Big Ten Week 5: Predicting All The Games’ Winners And Scores

Sep 24, 2016; Evanston, IL, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Cethan Carter (11) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Ryan Field. Cornhuskers won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Evanston, IL, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers tight end Cethan Carter (11) celebrates his touchdown with teammates against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Ryan Field. Cornhuskers won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 24, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Shannon Brooks (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown with wide receiver Brian Smith (26) and quarterback Mitch Leidner (7) in the second half against the Colorado State Rams at TCF Bank Stadium. The Gophers won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Shannon Brooks (23) celebrates after scoring a touchdown with wide receiver Brian Smith (26) and quarterback Mitch Leidner (7) in the second half against the Colorado State Rams at TCF Bank Stadium. The Gophers won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Minnesota vs Penn State (-2.5)

Minnesota has looked an awful lot like it has the last few years in the Big Ten. That means, it has hardly looked all that impressive so far this year, but the Golden Gophers are 3-0. Penn State, on the other hand might have two wins, but when they lose, they look bad.

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That poor look is even more evident when talking about the defense. Penn State is coming off a blowout loss to Michigan, while Minnesota is coming off a rather shaky win against Colorado State.

There really hasn’t been a game where the Nittany Lions have looked like a team that is going to compete for the Big Ten divisional title. Minnesota hasn’t exactly looked like a conference contender either, but at least they’ve been able to take care of business when they need to.

The X-Factor here is the Golden Gophers’ veteran quarerback Mitch Leidner. If there has been one takeaway from Penn State’s season so far, it’s that the cupboard is very, very bare at the quarterback position.

You might have noticed that so far, all the games I’ve picked have had the favorite not only winning but almost always covering. That trend stops here.

Minnesota wins 30-27