Friday, September 26, 2008

Get Gamm - Week Five...
After an unplanned week off, Get Gamm is back and giving full due to Dan Meyer - the king of Getting Gamm year to date.

Big Ten play finally kicks off this weekend with a few nice matchups and also an OOC tilt to keep an eye on. One week doesn't mean much in the end, but no one wants to start conference play on the wrong end of the standings.

Michigan State at Indiana - Michigan State is playing old-fashioned, smash mouth football. Indiana is reeling from a bad home loss to a good Ball State team and the injuries are piling up for a defense that can ill afford them. Javon Ringer can't go three straight with over 200 yards - can he? He broke 200 against the same Hoosiers team last year, so don't bet against it. Kellen Lewis is everything for IU and that's the problem. While the Hoosiers will come out inspired early, the State offensive front will "pound green pound" and wear down an undermanned IU defense. Michigan State 45 - Indiana 21.

Dan says ... MICHIGAN STATE 35 at Indiana 20 - Another strong start in East Lansing as Sparty goes to 4-1. Hope there are no "Dante Love" type injuries in this game. Not yet sold on the Hoosiers against bowl-caliber competition.

Minnesota at Ohio State - Minnesota is a much better football team this year than last, but we're still talking about a team that has played virtually no one thus far (except BGSU). Ohio State isn't exactly tearing it up right now but made a wise move in naming Pryor the starter. He brings so much to the table it isn't even fair! The Gophers will put up a fight, but not for long enough. Ohio State 31 - Minnesota 10.

Dan says ... Minnesota 10 at OHIO STATE 27 - Gophers have improved, Buckeyes appear to have dropped off from last year. This said, Scarlet and Gray still are markedly better than Maroon and Gold, especially at the Shoe. Wonder whether Pryor or Boeckman starts at QB?

Northwestern at Iowa - Probably the most underrated game of the day in the Big Ten. Iowa got stung on the road at Pittsburgh and still isn't firing on all cylinders offensively. Northwestern is 4-0 for the first time since 1962 and looking to hit 5-0. In a game where one team is markedly better on offense, I might lean that way. But I like Iowa's defense better at home than NU's O on the road. Iowa 24 - Northwestern 23.

Dan says ... Northwestern 17 at IOWA 20 - One of the weeks toughest games to pick, as both teams have been somewhat better than expected in the noncon games. When in doubt, pick the home team.

Purdue at Notre Dame - Hmm, this is a bit of a toss up for me. On one hand, I saw how State dominated Notre Dame from start to finish last weekend. On the other, I saw Purdue blow a big lead against Oregon and nearly lose at home to a good, but still MAC Central Michigan team. If Purdue can run the ball and pound Sheets, the Boilers will send South Bend into a tizzy. If Notre Dame goes down the field with the ball, the Irish can get a much-needed win. I think this is a toss up. In a toss up, I like the home team. But really not by much and frankly, I hope I'm wrong! Notre Dame 23 - Purdue 20.

Dan says ... PURDUE 24 at Notre Dame 21 - BIASED PICK!! Going against my advice in the NU-IA game and picking the Boilers with my heart here. If Painter is ever going to get it together this year, this game would be a darn good time.

Wisconsin at Michigan - Michigan has the benefit of a bye week... but oh, wait, so does Wisconsin. The Badgers are simply a better team. Michigan started to move the ball better against Notre Dame but Wisconsin is far better than Notre Dame. The saving grace may be the home field advantage. Look for some new wrinkles from RichRod and Co. but in the end Wisconsin prevails. Wisconsin 27 - Michigan 17.

Dan says ... WISCONSIN 21 at Michigan 14 - A bye week should help the Maize and Gold with the spread learning curve, thus the Badgers get more of a battle than some might expect. Nevertheless, Bucky Badger starts a strong run at the Big Ten with a rare win at the "Big House."

Illinois at Penn State - The big game of the week. How good is Illinois? I'm not sold yet. How good is Penn State? Well, the Nits crushed Oregon State who last night pulled off the upset of the season. Is it apples to apples? Hard to say, but I love Penn State's offense against an Illinois defense that got pushed all over the field by Missouri. Penn State 31 - Illinois 23.

Dan says ... Illinois 17 at PENN STATE 21 - PSU has DOMINATED four teams, but none nearly as good as the Illini. I think that the home team prevails, but they better not take Zook and Company lightly.

5 comments:

Andy Gamm said...

St. Louie Spartan says...
Iowa 21-18
Purdue 35-21
Penn State 38-24
MSU 31-14
Ohio State 33-16
Wisconsin 28-14

AndrewJ1313 said...

MSU 42, @ Indiana 13 – Ringer makes it three in a row with 200+ I hope for MSU’s sake the kid stays healthy carrying 40 times a game;

Northwestern 27, @ Iowa 24 – Of course Iowa’s killing me this year: I pick them to win, they lose – I pick them to lose they win;

@ Notre Dame 24, Purdue 23 – Hate to see Jaba-The-Weis go 2-1 against the Big Ten on the season thus far, but I think they beat Purdue;

Wisconsin 28, @ Michigan 17 – Wisconsin can run and RichRod can’t coach defense apparently;

@ Penn State 30, Illinois 17 – Illinois put points on the board against Mizzou, but gave up a lot too. Penn St. looks very good right now and has a better D then Mizzou;

@ Ohio State 34, Minnesota 9 – Pryor is the real deal and Beanie should be back this week. Herron didn’t look too bad last week either and between Beanie and Boom, they should be able to take pressure off or Pryor and allow him to see the game develop and learn as he plays. Minnesota comes back to earth this weekend and Ohio State starts to gel, which isn’t good for the rest of the Big Ten.

Anonymous said...

Dan,

there is no QB controversy in Columbus, Pryor is the starting QB period.

AndrewJ1313 said...

Oh, yeah...GO BUCKS!!!

Phats said...

I should stick to picking basketball haha