The Final Score - Your source for Big Ten Sports

Time to tango - week two is upon usFirst, a hearty congrats and shout out to Phats who went a perfect 12-0 last week!  Too bad we seem to have lost Buckeye Nation (is he still in RIP Tressel U mourning?) and Dan, as well as Andrew and some others.  But no less, 12-0 was impressive Phats!  Send me your picks and I will add them to mine.

Note - welcome back Dan!  Not sure why the blog went away... it said there was suspicious activity but we're back now!

Mayo and I went 9-3, not bad, but not good enough!

Week one saw some impressive beginnings, some shaky starts, some lucky finishes and some, well, nasty performances (IU - what the?!).  Kudos to Northwestern for the best win of the week and a tip of the hat to Minnesota for a nice start to the Kill era.  And, foor those keeping track: Big Ten 2, MAC 1.

No time to belabor the week that was any further, so here is the week that is with a couple of impressive games on the slate.

Florida Atlantic at Michigan State - FAU brings an athletic defense but anemic offense to East Lansing.  The Spartans need to shore some gaps, and someone please remind the holder - LACES OUT!  I see a smoother game with some big numbers from Baker and Cousins and another great game from Bullough.  MSU 41 - FAU 7

Phats: Michigan State 35 FAU 7- Michigan State is my 2nd favorite big ten team behind the Boilers.

Iowa at Iowa State - The Cyclones beat Kurt Warner's alma mater by one in the opener while Iowa rolled.  Unfortunately for Iowa, the annual RB injury bug bit again, leaving the Hawkeyes without an impressive freshman.  Iowa is better and overcomes a fired up crowd.  Iowa 27 - ISU 14

Phats: Iowa 21 Iowa State 14

Oregon State at Wisconsin - The Beavers, of the northern tier in the soon to be Pac 324, lost to Sacramento State in the opener.  Meanwhile, the Badgers kicked the runnin' out of the Rebels last week.  The Badgers have a top-notch offense, even if there is work to do on D.  UW 41 - OSU 17

Phats: Wisconsin 41 Oregon State 10- You would think this would be a better match up, but after OSU losing last week not so sure, and Wisconsin looked pretty tough

South Dakota State at Illinois - Really? Follow up Arkansas State with South Dakota State?  No offense to the Jackrabbits, who beat powerhouse Southern Utah in the opener but come on Zooker!  The Illini should get plenty of reps for anyone who wants to play.  Ill-i-n-i 40 - SDS 13

Phats: Illinois 38 South Dakota State 10
Toledo at Ohio State - OSU goes for 2-0 versus the MAC after an easy slaughter of the Zips.  The next fast mascot team to hit C-bus, the Rockets, may be a tad better but don't expect Toledo to add the Bucks to its list of beaten Big Ten teams.  Ohio State 45 - Toledo 7

Phats: Ohio State 49 toledo 14- Who made Toledo's schedule? I believe they host Boise State after this game that's a brutal 2 game stretch

Alabama at Penn State - One of two in the Game of the Week sweepstakes.  This game has tradition written all over it.  Last year, Penn State found out how good the Bama defense was.  Might that happen again?  I expect a lower scoring affair as Alabama is rounding out the offense.  Alabama 20 - Penn State 13.

Phats: Alabama 28 penn state 17- I think this game will be closer than most people think, unfortunately for the Big Ten I don't see us pulling the upset

Eastern Illinois at Northwestern - Yeah. See Illinois commentary.  Another week to rest Persa and get a well deserved break after a tough road opener.  NU 31 - EIEIO - 10

Phats: ?

New Mexico State at Minnesota - An easier task than a trip to SC for sure.  Minnesota notches a win and builds on some of the surprising momentum from the opening loss.  Minnesota 34 - NMSU 13

Phats: Minnesota 35 New Mexico State 17- Nice effort by the Gophers at SC, this one should be a little easier and a W!

Purdue at Rice - The Boilers are off to Texas to be entertained by the Rice band.  Yep, that's right, this is all about the band.  Rice pulls no punches, as it spelled out $EC to Texas Longhorns fans last week.  On the field, this could go either way, though Purdue has some momentum from the nice comeback last week.  Purdue 27 - Rice 17

Phats: Purdue 24 rice 10- I will take an ugly win any day, especially for a team coming off 6 straight losses, but we really need to clean up some things in week two or we won't be as lucky. Better all around game propels the Boilers to 2-0 and a nice road win. Boiler Up!

Fresno State at Nebraska - Remember when Fresno was the Boise State of college football?  The Bulldogs are still decent and aren't afraid to go on the road, but the horses aren't there.  Nebraska will only get better from last week and get to 2-0 easily.  Cornhuskers 33 - Dogs 10

Phats: Nebraska 49 fresno state 17- Might be closer but who knows still getting to know the Huskers
Virgnia at Indiana - Given that the Hoosiers went to Lucas Oil Field and laid a ginormous egg, I am not going to give this anymore space.  UVA breaks a road losing streak.  Cavs 37 - Hoosiers 20

Phats: Virginia 42 indiana 21- Different coach, same result.

Notre Dame at Michigan - Game of the Week part duex.  ND looked mighty bad in a game that stretched over six hours last week, or at least it felt like that.  Michigan got a win in less than three quarters.  Some want to canonize the M defense after a two TD performance.  While better, take note - ND racked up half a thousand yards but killed itself with mindless turnovers.  ND will shore things up.  This will be a classic for the first night game in Big House history.  I'm going with the non chic pick: ND 27 - M 24

Phats: Michigan 28 notre dame 24- Not really sure how good either of these teams are so this game might tell us something. I don't like ND so GO BLUE