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Iowa appeared to be on cruise control over Indiana
when it scored early in the second quarter to
take a 21-7 lead. QB Drew Tate had already thrown
two touchdown passes and the Hoosiers appeared
to be conceding a fourth straight home loss. But
someone forgot to tell WR James Hardy about this
plan and he took the game over from there. He
tallied three touchdowns, the final to give IU
a 3-point lead with just under ten minutes to
play. His partner in crime was freshman QB Kellen
Lewis who completed 76 percent of his passes for
255 yards and he also rushed for a touchdown.
Iowa had one last chance to either tie or take
the lead, but QB Tate's pass was deflected and
eventually intercepted by Andy Brodell to seal
the victory for the Hoosiers. This was an embarrassing
loss for the Hawkeyes and has probably doomed
their already slim hopes for a BCS bid. As for
Indiana, this was a landmark win under Coach Terry
Hoeppner and I expect them to play hard for the
remainder of the season. The only problem is they
just do not have much talent to supplement their
enthusiasm.
Next up for the Hawkeyes is a trip to Ann Arbor
to take on the Wolvernines. The opening line has
Michigan as a 13.5-point favorite and it will
be interesting to see how they respond after such
a bad beat. Iowa has the talent on offense to
put points on the board and the best edge in this
game may lie with the total. For the Hoosiers,
they will make the short trip to Columbus to take
on the Buckeyes, a team that has yet to be challenged
on the season. They come in as 31-point dogs and
this would be a game I would stay away from.
Homecoming proved to be valuable in the battle
for Paul Bunyan's Ax. Wisconsin dominated this
game from start to finish, scoring 28 of the first
31 points, while never giving Minnesota an opportunity
to make things interesting. P.J. Hill had another
big day on the ground going for 165 yards and
John Stocco cleaned up in the second half, throwing
two touchdown passes. The Gophers continue to
struggle running the football and this has been
their bread and butter in the Glen Mason Era.
Amir Pinnix managed 97 yards on the ground, but
most of that came from one long run when the game
was already out of hand.
Next up for the Badgers is a trip to West Lafayette
to take on the Boilers. This game had the possibility
to be our; "Big Ten Game of the Year"
but the line did not come in where we had hoped
when releasing such a strong play. Bucky will
enter the state of Indiana at around a five-point
favorite. The schedule looks very promising for
this team and a BCS bowl bid is not out of the
question. Wisconsin does not play Ohio State and
has five winnable games left, the toughest coming
of Nov. 11, when they go to Iowa City.
As for Minnesota, a promising start that featured
a win in Kent, Ohio, has gone horribly wrong.
They are just 2-5 on the season and have yet to
beat anybody of significance (Kent State &
Temple). They will notch their third win of the
season this week against North Dakota State, but
the first conference win will have to wait until
Nov. 4, when they welcome in Indiana.
Finally, our second five-unit play in college
was Purdue (-7) over Northwestern. The game went
just as we suspected, with Purdue seizing the
edge on both sides of the football. I have been
stressing that the Cats have had trouble scoring
all season long and could only muster 10 points
against a terrible defense in Purdue. The Cats
had only 251 yards of total offense with 87 of
those coming on the ground. This is the same Purdue
defense that allowed 35 points to Notre Dame and
47 points to Iowa in consecutive weeks. QB Curtis
Painter outgained Northwestern by himself, throwing
for 432 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed
for a touchdown to put the game out of reach late
in the fourth quarter.
Purdue is well on its way to a bowl game and
now will play back-to-back games at Ross-Ade Stadium.
First up is the Wisconsin Badgers and payback
will be on their minds as a Kyle Orton fumble
late in the fourth quarter was brought back to
the house for a 3-point Wisconsin victory in 2004.
That was a turning point in their 2004 season;
as Purdue would go on to lose the next three games
by a combined seven points. Will they be able
to pay back Bucky? Not sure, but the over in this
game looks very tempting.
Northwestern will be playing its second straight
game at home when they welcome in Michigan State
for homecoming. State enters as a touchdown favorite,
but can you trust either one of these programs?
This answer is most certainly not and you should
expect the unexpected in this one.
The other game on next week's slate features
Illinois traveling to Happy Valley to take on
the Lions. There is no line on this game because
of the uncertainty State has at the quarterback
position. When a line is posted, expect it to
be double digits, as the Illini are really struggling,
losing two to the powerhouse programs of Indiana
and Ohio. .
Both were in Champaign and that does not make
Coach Ron Zook's resume look very promising.
Final Thoughts
from Around College Football
1) Coach Tuberville was right when he said
the SEC is too strong of a conference for a team
to run the table. After his team took down the
last remaining unbeaten in Florida, it appears
they are destined for another trip to the Sugar
Bowl. That being said, the SEC Championship in
Atlanta will be an outstanding match-up.
2) The Boise
State Broncos are inching closer to yet another
undefeated season and expect them to not receive
a BCS Bid. The conference has seen a great decline
in talent with the fall of Fresno State and Boise
has had trouble winning games on the road this
year. I would lean toward the Vandals side when
the Battle of Idaho is renewed this week in Moscow.
3) The Big
East has finally gotten out of the tank for being
the worst of the Big Six conference this season.
I would have to give that nod to the ACC, as teams
continue to beat up on each other with nobody
rising to the top. West Virginia at Louisville
certainly looks like a better game then any match-up
in the ACC would offer.
Last week was another profitable week on the
college slate, as Wyoming won its game with Utah
straight up and in blowout fashion. Doc's certainly
did his homework on that game and will have now
not lost our top college selection in four weeks.
This week we will offer the strongest selection
of the season with our; "Big Ten Game of
the Year." This will be the only eight-unit
play we release this season and once featured
a 19-year winning streak. This is a must have
for any big game hunter.
Free Pick - Take Stanford +23
over Arizona State
Doc Sports is a documented member of The Professional
Handicappers League.
Read more of his articles and get his premium
plays here.
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