There were a number of prognostications on this site about which at-large teams would be chosen by which BCS bowls and for what reasons.  There were extensive different outcomes analyzed, and as far as I can remember, almost none of them included TCU v. Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.  And to the extent that we expected a Big11 team to go to the Orange Bowl, we thought PSU rather than Iowa would be the choice. Why were we wrong?

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I'm surprised to hear myself saying this, but I like that the big11 powers stopped night games in November.  Something seems wholesome and right about playing the rivalry games tomorrow at noon and 3:30.  I like night games in September as much as the next guy, but fundamentally, night games are the province of major championship and bowl games and regualr season big east, acc, and wac contests. 

In case anyone didn't see the first one of these, I am just picking against the odds in this space. These picks do not represent actual bets that I made or will make. I often will use analysis here to place a wager or two on Saturday, but sometimes I also reverse course (particularly if I pick against PSU here) and end up betting the other way than I chose. And I regularly bet on games that I don't list here.  In any event, one last chance to get north of .500 before the big11 season ends.

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As far as I can tell, San Diego State at Minnesota is off the board. Apparently the days when the likes of Joe Gibbs, Marshall Faulk, and Brian Sipe used to don the Aztec uniform have given way to the days of Goldy impersonating Cortes.

Otherwise, there are a couple of sneaky-interesting big11 games this week: a battle for Illiniois between jNW and the Fightin injuns, and Purdue tries to sweep the state of Michigan.

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The best choice I made last week was not to boast about the fact that I'd gone 5-1 the previous week...because last week's 1-7 was just embarrassing. In each of the last two weekends, Iowa has covered on the last possible play--last play at MSU and, had Indiana tackled that guy on the final touchdown run, the Hawkeyes just kneel on it to end the game.  That game almost killed my will to gamble...almost...

Even without the action, tomorrow is one of the days that make fall Saturdays special...enough entertaining/important games to keep you in the living room for a solid 8-11 hours, with the Nittany Lions playing a prominent role...

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New Mexico State +44 at Ohio State

Apparently the Aggies are awful.  I don't care; the %uckeyes aren't good enough to lay 44 points against anyone. nmsu +44

Purdue +7 at Wisconsin

One of the more intriguing big11 matchups of the week. I like the Badgers to cover at Camp Randall; just feels like they'll show up for this one. WISCY -7

Indiana +17.5 at Iowa

I remember the last time Iowa was favored by 17 and a half at home: when the Red Wolves of Arkansas State made things interesting in the fourth quarter. Same thing happens tomorrow.  Hoosiers +17.5

Penn State -15 at Northwestern

Second straight game wearing the whites, not to mention playing in Evanston where we always have trouble. This game might not be close, but I still don't think we cover. NW +15

Michigan -7 at Illinois

The wolverines get to lick their wounds against the big11's whipping boy; I like the Harvard of Ypsilanti big: scUM -7

Michigan State -3.5 at Minnesota

Normally, aftter a game like last weekend's, Sparty folds.  Same thing might happen here, if only Goldy didn't suck. MSU -3.5

Texas -8.5 at Okalahoma State

I don't know the big 12 that well, but I know that Texas ain't all that.  They probably win, but not by more than a touchdown. OSU +8.5

Southern Cal -3 at Oregon

Pete Carrol loses road PAC 10 games to major underdogs. The Trojans get up for big games. They roll tomorrow: USC -3.

Last week: 4-1 in the big ten; 1-0 in other games; 5-1 overall

Total: 9-9 in the big ten; 4-2 in other games; 13-11 overall

Rough one last week in this fanpost, which it's fair to say I'm not qualified to write--or at least no one should be listening to it. But I'm poised to break out this week...I think.  In a kind-of meh weekend for college football--TCU at BYU is the only matchup with two ranked opponents--we get one of the best weekends of football in the big11.  That's the beauty of Northwestern and Indiana playing each other--they don't play anyone else.

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All the Big 11 teams play each other this weekend, except Michigan who plays host to the 1-AA Hornets of Delaware State. Like last week's PSU game, that game is off the board. You know, I'm getting really tired of all of these 1-AA games; a school like Michigan, with all that football tradition and money, could never lose to a 1-AA team.  Oh, wait...oh, what's that...oh, right, this:

Appalachian State Shocks The World

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The Nittany Lions are off the board this week, but I'm gonna go ahead and say we win by 41, but feel deflated by watching Kevin Newsome struggle through the last quarter and a half. 

I really like Michigan +8 and LSU +7.5. Everything else: meh.  

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I've had this idea for a while now, and I'm finally going to do it.  Each week (assuming anyone cares) I'll post the lines for every game involving a Big Ten team and pick a winner against the spread.   At my discretion, I also may throw a couple of other games into the mix that I think are intriguing.

I've always been much better at gambling on the NFL than on college, mostly because the college games are so diverse.  I always tell myself that if I just focus on the Big Ten, I should be ahead of the curve, but it still hasn't happened.  Maybe this year. 

I'm using Danny Sheridan's line from the Friday USA Today; if for whatever reason the paper doesn't have the line for a big ten game, I'll grab it from sundaystrategy.com (because I don't want to check my online gambling account at work.)

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In August, I wrote a post asking for comment about what I should do when in Iowa City visiting my wife's family.  The overwhelming reply--wear a penn state shirt--was wrong but on the right track. (The right answer there was to put a DC17 jersey on the statue of some unsuspecting Iowan, but alas, I only realized this once in Iowa City and nowhere near a jersey.)

In any event, I found myself one night in George's Buffet, a solid dive bar right in the heart of Iowa City. There's not really a good State College analogue, but its similar to the rathskellar, though smaller and above ground. Anyway, I stumbled upon a conversation with the owner--who's not named George--and told him I graduated from Penn State, blah, blah, blah.

 
He goes into his office and pulls out a...

penn state tie signed by JoePa. 

Apparently, bartenders at George's used to wear ties--they don't anymore--and the owner, an Iowa City native, would every so often break out the Nittany blue.  An Iowa professor who graduated from PSU gave it to him when we joined the big ten. 

He bought me a couple of shots and we had a solid 15 minute conversation.  

Why am I telling this story?  Unclear, but let's give three reasons:

1) If you find yourself thirsty in Iowa City, go to George's;

2) Its good to love your school and your place, but I respect George's owner for being multicultural; and

3) Iowans are soft.

Let's go state; beat Iowa