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Get Gamm - Week Two
That time again. Will there be a big upset this weekend? We'll see...

Miami-OH at Minnesota
BSGU at Michigan State
Eastern Illinois at Purdue
Akron at Ohio State
Nevada at Northwestern
Oregon at Michigan (Tiebreaker)
Notre Dame at Penn State
Western Illinois at Illinois
Syracuse at Iowa
Indiana at Western Michigan
Wisconsin at UNLV

Miami-OH at Minnesota
Hmmm, where to go with this one. The Big Ten was 2-1 versus the MAC on opening weekend – one blowout win, one closer than expected win and one overtime loss. The loss? Minnesota. At home. Insert cringe and shudder here. I watched that game on the Big Ten Network and wondered where the heck the running game was as BGSU racked up and early 21-0 lead? The Gophers mounted a solid comeback but Bowling Green was gutsy and got the win on an unnecessary (at that point) two-point conversion. But enough of last week. I suspect that Coach Brewster will ride his horse – Pinnix – until his legs fall off against the Red Hawks. Miami nipped Ball State in its opener with a late touchdown. Can the MAC make it 2-0 against Minny this fall? Not likely. Minnesota 27 – Miami-OH 14.

Bowling Green State at Michigan State
Speak of the orange and brown devil. The Falcons are looking to make a statement to Big Ten commish Jim Delaney that they should be the 12th conference team. Well, maybe not but you can bet they would love to improve to 6-12 all-time against the Big Ten conference. The difference is that Michigan State has more talent, a better defense and a more proven coach than Minnesota. BGSU got the Spartans’ attention with last week’s win and after the Appalachian State upset over Michigan, don’t expect anyone to overlook the smaller foe this weekend. State got its feet wet against the spread last week when UAB unveiled it to an unsuspecting green and white defense. It’ll be a tougher go this week, but MSU will build on last week’s success. Michigan State 38 – Bowling Green 21.

Eastern Illinois at Purdue
After last week’s showing by the Mountaineers, don’t expect any 1-AA team to go on the road without expecting they too can pull a shocking upset. While beating the Boilers at home would not equal what ASU did at Michigan, it would serve more notice around college football. That said, as good as the Panthers looked in whipping on Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech last week, the chances that they beat Purdue are slim to none. Purdue took a while to get in gear at Toledo but once they did, they rolled. I expect Eastern Illinois to battle for a quarter and a half but not much longer. Purdue 52 – Eastern Illinois 17.

Akron at Ohio State
It is MAC v. Big Ten III when the Zips take to the ‘shoe to face the retooled Buckeyes. Ohio State was strong in its opening win over Youngstown State and now the competition bumps up, if ever so slightly. Akron struggled to dispatch an Army team in a several year tailspin and if the most improvement comes between the first and second games, look out. The more time and success the new faces at OSU get under their belts, the scarier that team becomes. Ohio State 41 – Akron 7.

Nevada at Northwestern
It’s pay back time for the Wildcats. NU lost a tough one at Nevada last season and comes in having shut out fellow directional school Northeastern. The Wolfpack were pushed and shoved all over the place in a blow out loss to Nebraska. While Northwestern is not Nebraska, the Wildcats will ride the legs of Sutton to a comfortable win and a sweet little 2-0 start. Northwestern 24 – Nevada 14.

Oregon at Michigan
Easily the Game of the Week – particularly in light of Michigan’s opening debacle. Why particularly? Because Michigan must have this one to start to restore some normalcy and respectability around Ann Arbor. Trouble is, the Ducks bring the same brand of fast football that has killed the Wolverines the last few years. If Oregon gets out to a fast start, things could snowball out of control for Michigan. That seems unthinkable, but so did a loss to a 1-AA school. I think the players have a lot to prove and will, even if it is a tough game. Oregon gives the maize and blue all they can handle, but this time, M holds on. Michigan 31 – Oregon 27.

Notre Dame at Penn State
Last year, everyone had an eye on this game. ND killed Penn State. Now the shoe is on the other foot. The Irish managed just one field goal and the offense was so inept that Jim Rome dubbed “touchdown Jesus” as “field goal Jesus.” Irish fans, it’s gonna get worse before it gets better. Penn State is hungry for payback and looked damn good in its cupcake of an opener. Look for the Nittany Lions to send a message to the nation, early and often. Penn State 41 – Notre Dame 13.

Western Illinois at Illinois
The Leathernecks invade Champaign for what the Illini hope is a home opener that goes a little better than last week’s close loss to Mizzou. The Illini have to wonder what might have been had Juice Williams not gone down with an injury early in that game. Western Illinois will be hyped to play the big boys from the state, but will run out of gas by the half. Illinois 40 – Western Illinois 14.

Syracuse at Iowa
Neither team looked particularly good in its opener, though at least Iowa was victorious. This was a barn-burner last year but you can bet that the Hawkeyes will be a lot sharper this week than last. Iowa rolls. Iowa 37 – Syracuse 10.

Indiana at Western Michigan
This is actually quite an intriguing game. It is the fourth Big Ten v. MAC showdown of the week and quite possibly the best chance for the MAC to win another game against the vaunted Big Ten this year. Indiana looked solid in its opener, but that was against 1-AA Indiana State. The Broncos got whipped at West Virginia but have the talent to get the win here. It’s always dangerous to go into a MAC stadium knowing that team will be sky high. That said, I like what I saw in IU last week and they win a close one. Indiana 34 – Western Michigan 27.

Wisconsin at UNLV
This might be a decent game for a bit, but UNLV has an anemic run defense and Wisconsin has PJ Hill. The Badgers were impressive in the opener and should roll again. Wisconsin 45 – UNLV 17.