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ESPN’s Jesse Palmer picks The Game, The Axe as ‘Virtual Locks’
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Jesse Palmer gave his picks for two B1G rivalries on Friday night.
During ESPN’s College Football Countdown, Palmer broke down two of the biggest games of the weekend: “The Game” featuring Ohio State and Michigan, and “The Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe” featuring Minnesota and Wisconsin.
For The Game, Palmer is actually rolling with the road favorite in Ohio State -9.5. Though he admitted to liking Shea Patterson’s work with Michigan’s offense, Palmer simply doesn’t think the offense can handle Chase Young and the OSU pass rush:
“Ohio State, -9.5 on the road, give me the Buckeyes,” said Palmer. “I like Shea Patterson, he’s been phenomenal his last four games, 12 TD passes, 1 interception. I don’t think they can protect him against Chase Young and that pass rush from Ohio State.
“Meanwhile, remember Ryan Day last year as the OC? He put on a clinic calling plays against Don Brown and Michigan’s press-man coverage. They put up 62 in that game. I think he has another good gameplan ready. Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins, these guys go off. Ohio State proves they’re the No. 1 team in the country.”
RELATED: Harsh weather conditions expected in Ann Arbor for The Game
When it comes to The Axe, Palmer flipped the script and picked the home underdog in the Minnesota Golden Gophers:
“It’s the first time all year I’m picking a dog, but it’s not the first time all year we’re picking the boat,” exclaimed Palmer. “Minnesota, they’re +3 at home against Wisconsin in a game where the winner is going to move on to play Ohio State. I just love how Tanner Morgan’s played this year. Johnson and Bateman on the outside catching passes…Give me the Boat. You can take Paul Bunyan’s Axe, put it in the Boat, and just row it to the B1G 10 Title.”
RELATED: ESPN CFB crew breaks down early keys for Wisconsin, Minnesota in Axe Game
Now that Palmer has made his picks, who do you like in Saturday’s rivalry action?
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.