Week 8 Big Ten Football Preview

We've fabricated it to the final week of the Big Ten regular flavor. The championship game for next weekend is already set up, with No. 14 Northwestern facing off against No. 3 Ohio State, just in that location are however many teams with a lot to play for.

Allow's take a look at the Week 8 matchups:

Illinois (two-4) @ No. 14 Northwestern (5-1)

When/Where: Saturday, December 12th, 12:00 PM @ Ryan Field, Evanston, IL

Lines*: Northwestern -14, O/U 40.v

(Photograph courtesy of Illinois Athletics.)

Illinois is coming off of a solid performance in a loss confronting a very good Iowa team. No. 14 Northwestern enters this week every bit the Big Ten Due west champion, but suffered their beginning loss two weeks ago confronting Michigan Country.

Illinois was outmatched against Iowa, but they were adequately impressive in a game that could've easily been a blowout. Starting quarterback Brandon Peters led the Illini to a fourteen-0 lead confronting Iowa, only was benched in the fourth quarter for Isaiah Williams who is more dynamic as a rushing threat than Peters. Coach Lovie Smith defended the conclusion by saying his team needed a spark on offense. It volition exist interesting to see how Smith uses both of his quarterbacks this week against the toughest defense they take faced so far in Northwestern. The Wildcats' defense is ranked second in terms of yards allowed and points this year in the Big Ten.

Northwestern's law-breaking has been their weak spot this whole season, but up until the Michigan State game, they had scored just enough to win games. Against the Spartans, however, it was a different story. Their ordinarily reliable running game was simply able to muster 63 yards and fumbled twice while quarterback Peyton Ramsey threw ii interceptions. Northwestern will be looking for a bounceback game offensively to build some momentum going into the Ohio State game. Illinois is one of the Big Ten's weaker defenses, but so is Michigan State, and Northwestern struggled confronting them.

Prediction: Northwestern is due for a bounceback effort subsequently a disappointing loss, but most of their games this yr have been close. Wait Illinois to give them a skillful fight, but come up brusque in the end. 27-17 Northwestern.

Minnesota (2-3) @ Nebraska (2-4)

When/Where: Saturday, December 12th, 12:00 PM @ Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE

Lines: Nebraska -10.5, O/U 60

(Photograph courtesy of Nebraska Football game.)

Minnesota has non played in two weeks due to COVID-19, but their last game was a iii-point victory against Purdue. Nebraska is coming off of a big road win at Purdue.

Minnesota has had an up and down season in which its offense has been very inconsistent. Quarterback Tanner Morgan has been disappointing in his 2nd twelvemonth as the starter and star wide receiver Rashod Bateman recently opted out of the season. Minnesota's strength on offense is in the running game, led by Mohamed Ibrahim who was named a finalist for the Doak Walker Laurels given to the nation's top running back. Nebraska's defense has been a middle-of-the-pack unit in the Large Ten this year, struggling to comprise teams that move the ball well.

Similar to Minnesota, it has been a roller coaster ride for the Cornhuskers offensively. Quarterback Adrian Martinez began the flavor every bit the starter but was then benched for Luke McCaffrey in Week four. Martinez has since returned to the starting role and led the Huskers to a big win against Purdue. It will exist interesting to see if Martinez can build on concluding week's successes and bring some stability to the criminal offense. They will take a skilful opportunity this calendar week confronting Minnesota's defence, who has given up the nearly points per game in the Large 10.

Prediction: I was surprised when I saw the line in this game considering these teams appear very similar on paper. I'll take the home team but I think Minnesota covers. 35-31 Nebraska.

Michigan State (2-four) @ Penn Land (2-5)

When/Where: Saturday, December twelfth, 12:00 PM @ Beaver Stadium, Academy Park, PA

Lines: Penn State -14.5, O/U 47

(Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics.)

Michigan Country is coming off of a blowout loss against Ohio Land, merely notched a huge upset win the week earlier confronting Northwestern. After an 0-5 starting time, Penn State has won dorsum-to-dorsum games confronting Michigan and Rutgers.

