A Quick Look Around the Big 10

Here is the Big 10 schedule (Michigan State has a bye week):

Friday: Maryland (1-0) @ FIU (0-1)

Saturday: Cincinnati (1-0) @ Purdue (1-0); 

Howard (0-1) @ Rutgers (0-1); 

UCF (1-0) @ Michigan (1-0), 

Indiana State (1-0) @ Minnesota (1-0); 

Wyoming (1-0) @ Nebraska (1-0); 

Penn State (1-0) @ Pittsburgh (1-0); 

Illinois State (1-0) @ Northwestern (1-0); 

Akron (1-0) @ Wisconsin (1-0); 

Tulsa (1-0) @ Ohio State (1-0); 

Ball State (1-0) @ Indiana (1-0); 

Iowa State (0-1) @ Iowa (1-0); 

North Carolina (0-1) @ Illinois (1-0)

So, outside of Michigan State who does not play this weekend, I personally believe that everybody in the Big Ten, besides Purdue, should be favored to add another one to the win column.  Look, I know Purdue got a win last week, but if they were to lose to Eastern Kentucky, the program might as well be shut down.  And they allowed 24 points anyways.  Cincinnati should win easily, but not too easily due to Purdue having a home-field advantage.  

The other "loseable" game that comes to mind is obviously the North Carolina-Illinois game, where head coach Lovie Smith will face a tough test early.  North Carolina's loss came to the SEC powerhouse Georgia, and although it was a neutral stadium because it was not in Athens, it was in the Georgia Dome.  You'd think Georgia would likely have pretty good support in the Georgia Dome, similar to Wisconsin in Lambeau Field.  North Carolina is still a team to be reckoned with in the ACC this season, and they were ranked last week going into the season.  However, this is an Illinois team that is slowly on the rise, has a head coach who has coached a Super Bowl (but lost), and a fanbase that likely is getting rather excited.  I think the Illini sneak through here in one of the most underrated games of the week, yet it could end up being one of the best.

Another tough test for the Big Ten this week and likely the one to watch earlier in the day is the Penn State-Pittsburgh game, which is a game of two teams who have hopes of making a bowl game this season.  Penn State is the better team, and Pittsburgh is close enough to State College to have enough supporters for the Lions' that home-field should not be an issue.  Penn State's biggest concern going into the game should be stopping star RB James Conner, as he is always a threat of having a big day and is the go-to guy on this team.  I like Penn State better overall, but it is more than conceivable for Pittsburgh to win.

Finally, the annual Iowa-Iowa State game is Saturday, but even if it was at Iowa State, it should still be a blowout for the Iowa Hawkeyes.  Iowa State's football program would consistently be the worst of the Big 12 if not for Kansas, and Iowa is ranked in the top 25 and coming off of a great season last year.  It's not a very watchable game, but if you like rivalry games, this is your game.

Being part of the Badger faithful, I always go more in depth for the Wisconsin games in a separate article, but that is one to watch as well.  So, unless you like watching Ohio State or Michigan blow out some hopeless opponent, these are the games to watch this week in the Big Ten.