crimson Tide -10, Total 51.5
ATT Stadium, Arlington, Texas - 8:00 p.m. ET, ABC
This game is being played at a neutral site in Arlington, Texas, in a must see Big 10/SEC battle live on ABC. First year coach Paul Chryst couldn’t have asked for a more intriguing matchup for his first game as the leader of the Badgers when they square off against Nick Saban and the No. 3 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
Wisconsin faces numerous question marks on the offensive line, at wide receiver and at the linebacker position. We will find out right away if the Badgers can hang with the Tide’s powerful running game. With youth across the linebacking corps, it could be a real problem for the green Badgers defense.
The key to the game will be whoever has success throwing the pigskin. Both teams will start out pounding the ball at one another to see if either team has an edge. Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will use a scheme that features a zone run paired with double slants, something that was successful a year ago against another Big Ten squad, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Alabama has to have a sour taste in its mouth after losing last year in the playoffs to a Big Ten team and will come out to prove a point at the expense of the young Badger defense. This game will be close for a quarter and then the floodgates will open up for a Crimson Tide massacre. Alabama rolls 35-17.
Monday, September 7, 2015
Ohio State Buckeyes -11 at Virginia Tech Hokies +11, Total 53.5
Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia - 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
This is a revenge game for the Ohio State Buckeyes when they battle against the Virginia Tech Hokies live on ESPN. The Hokies were the last team to beat the Buckeyes and since that defeat, Ohio State is 13-0 straight up and 9-4 against the spread, with the over cashing in in 15 of its last 18 games. Read that again - Buckeyes total over in 15 of last 18 games.
Ohio State still has questions at quarterback and Urban Meyer has yet to name a starter. He recently said that both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett will play in Monday night’s game. It really doesn’t matter who starts, the Buckeyes will put up points. They averaged close to 50 points a game last year and as you have seen in the past, Meyer isn’t afraid to run up the score.
Virginia Tech has a couple of things going for them. One is home field advantage as Blacksburg is a tough place to play and the other is having mastermind coach Frank Beamer. Beamer gets the best out of his players year after year and has the Hokies thinking and believing that they can pull another upset. With 231 wins, Beamer is Tech’s winningest coach and he has had the Hokies ranked in the polls 16 times since he took over.
I see this game as a possible revenge blowout. Tech’s offense is sputtering and even though their defense is usually stout, the Buckeyes will find a way to put up at least 40 on the Hokies and cruise to victory. You may as well bet the two-team parlay and take the Buckeyes and the over, it’s a mullet play but the mullets have to win some of the time. Buckeyes average close to 50 a game, you do the math, with a total of 53.5, this game will be over the total by the end of the third quarter.
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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September 7, 2015, at 8:00 p.m. ET at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
