Will Indiana stay perfect?
Will John Cooper run up the score?
Will Michigan State be pumped or bummed?
And, once again, the $10,000 question of the week: Will Illinois score a touchdown?
Now to the games ...
Pittsburgh (1-2) at Ohio State (1-0):
Ohio State will undoubtedly be looking past this game, seeing as they travel to South Bend in two weeks to play Notre Dame.
Having players like All-American offensive lineman Orlando Pace and stud linebacker Mike Vrabel allows the Buckeyes to overlook teams like Pitt.
The Buckeyes beat Rice, 70-7, Sept. 7, and Rice's coaches had a few choice words for Ohio State head coach John Cooper after the game, because they thought he ran up the score. Nah, regularly throwing bombs when you're up by 40 isn't running up the score, is it John?
Since they were off this week, Ohio State's first stringers were spotted beating up on the practice squad. Because they will be thinking Irish thoughts, the Buckeyes won't win by 63 this week.
Ohio State 55, Pittsburgh 13
Louisville (1-2) at Michigan State (1-0 Big Ten, 1-1 Overall):
After being placed on four years probation for rules violations, it will be interesting to see if Michigan State head coach Nick Saban and his Spartans are ready for this game. Michigan State looked impressive after drubbing Purdue, 52-14, three weeks ago, but the Spartans quickly came back down to earth, taking a beating by those football gods who call themselves Nebraska.
The Spartans hope Louisville continues its downward trend. After cleaning up on in-state rival Kentucky, 38-14, the Cardinals showed some spunk by hanging with Penn State in a 24-7 loss. Last week, however, they looked atrocious against Baylor, losing, 14-13.
Saban is too good of a coach to let the Spartans lose their focus. The Spartans will come out angry and clip Louisville's wings.
Michigan State 30, Louisville 13
Penn State (0-0, 3-0) at Temple (1-2):
Penn State handily whipped Northern Illinois, 49-0, last weekend in a game played solely for monetary reasons. This without star tailback Curtis Enis, who sat out with the flu. Enis had averaged 173 yards in Penn State's first two games, and will run wild against the Owls' porous defense.
The Nittany Lions have their usual solid defense and high-powered offense, featuring Enis and former special-teamer turned star wideout, Joe Jurevicius. While Wally Richardson is considered a solid signal-caller, his performance against Louisville two weeks ago (11-for-33, 118 yards, 2 interceptions) had the Happy Valley faithful worried. But they won't have to worry this weekend, because Paterno and the boys win another squeaker.
Penn State 48, Temple 10
Stanford (1-1) at Wisconsin (0-0, 2-0):
Camp Randall Stadium will rock this weekend, not only because Wisconsin fans will be cheering on their Badgers, but because freshman fullback Ron Dayne will carry the ball.
Dayne is a 260-pound fullback who became a favorite of Wisconsin fans in a hurry. Wisconsin's offense is led by tailback Carl McCullough, however.
The Badgers have a big edge on the ground, but the game may come down to which quarterback makes fewer mistakes. Stanford looks to sophomore Chad Hutchinson, who has put up nice numbers but is better known for his baseball skills, having been a first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves.
Wisconsin counters with longtime signal caller Darrell Bevell ... oh, he finally graduated last year? Sorry. Mike Samuel has taken over for Bevell and is adequate at best. The folks in Madison go home happy after watching the best game in the Big Ten this week.
Wisconsin 24, Stanford 17
Indiana (0-0, 2-0) at Kentucky (0-2):
How 'bout them Hoosiers?
Indiana has played only two games thus far, but not many people expected them to be undefeated. Certainly they should have lost to last year's Mid-American Conference powerhouse Toledo. Indiana won, 40-6.
Next, Indiana disposed of pesky Miami (Ohio), 21-14. Does this mean Indiana has a shot at the Rose Bowl?
Nope.
Aside from junior running back Alex Smith, a legitimate threat to score every time he touches the ball, Indiana does not have much on offense.
The defense is decent but should be handled easily by the tough Big Ten offenses.
Kentucky should concentrate on foul shots and boxing out, because, well ... you'll see Saturday. Break up the Hoosiers - they stay perfect.
Indiana 27, Kentucky 20
Iowa (0-0, 2-0) at Tulsa (0-2):
The way Iowa has played its first two games, the Hawkeyes could be this year's Northwestern, although not as surprising.
The collective groan heard from Iowa fans when standout running back Sedrick Shaw went down with an ankle injury last weekend quickly turned to cheers as backup Tavian Banks destroyed Iowa State's defense. He ran for 182 yards on merely 18 carries in a 38-13 Hawkeye win.
Shaw will start Saturday if healthy, but Banks has earned some carries. Iowa quarterback Matt Sherman is as steady as they come, and his composure in the pocket will help send Tulsa back to the WAC.
Iowa 44, Tulsa 10
Syracuse (0-1) at Minnesota (0-0, 2-0):
Minnesota coach Jim Wacker has been issued an ultimatum - win five games or resign. This means he only needs three more wins to save his job, and with some help from the schedule makers, he has a shot.
The Golden Gophers do not play Penn State or Ohio State, so Wacker will look to quarterback Cory Sauter to help him save his job against the likes of Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin.
He had better win those games, because Minnesota will not beat Paul Pasqualoni's Orangemen. Look for Syracuse quarterback Donovan McNabb to have a huge day and Wacker to start making copies of his resume.
Syracuse 37, Minnesota 20
Ohio (2-1) at Northwestern (0-0, 1-1):
After a disappointing loss to Wake Forest two weeks ago, Northwestern righted itself by whipping Duke last week, 38-13.
Ohio is not a bad team, but Northwestern is now focused and linebacker Pat Fitzgerald will make sure the Wildcats don't lose that focus.
The offense is led by running back and thespian Darnell Autry, who has had an amazing 15-straight, 100-yard games, and quarterback Steve Schnur, who usually makes very few mistakes.
Northwestern 31, Ohio 16
Akron (0-3) at Illinois (0-1, 0-3):
The answer to the $10,000 question is yes, the Illini will finally score a touchdown.
They have been outscored 116-11 so far, but they insist they aren't that bad. There will be no way to tell Saturday, because Akron is not a good football team and will not test them. Illinois finally wins.
Illinois 27, Akron 10
West Virginia (3-0) at Purdue (0-1, 0-2):
West Virginia's redshirt freshman Amos Zereoue has been outstanding and has more than enough help around him to beat a lackluster Purdue squad.
West Virginia 27, Purdue 14
AP PHOTO
The Illinois football team (0-1 Big Ten, 0-3 overall) has not scored a touchdown in its first three games this season. The Fighting Illini, who have made up for a less than stellar offense with their defense over the past few years, have been outscored 116-11 so far. The Illiini look to turn their luck around this weekend, when they battle winless Akron (0-3) at Memorial Stadium.