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AP PHOTO
By Raphael Goodstein
For the Daily
The Big Ten has finished its first week of play and Minnesota is still in first place. Wait, the Gophers didn't play last week. Wisconsin and Iowa are also in first, but like every year, neither has played a good team. When they do, they will lose. Purdue is coming off a tough loss at Notre Dame that reminded all Wolverine fans that Michigan is not the only team that blows seemingly un-blowable leads. Northwestern has reminded everyone that those back-to-back Big Ten titles were aberrations. And, has anyone heard anything about Illinois since they lost Simeon Rice and Kevin Hardy?
Indiana has already made its fans start to count down the days until Bobby Knight starts throwing chairs and kicking his son and other players. Michigan State is going to try to bounce back from the tough loss to you-know-who. Hopefully, for Sparty's sake, they will not respond this week the way they responded after their loss to Colorado State (Oregon 48, Our State's Best Agricultural School 14).
But, amidst all of these thrilling stories, Penn State at Ohio State still is this week's best Big Ten game. After this week, every team will have played a conference game, so expect a shakeup at the top of the Big Ten.
No.7 Penn State (3-0) at No.1 Ohio State (3-0)
Joe (Roy Orbison in disguise) Paterno matches his big-game skills against John Cooper's. That's one of the few things in the Nittany Lions' favor. The Buckeyes are out to avenge last year's debacle at Happy Valley when Curtis Enis ran wild, and they have the team to do it.
Joe Germaine will throw the ball all over the field, Michael Wiley will run like the wind, and since the game is not played in a classroom or golf course, expect Andy Katzenmoyer also to do well.
Penn State lost every player from last year's Big Ten runner-up team, and even all of the agents left Happy Valley to come to Ann Arbor. This is a big game for Ohio State and John Cooper, but not even that can make up for the fact that the Buckeyes have more talent than the Indianapolis Colts, and they did not lose one starter from last year's team to the NFL. Penn State does not have one noteworthy player (he now plays with the Chicago Bears) so look for Ohio State to beat the spread. Penn State is overrated, and undefeated only because their three wins came against Southern Miss., Bowling Green and Pittsburgh. Not exactly the Notre Dames and Syracuses of college football. All picks are for recreational purposes only, and this recreational pick is:
Ohio State 34, Penn State 17
No.13 Wisconsin (4-0) at Indiana (1-1)
Wisconsin decided to take a page out of Penn State's How-to-Start-the-Year- Undefeated book. I read the Cliffs' Notes for that book, and the main idea is to schedule teams that are not good. If you are really interested, you can buy the book at the Borders at Kansas State. Ron Dayne suffered a little bit of a sophomore slump last year and this year he is bigger, faster and hungrier than ever. Or is that his offensive linemen?
Cam Cameron is trying to rebuild the Indiana football team, and all there is to say about this is that Lloyd Carr, not Cam Cameron, was the right man for the Michigan job. Look for Indiana to use the 2-3 zone and challenge the jumper. Oops, wrong sport. In all honesty, I know very little about Indiana's football team, except the players wear those skin-tight uniforms. Or is that their basketball team?
Wisconsin will continue to roll, as they continue to play bad teams and pad Ron Dayne's stats in a feeble attempt for the Heisman. Come on, everyone knows that only defensive players win the Heisman. Look for the Badgers to be 9-0 when they come to the bigger, uglier Big House. And if you are worried about that game, see the third line of this article. Prediction: a late lay-up by Calbert Cheaney is not enough as the Badgers win.
Wisconsin 31, Indiana 10
Minnesota (3-0) at Purdue (2-2)
As evidenced by the fact that undefeated Minnesota is not getting any votes in the AP poll - and there are teams that have already lost twice that are ranked - very few people think that the Golden Gophers are the real deal. To them, which I am sure includes you, I say: you're right! Minnesota has obviously read the same best-seller as Wisconsin, as the Gophers' three wins have come against Arkansas State, Houston and Memphis. If they are still undefeated in three weeks, I will do my best impression of Terry Glenn and eat my words. But that won't happen.
Purdue is coming off a tough one-point loss against those Fighting Irish. After having to look at the Notre Dame mascot dance around for three and a half hours, surely all of the Purdue players have been traumatized. So the real question in this game is not "How will Purdue respond after the Notre Dame game, against a better-than-normal Minnesota team?" Rather, it is "What is a Boilermaker?" No, that isn't it. The real question is "Does Gene Keady think he is fooling anyone with that haircut?" To Gene Keady and all of Purdue: Think "Rogaine." Hey, it delivered for Karl Malone. Prediction: if you are betting on this game, you need help.
Purdue 27, Minnesota 17
Illinois (1-2) at Northwestern (2-2)
Stop the presses! Illinois won a game! After last year's Oscar-nominating impression of Prairie View, the Illini are fighting mad. As quickly as purple pride took over Hollywood, Northwestern's Ryan Field is once again quieter than the Law Quad.
Northwestern still has those ridiculous purple pants and, unless Darnell Autry decides to stop by, not even wide receiver D'Wayne Bates can get Northwestern back to the Rose, Citrus, Motor City or any other bowl game. Lucky for the purple, he can get them past an Illinois defense that does not have Kevin Hardy or Simeon Rice. Unfortunately, some TV station will waste valuable time televising this game. Thank God for the remote control! Prediction: the Northwestern football team will cover all bets.
Northwestern 24, Illinois 7
Central Michigan (2-1) at Michigan State (1-3)
Sparty is down. Central Michigan has a winning record and thinks it has a chance. With dreams of old, Central is dreaming of a third upset of State. Michigan State is dreaming of beer at Munn Field and rioting on Grand River. Some things never change. Michigan State has too much talent, and even though they will get off to a slow start, they will prevail. Sedrick Irvin will run wild. Robaire Smith will sack the quarterback. And Bill Burke may even complete a pass.
Look for Spartan fans to regain their confidence and start talking nonsense about winning records and cute girls. Lucky for them, the Chippewas still have a football team. Prediction: After a Spartan victory, Cows will be tipped over, a couch will catch fire, and a "Doonesbury" cartoon will be drawn that makes fun of State. S(Party) on!
Michigan State 31, Central Michigan 20
10-01-98
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