Week 7 Big Ten Preview

12:00 PM | Iowa @ Indiana (BTN)

Both the Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers are coming into this game on three-game losing streaks. One of those losing skids will end, and for the team that drops its 4th straight, the chances of making a bowl game will decrease significantly. I think the team that will get back to winning is Iowa. Although this game is at Indiana, I believe that Iowa is more capable of winning. After all, they should have beat Michigan State last week, but Kirk Ferentz decided that kicking field goals was uncool, even though the Hawkeyes needed only three points to possibly send the game to overtime. Nevertheless, I don’t think this game will come down to any crucial coaching decisions like that, meaning Iowa should leave Bloomington with a victory.

Prediction: Iowa wins comfortably

12:00 PM | Minnesota @ Illinois (ESPN)

The Golden Gophers are only one win away from becoming bowl eligible, but I think they’ll have to wait for that win until another week. Since we all saw what Illinois did to Michigan last week, I don’t think an explanation is even necessary. If Juice Williams plays half as well as he did a week ago, the Fighting Illini will win this game.

Prediction: Illinois wins comfortably

3:30 PM | Purdue @ #12 Ohio State

Fresh off a huge win at Wisconsin, the Buckeyes will look to keep moving up in the polls. This week they can do that by beating Purdue, who is really fading fast. Purdue has lost three out of its last four games, and the one game they did win in that span was only because of a last minute touchdown. Considering this game is at Ohio State, the Buckeyes should have little trouble with a Purdue team that is looking like it will miss a bowl game in Joe Tiller’s final season.

Prediction: Ohio State wins comfortably

3:30 PM | #23 Michigan State @ Northwestern

If there is one team that Michigan State always has trouble with it is Northwestern. In the past Michigan State has given away games to bad Northwestern teams, but this year the Wildcats are 5-0. This should be a pretty good game, and although Northwestern is an enticing pick, I have to go with Michigan State. I expect Javon Ringer to get back to his usual ways and put up big numbers again to lead the Spartans to a close win. This could be a game that goes down to a last-second field goal or something like that, and if it does, I expect the Spartans to improve to 6-1 on the year.

Prediction: Michigan State wins a close one

8:00 PM | #6 Penn State @ Wisconsin (ESPN)

Wisconsin is getting its band back for this game and needs to get back to winning after choking away two straight games. Mind you, the loss to Ohio State happened due to great play by Terrelle Pryor, but Wisconsin still lost their lead at the very end of the game. This week a win really is a must, and there is no better team for a victory to come against. The Nittany Lions have become the top dog in the Big Ten and have national title hopes. A win here for them would be huge for both the Big Ten and national title race, especially with a road game against Ohio State coming up in two weeks.

For this specific game, I think Penn State will come out on top thanks to its offense. Wisconsin is not a team that is going to stay close in a shootout, but I do think they will stick around throughout this game. However, when it comes down to it, the Nittany Lions just have more fire power than Wisconsin, leading me to think that Penn State will be 7-0 by the end of Saturday.

Prediction: Penn State wins a close one

Predictions Update:

Last Week: 5-0

Overall: 43-7