The Nebraska football team is a big underdog in the Big Ten in week four of the season. Check out who will cover and who won’t.
When it has come to picking games, I have had quite the up and down season so far. The good news is I’m trending upward after starting out the season on a 5-12 run. After hitting my last seven picks (including Arizona State over Michigan State), here’s hoping the Nebraska football team can also turn things around after a rough 0-2 start.
That includes being 0-2 against the spread so far this season. So maybe the Huskers can take a step towards .500 (at least ATS) as they are 18 point underdogs this week. While I’m only 12-12, here’s hoping I can ride that hot streak to a good week 4.
With that in mind, this is where we’ll place what is certain to become the usual disclaimer that these are just game picks. No money has been or will be wagered on any of these games.
Penn State (-27.5) at Illinois 8:00 PM CT Friday (FS1)
Penn State’s offense has likely been better than they hoped after the departure of Saquon Barkley. Worries about the defense have gone away too as they’ve allowed an average of just eight points a game. Illinois on the other hand struggles to beat Kent State and lost to South Florida last week. The Illini offense has been uneven at best. The Nittany Lions are going to win a laugher.
Pick: Penn State.
Nebraska at Michigan (-18.5) 11:00 AM CT (FS1)
Speaking of uneven offenses, the Nebraska football team started off against Colorado looking like gangbusters. They’ve looked out of sync since the first half of that game. Andrew Bunch getting the start last week didn’t help. If Adrian Martinez starts this week, it will be his first road start, against one of the best defenses in the country. The Huskers have been mistake-prone at every level and bad against the spread so far this season. I still can’t pick against them. I don’t think Nebraska leaves with a win, but I think they can hold the spread to 17 or less.
Pick: Nebraska
Boston College (-7) at Purdue 11:00 AM CT (BTN)
Boston College’s offense has been a bit of a shock so far this season. They’ve scored 55, 62 and 41 points. Granted, that’s against UMASS, Holy Cross and Wake Forest. Still, the Eagles are 3-0 and looking good. Purdue has been bad to start the year 0-3. That includes an embarrassing loss to Eastern Michigan. They looked better against Missouri last week but still allowed 40 points. I think they lose this game, but I think it’s another 3-point loss.
Pick: Purdue
Minnesota (-2.5) at Maryland 11:00 AM CT (BTN)
This is the “mathup of bad teams with good records.” Minnesota is 3-0 thanks to games against New Mexico State, Fresno State and Miami of Ohio. Maryland might be 2-1 but they just got their butts whooped by Temple. Someone is going to continue to have a very good record thanks to a poor quality of opponents. I think Maryland pulls this one out since they’re at home.
Pick: Maryland
Buffalo (-4) at Rutgers 11:00 AM CT (BTN)
Yes, you’re reading that right. A MAC team is a four-point favorite over a Big Ten team. Even more interesting is that Buffalo has wins over two teams that boast victories over B1G schools. That should translate to an easy Bulls win right? I think Rutgers finds its bellyfire off a bad loss to Kansas. If they are going to win another game this year, they need to win this one.
Pick: Rutgers
Tulane at Ohio State (-37) 2:30 PM CT (BTN)
Ohio State gets one more real tuneup game before they enter the heart of their Big Ten schedule. It’s possible that the Buckeyes are going to be a little hung over after their win over TCU. I think they are going to put the pedal down in Urban Meyer’s first game back on the sidelines.
Pick: Ohio State
Michigan State (-6) at Indiana 6:30 PM CT (BTN)
The Spartans had a bye week to think about how poorly they’ve played in their first two games. In many ways, their season mirrors what the Nebraska football team has done, with one or two less mistakes allowing them to win the game they almost lost. Having said that, the Indiana Hoosiers are another weak 3-0 squad that is 3-0 thanks in large part to a weak non-conference slate. It’s still really hard to pick the Spartans to win by a touchdown or more, I think they do hit the spread.
Pick: Michigan State
Wisconsin (-3) at Iowa 7:30 PM CT (Fox)
This is the opening volley for the Big Ten West crown. Wisconsin is coming off a season-changing upset loss to BYU. Iowa is 3-0 thanks to a pretty weak non-conference schedule. The trendy pick here is the Hawkeyes. Having watched both teams quite a bit, I think Wisconsin’s loss to BYU is more of a wakup call than a sign of things to come. I think the Badgers win this more easily than people expected. Nebraska football fans hope both teams will somehow find a way to stub their toes in a way that affects both squads for the rest of the season.
Pick: Wisconsin