Sportsbozos Analyze the BIG 10

The Big Ten with their 14 teams always seem to be bottom and top heavy with the upper tier ranked teams beating up on each other. The Bozos are looking at Penn State winning the East over an Ohio State program in disarray. MSU and Michigan fall short again this year.

Iowa will challenge Wisconsin for the West, Nebraska will be better but not good enough yet and Northwestern will take a step back.

Most likely we’ll see Penn State over Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship Game, however, leave the door open for Iowa to sneak in the game, but overall we see Penn State winning The Big Ten and participating in the College Playoffs where the Lions will have a solid chance to take it all the way.

Big 10 East

Indiana- Should go 2-1 vs. FIU, Virginia and Ball State in their first 3 games and have a 50-50 shot against the other futile squads in the Big 10, Minnesota, Rutgers, Purdue and Maryland. Maybe they can pick up one upset win vs. Mich. St., Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State or Michigan but that’s doubtful. At best their record will be 5-7, probably 4-8. In Conference, they’ll be 3-6 give or take a game and fail to make a Bowl game. Depending on the spread, you can usually be confident they won’t cover it.

Maryland– Huge problems surround the Maryland program with the death of Jordan McNair and the way the training staff handled it. The resulting suspension and expected firing of Head Coach DJ Durkin has cast a pall over the entire program. After 10 wins the past two years, the team will not be able to recover from this nightmare this season. The Head Bozos kids are both current Terrapins and this year could be one of their sorriest ever. They have some talent, although they lost Big 10 receiver of the year DJ Moore to the draft, they can still get into some high scoring affairs. They have a tough one to start, opening with Texas followed by two out of conference games they could win, Bowling Green and Temple. Maybe they can split with Minnesota, Rutgers, Illinois and Indiana, but against the likes of Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State, Ohio State and Penn State, forget it. You should catch a few over bets as the defense usually folds in the second half. Three wins for the downtrodden Terps. (3-9, 2-7)

Michigan- The Jim Harbaugh coached Wolverines are a perennial powerhouse, however after a mediocre 2017 where they finished 5-4 in the conference, Jim’s squad will have to step it up to jump over Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State. Tackling Notre Dame in the opener is a good place to start. Western Michigan is next and that’s no cakewalk either as the Broncos will be fired up for this matchup. They have SMU and cupcakes Maryland, Rutgers and Indiana, but they will have to turn the tables on the aforementioned big three in the East to make the Big 10 Championship game. Big games vs. Wisconsin, Penn State and Ohio State will seal their fate one way or another. Bozos think they’ll improve but fall a bit short again this season. We see lots of close games, so don’t lay too much wood. (9-4, 6-3).

Michigan State– A young and surprisingly effective 2017 MSU team who battled in many close games should be in contention against their arch rivals in the conference. Their out of conference schedule is relatively competitive, with games against Utah State, ASU and Central Michigan. The usual suspects await, Northwestern, Penn State, Michigan, Purdue, Maryland, Ohio State, Nebraska and Rutgers. The Spartans should certainly be in the mix as they always are and they always play tough defensive games, So take points or give a small amount of points when applicable, and look for some opportunities wagering on the Under. (9-4, 8-3).

Ohio State– Major problems for Urban Meyer and his program because of the way they handled Coach Zach Smith’s domestic abuse situation. Zach is gone and Urban is suspended for the two non-conference games, Oregon, TCU, and Rutgers. Oregon and TCU may give them some trouble so look for an upset in one of these two games. Tulane is a rollover, as is Maryland, Minnesota and Indiana. The two Michigan teams and Penn State, Nebraska and Purdue will be primed to knock off the Buckeyes. Look for an unusually poor season as the distractions will take their toll. (10-4, 6-3) and No Big 10 Championship game or playoffs. HB is looking to beat them in games they are favored by too much.

Penn State– Even though the Lions lost star RB Saquon Barkley to the NFL, we look for Penn State to take advantage of a weakened Ohio State team to capture the Big 10 East. They have an awesome Offensive line, a great QB in McSorley and a RB to step in and fill Saquon’s shoes. Easy schedule, they’ll probably lose one game, maybe two. (11-1, 8-1). I’m looking for exciting victories every Saturday.

Rutgers– Perennial Big 10 doormats have a decent defense but have no scoring ability whatsoever. They’ll be opportunities to get some wins betting the under. Out of conference they take on Texas State, Big 12 bum Kansas, and Buffalo. They should go 1-2 or 2-1 vs. these teams and in Conference have a chance against Maryland, Illinois and Indiana. Against the monsters Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, they have virtually no shot, therefore have a four win maximum upside potential and no Bowl in their foreseeable future.

 

Big 10 West

Illinois– Lovie Smith is still coaching the Fighting Illini? Holy cow? Jeff George Jr. is gone. Illinois recently fired the Offensive coordinator. So basically who knows, but in the Big 10 West, they are really up against it. A cakewalk to begin the schedule, The Illini will pound Kent State and W. Illinois. USF will give them all they can handle. (3-9, 1-8). Doubt they will cover many conference games

Iowa-The Hawkeyes will make a run at the West as long as they defeat Wisconsin at home on 9/22. Otherwise, Penn State could be their only loss in an otherwise easy schedule. (10-3, 7-2). Good team to back.

Minnesota-The Gophers, eh, have some tough battles and again will finish in the middle of the pack. (5-7, 3-6) No Bowl this year. You can feel safe laying the points against them. Okay then.

Nebraska-New Head Coach Scott Frost from UCF will gradually improve Big Red. Ominous schedule, but we expect a few surprises and a Bowl invitation. (6-6, 4-5). Take the points with them as they’ll keep some tough games close.

Northwestern– The Wildcats have improved the last couple of years but the Eggheads might suffer a bit of a setback as they play Notre Dame and Duke out of conference. Away games vs. Michigan State and Iowa will destroy their dreams. (7-6, 5-4). They are overrated, bet against them.

Purdue– The Boilermakers will give up lots of points this season as they retool their Defense. That will mean that they will fall back into the pack after a decent 2017. (6-7, 4-5). Bet against them and take the over.

Wisconsin– Projected Big 10 Champ after running the table in the conference last year, we look for them to again be in the big game but fall victim to Penn State both in November and December. (10-2, 8-1) They tend to dominate in the second half of games historically. Low scoring defensive battles are the norm again this year. Their D is always phenomenal. Again, the Iowa game will decide the West winner.

-HB