Michigan Country has been the worst team in the Large Ten on offense this season. Quarterback Rocky Lombardi has had his moments this year against Michigan and Northwestern, but it'due south been a rough season for him altogether. Lombardi was also injured in concluding week's game against Ohio State, so information technology's possible that backup Payton Thorne gets the first this week. Penn State's defense has wildly underperformed this year, but has looked much amend the past two weeks. If they look like they did last calendar week against Rutgers, they should take no issues with the Spartans' offense.

Penn State has not been able to figure things out on offense this whole season. Quarterback Sean Clifford has conspicuously regressed from last season and has been very turnover decumbent this year. However, in the past ii weeks, the Nittany Lions have been able to get the running game going. Running back Keyvone Lee and fill-in quarterback Will Levis combined for 34 carries and 160 yards confronting Rutgers and the team rushed for 248 yards total. Michigan Land has given up the 3rd most points in the Big Ten even though they are 7th in yardage. Wait Penn Country to stick to the running game this week.

Prediction: This will probably exist one of the more ugly games nosotros've seen this year. Penn State should accept care of business, but they won't look dominant. 24-10 Penn State.

Rutgers (2-5) @ Maryland (2-2)

When/Where: Saturday, December 12th, 12:00 PM @ Maryland Stadium, Higher Park, MD

Lines: Maryland -7, O/U 58

(Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics.)

Rutgers is coming off of a disappointing operation against Penn State while Maryland did not play final week due to COVID-xix bug within the Michigan programme.

Rutgers had some momentum going into the Penn Land game, scoring over 30 points in back-to-dorsum games, including a win at Purdue. However, the offense brutal apart last calendar week as the Scarlet Knights managed just 205 total yards. Quarterback Noah Vedral was the team's leading rusher, which is not a proficient sign. Maryland's defense had a crude starting time to the season, just dominated Penn Land and looked solid against Indiana for the first half. Their weakness this year has been defending the run, then luckily for them, Rutgers does non run the ball too well.

Maryland'due south offense was very sloppy in their final game against Indiana, just they were coming off a two-week hiatus and were missing multiple key starters. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa had a shaky performance, throwing three interceptions and missing several throws throughout the game. Withal, Tagovailoa has shown this year that he can play at a very loftier level and the return of receivers Rakim Jarrett and Jeshaun Jones in addition to three other offensive starters should help Taulia get back to that level against a susceptible Rutgers defense.

Prediction: Both of these teams have been tough to get a read on this yr, just Maryland has more than talent across the board with many starters returning. 31-26 Maryland.

Wisconsin (2-2) @ No. sixteen Iowa (5-ii)

When/Where: Sabbatum, December fifth, 3:30 PM @ Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL

Lines: Wisconsin -2, O/U 41.5

(Photo courtesy of Iowa Athletics.)

Wisconsin is coming off of an ugly domicile loss versus Indiana while No. 16 Iowa took intendance of business against an inferior Illinois squad.

Wisconsin's offense looked like an unstoppable strength through ii games, just they have regressed mightily since scoring 49 against Michigan. The Badgers have scored simply 13 points combined in their concluding 2 games while quarterback Graham Mertz has a touchdown-interception ratio of 1-iv. The Badgers have dominated time of possession each of the past two weeks but information technology hasn't mattered as they've struggled to put points on the board. Unfortunately for Wisconsin, it volition face some other top defense in Iowa this week.

Iowa has been on a scroll lately, winning five in a row, but most of these wins have come up against the lesser feeders of the conference. Quarterback Spencer Petras has not lit up the stat sail, but he has led a very consistent Iowa crime. The Hawkeyes have been able to get an early atomic number 82 and then rely on the running game to take control of game period. However, Wisconsin is the toughest team they've seen since their loss to Northwestern in Week ii, so it will exist key for Iowa to get out to a fast outset over again. For all of their offensive woes, the Badgers defense is still ranked number one in the conference in both points and yardage allowed.

Prediction: This is going to be a archetype Big 10 East game, full of skillful defense force and a lot of punts. I'm surprised that Wisconsin is laying 2 points, so I'll take the scarlet-hot Hawkeyes at dwelling house. 17-13 Iowa.

Note: Ohio State-Michigan & Purdue-Indiana have been cancelled due to COVID-19

*All lines from William Loma Sportsbook

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Source: http://wmucsports.net/week-8-big-ten-football-preview/

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