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Is it possible to be kind of right when it comes to bold predictions? Is that allowed?
Last Saturday, I was oh so close to nailing several of the Week 7 predictions I made. I know it only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, but maybe we can make an exception for B1G bold predictions.
Quickly, here’s how close I was:
- Nebraska gets first win: Huskers blew a 10-point lead, lose 34-31 to Northwestern in OT
- UM holds Jonathan Taylor under 100 yards: The Wisconsin RB finished with 101 yards
- 3-way tie for first in the B1G West: Northwestern has a 1/2 game lead on Wisconsin, Purdue and Iowa.
See, these aren’t always just the most ridiculous things that pop into my head. Sometimes I’m right. Kind of.
Without further ado, here are my bold predictions for Week 8 in the B1G.
We will have another upset
Five of the seven B1G games feature at least one ranked team. You’re telling me there won’t be at least one upset? Not buying it. Not the way this season has gone. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Purdue upset No. 2 Ohio State, Indiana knock off No. 18 Penn State or even Maryland defeat No. 19 Iowa on Saturday. I’m not bold enough to put stock in any of these matchups, but I do believe one will fall hard this weekend.
Mohamed Ibrahim has back-to-back 100-yard outings
Ibrahim had the best performance of his short career against Ohio State last Saturday. I can’t imagine the Nebraska defensive line is going to be able to keep the freshman in check this weekend. Ibrahim has hit the 100-yard mark twice this season, but not in back-to-back games. He hits 100 yards easily against the Huskers.
Purdue and Ohio State combine for 1,000 yards of total offense
Yes, I have a lot of confidence in both these offenses. No, I do not trust either defense. Of the 1,000 yards the two teams will put up, I think quarterbacks David Blough (Purdue) and Dwayne Haskins (Ohio State) will account for 800. They’re that good. We should see a high-scoring contest in West Lafayette, and a game with plenty of offense.
Jim Harbaugh evens the score with Mark Dantonio
Michigan State’s offensive line has been atrocious and Michigan’s defensive line has been spectacular. I don’t see the Spartans being able to make enough offensive plays to win this one, meaning Harbaugh improves to 2-2 against Dantonio. The only thing the Wolverines need to keep in check is the Brian Lewerke-Felton Davis III connection. That really hurt Penn State.
Northwestern rushes for 100 yards
Since rushing for 166 yards in the season opener against Purdue, the Wildcats haven’t hit the century mark. And they own the second-worst rushing offense in college football, averaging just 69.8 yards per game. A lot of that has to do with the loss of Jeremy Larkin. Fortunately, Northwestern should be able to get some confidence in the rushing game this week against Rutgers. If the Cats can’t run against the Scarlet Knights, they might as well just let Clayton Thorson throw it 75 times every week.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB