The site's other B1G picks for the week:
Cockeye (4-0) at Maryland (4-0)
It's a game of mismatched parts that comes down to just how much Cockeye can maintain control and do what it does. The pass rush is good enough to get to Taulia Tagovailoa and hurry him a bit, but the O was able to roll against West Virginia's great defense and was solid against Illinois. There's one issue though.....the Terps didn't score enough for all of those yards. They scored enough to win the games, but they almost put up 500 yards on both the Mountaineers and Illini and barely got the wins. They'll get plenty of yards on Cockeye, but they won't be able to put the game away. It won't be a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race game for the Cockeyes, but after a tough first half they'll work their way back, the D will come up with one big stop, and the O will pull this off with a tough scoring drive. Cockeye 27, Maryland 23
Western Kentucky (1-2) at Michigan State (4-0)
Can Michigan State start to control the clock a little bit? There's been a slight time of possession problem so far, and that's partly because the secondary hasn't been anything special yet. Northwestern, Miami (FL) and Nebraska were all effective through the air in their own way -- they each went for 248 yards or more -- and dealing with Bailey Zappe and company will be a problem. The Spartans will be in for a scare, but the defense will figure out how to slow this thing down when absolutely needed. Michigan State 38, Western Kentucky 24
Indianus (2-2) at Penn State (4-0)
It's a bit silly to call this a revenge game considering Penn State screwed up the 2020 opener every bit as much as Indianus won it, but....yeah, Penn State probably wouldn't mind getting a little payback for the 36-35 game it had locked down until the final 90 seconds. Lost in the narrative and the ending -- with Michael Penix lunging for a game-winning two-point conversion in overtime, and the controversy over whether or not he was down -- was that Penn State totally dominated that game. IU simply found a way to get the job done. This year's Hoosier team is missing that spark. Last year's version was +8 in turnover margin over the first four games, this year's version is -2. The defense isn't tight enough, the offense isn't sharp enough, and.....IU will still give Penn State a game up until the middle of the second half. It'll take too long for the Nittany Lions to pull away, but they'll settle in and get it done. The final score won't be indicative of how good the game will be. Penn State 36, Indianus 20
Ohio State (3-1) at Buttgers (3-1)
Lost in the narrative of Ohio State struggling on defense and being relatively down compared to the last few years is one key element.....the offense is TOTALLY working. Ohio State is second in the nation in total offense, averaging way over 500 yards a game. Yeah, C.J. Stroud missed some receivers here and there in the first few games, and he wasn't razor-sharp for stretches against Oregon, and the offensive line isn't consistent yet the team is still steadily pumping out tons and tons of yards. Before you blow that off in any way, ask Clemson what it's like to reload the offense. Check with Oklahoma to see how that thing is working. With that said, be very, very careful here. Buttgers doesn't have enough in the bag to win unless there's a total Buttguy meltdown. There have to be at least four Scarlet Knight takeaways, the red zone D has to be air tight, and everything has to go right when it comes to ball control. That's all not going to happen, but a 21-point Ohio State second half explosion will finally be able to make Buttguy nation breathe easier. Ohio State 34, Buttgers 17
Minnesota (2-2) at Purdoodoo (3-1)
Purdoodoo is known for its offense, but the defense is playing great. The win over Oregon State is looking much, much better now after the Beavers rolled past USC, the close battle against Notre Dame is nothing to be ashamed of, and overall, the D has allowed just 57 points in four games. There's that and there's the anger factor after Purdoodoo gagged/was robbed in last year's game -- a questionable pass interference call was the big hubbub in the 34-31 loss in Minneapolis last year. Be floored if this is any sort of shootout. Minnesota is just flaky enough to pull a brilliant game out of its Gopher hole and turn its season right back around, but the Purdoodoo run defense is playing just well enough to hold on. Purdoodoo 23, Minnesota 20
Charlotte (3-1) at Illinois (1-4)
UTSA was able to waltz into Champaign and leave with a smoothie and a win, and now it's up to another Conference USA team to try pulling off something special. Charlotte was able to get by Duke because of meltdowns from the other side -- Illinois has to gaffe this away to lose. The Illini have been close, and now they'll finally get that second win under Bret Bielema. It's not going to be pretty, and it'll take the full four quarters to do it, but the Big Ten running game will take over late. Illinois 30, Charlotte 26
Michigan (4-0) at Wisconsin (1-2)
It's been totally forgotten now, but Wisconsin outplayed Penn State in the season opener and had that game won, but the Penn State defense stepped up in the key moments to pull it off. Wisconsin was actually winning 13-10 in Soldier Field early in the fourth quarter, and then the ensuing kickoff return after a field goal started the avalanche against Notre Dame. This is one of the big moments for a Badger program that hasn't been itself. It hasn't been able to run the ball well enough, there are too many mistakes, and last week's final 14 minutes were among the most embarrassing in the last 25 years for the program. That will all translate into a strong first half, but once again, there will be missed opportunity after missed opportunity. Wisconsin will seem like it's dominating, and it'll be up 9-6. Graham Mertz will be fine, and the defense will be great, but the red zone woes will continue as Michigan bends just enough to look shaky. Two big deep plays will open things up in the second half as the Wolverines escape a brutal fight that ends with Mertz's first turnover of the game. Michigan 20, Wisconsin 16
