62 Days to B1G Basketball: It's Week Two of Big Ten Football

The opening weekend wasn't a great showing for the Big Ten, with the conference going a disappointing 4-6 against FBS teams. Michigan's heavily hyped opener was a loss, Minnesota and Wisconsin couldn't knock off TCU or Alabama, Nebraska fell to BYU at home and Penn State suffered a huge blackeye as they were walloped by Temple. Of course the conference at least managed to avoid any FCS upsets, while Ohio State looked heavily impressive and Northwestern pulled off the upset of Stanford. Now the Big Ten hopes to have a better day in week two, with Michigan State set to host Gameday today.

The State of Oregon Versus Michigan

In a somewhat interesting twist, today will essentially be a battle between the states of Michigan and Oregon. Kicking things off at noon will be Michigan as they host Oregon State in Jim Harbaugh's first game at the Big House, while Michigan State will host Oregon in primetime as the two teams set off for this year's first matchup between top ten teams. In a Big 10 versus Pac-12 battle, both schools from Michigan are considered favorites to win, with State likely gaining an advantage over Oregon thanks to the game taking place in East Lansing and Oregon still trying to get recent addition Vernon Adams fully up and running. Michigan's noon kickoff against Oregon State should be a much easier game than their road opener at Utah, considering the Beavers look like they could be one of the worst teams in the Pac-12 and struggled at times versus Weber State last weekend.

Upset Alert?

The Big Ten didn't have a great weekend last time out versus FBS programs and is looking to have a better go this time around. Of course there are still a number of games on the slate that could prove tricky. One has to think that Penn State won't suffer another embarrassment, this time squaring off against Buffalo, but a retooling Maryland program is going to face a considerable challenge from a Bowling Green State team with an impressive offense that was more than capable in their opener against Tennessee. If Bowling Green can upset the Terps it'll be a familiar sight as the team also recently knocked off Indiana. Of course Michigan can't look past Oregon State either. While the Beavers have a laundry list of issues on offense, they have a pretty stout defense that should be able to hold it's own against Michigan. The Wolverines have a great defense but their rushing offense last week left plenty to be desired and if Jake Rudock continues to struggle then today's game could become an ugly affair for both sides.

The afternoon also includes a pair of potential upsets, highlighted by a Minnesota team traveling out west to take on Colorado State. It's not the hardest game, but it could be a letdown game, especially if Minnesota's offense continues to stutter. On the east coast Rutgers will host a Washington State team you'd think would be an easy task, but the combination of turmoil within the athletic department and the possibility of a Wazzou team trying to bounce back after their trainwreck of a opener means the Scarlet Knights can't simply blow off the Cougars and expect an easy win.

Hawaii Jerseys Still the Spotlight

Hawaii isn't very good and hasn't been much of a contender out west since June Jones left for SMU. Even with former USC signal caller Max Wittek under center and an upset of Colorado in their opener, this Hawaii team still is probably going to struggle heavily once again. That's before even considering the fact that they're next game is with a seven hour time difference. Oh, and said game is also against the top ranked team in the nation. Regardless of how big of a cupcake Hawaii ultimately is for a team like Ohio State, the Rainbow Warriors are stealing the show one way or another as the team will play in their white rainbow alternates, which are impressive to say the least:

Last Week's Predictions: 7-3
Current Record: 7-3