The Final Score - Your source for Big Ten Sports

Get Gamm - Week Three
As predicted, week two threw more than a few - myself included - for a loop. Week three promises more of the same with an equal amount of head-scratchers. Last week's champ Dan Meyer is here to set us straight this week. Good luck! Picks are due by the first kickoff on Saturday.

Cal at Minnesota - The Golden Gophers are off to a solid start. Week one was a breeze, followed by a great stadium opening win over Air Force. This weekend, however, things get exponentially tougher. True, the Bears have to come two time zones east, but Cal is a machine that will offer the Minnesota defense all it can handle. The experts call this a two touchdown win for Cal. I think it will be closer than that. Cal 33 - Minnesota 23.

Dan Meyer says ... Minnesota deserves to take some pride in beating Air Force of the Mountain West last week, but the top 10 Bears will be significantly tougher. Weber and Decker will give Cal some problems and the Gopher D has been respectable to date, but no upset to celebrate in the new stadium this week. Cal 31 - Minnesota 17

Eastern Michigan at Michigan - I won't go so far as to call this a trap game for the Wolverines, but EMU took Northwestern to the wire last week, Michigan is still a young team and hey, the maize and blue are not immune to shocking MAC led upsets. That said, I don't expect Michigan to lose. I do, however, expect Eastern to more than cover the generous 22.5 points they are getting. Michigan starts slow but puts it away late. Michigan 37 - Eastern Michigan 21.

Dan Meyer says ... Michigan 28 - Eastern Michigan 10

Northern Illinois at Purdue - I have to say, I've been impressed with Purdue so far. A romp over Toledo (who smoked Colorado) and a near miss at one of the toughest places to play in college football (Autzen Stadium). All I really know about NIU is that the Huskies gave UW all it could handle in the opener. The travel and tough loss will play games with the Boilers for a half or so, but Purdue pulls it out in the end. Purdue 30 - Northern Illinois 24.

Dan Meyer says ... The Boilermakers might have a slight letdown after last week's surprisingly strong showing at Oregon and the Huskies are good enough to make the upset possible. This said, I think that Wiggs kicks a late FG and the old gold and black escape to my relief. Purdue 27 - NIU 24

Temple at Penn State - Ho hum, week three in a series of preseason scrimmages. Penn State 37 - Temple 10.

Dan Meyer says ... Penn State 41 - Temple 7

Wofford at Wisconsin - Are you kidding me? This isn't the NCAA tournament, so I am not wasting any more words... Wisconsin 45 - Wofford 6

Dan Meyer says ... Yes, I DO know that the Terriers have beaten the hoops Boilers once more than Bo Ryan has in the Robbie Hummel era--but that's basketball. NO chance that Bielema is in any danger at all. Wisconsin 31 - Wofford 0

Indiana at Akron - The Hoosiers aren't afraid to go on the road against decent to good MAC foes. Akron is pretty good, but not as good as Western, who IU handled last week. Indiana squeaks by to get to - gasp - three and oh. Indiana 28 - Akron 26.

Dan Meyer says ... Indiana 21 - Akron 20.

Michigan State at Notre Dame - Two teams with their proverbial backs against the wall. MSU lost a heart-breaker to a good but very beatable Central Michigan team. Notre Dame clawed back time after time against hated rival Michigan but came up short. The Spartans almost always have the benefit of getting ND the week after Michigan drains them. State goes for win number seven in a row in South Bend. These teams are evenly matched, yet the odds makers have ND a double digit favorite. Wow. MSU comes in more focused and ready to roll and gets Jabba the Coach and the Domers - again. State 27 - ND 23.

Dan Meyer says ... TOUGH game to pick; both teams are desperate for redemption after last week. Basically a home field pick, but easily could be wrong with Sparty's recent record against the Irish. Notre Dame 24 - MSU 21

Toledo vs. Ohio State (in Cleveland) - The Rockets got pummeled by Purdue but pummeled Colorado. You know Toledo wants to get OSU like they got Michigan a year ago. I see this as close and relatively low scoring. Yes, close. Ohio State 23 - Toledo 16.

Dan Meyer says ... Would be more except Tressel rarely runs up the score. OSU 28 - Toledo 7

Arizona at Iowa - This should be a good game. Both teams are a little dinged up. Arizona is rock solid on defense. Iowa woke up in Ames last week. Iowa gets it done with the home field - in OT. Iowa 20 - Arizona 17.

Dan Meyer says ... Thinking here is that the Hawkeyes are better than vs. Northern Iowa but not as good as vs. Iowa State. Nevertheless, Kinnick is the difference as Hawks go to 3-0. Iowa 17 - Arizona 14

Northwestern at Syracuse - If this isn't a Big Ten tryout by Syracuse (three games in three weeks) I don't know what it is - suicide maybe? Northwestern got complacent last week and nearly blew it at home against Eastern Michigan. Syracuse played Minnesota tough and did better than most expected at Penn State. Is this the breakthrough? I think it might be. Syracuse 24 - Northwestern 20.

Dan Meyer says ... A bit of karma happens to Greg Paulus this football season--all those close Dookie wins at hoops are turned into close gridiron defeats. Northwestern 28 - Syracuse 24