Staff picks for Big Ten football in Week 11
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It is time once again for the staff of Nittany Lions Wire to go on the record for this weekend’s Big Ten schedule. The Big Ten kicks things off early this week with a Friday night matchup between Northwestern and USC out on the West Coast. Our staff has also already shared our predictions for this week’s Penn State game against Indiana, where the Nittany Lions are widely expected to be put on the brink of postseason ineligibility with just a few weeks remaining.
Here are our picks for this week’s Big Ten slate.
| Kevin | Christopher | Sam | |
| Northwesternat USC | USC | USC | USC |
| Ohio Stat Purdue | Ohio State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| Marylandat Rutgers | Rutgers | Maryland | Rutgers |
| Oregonat Iowa | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon |
| Washingtonat Wisconsin | Washington | Washington | Washington |
| Nebraskaat UCLA | UCLA | Nebraska | UCLA |
Sam on Oregon at Iowa: Top 10 teams don’t have the best record on the road at Kinnick Stadium, but Oregon should be able to pull off a tight victory against the Hawkeyes. I don’t expect a lot of scoring in this game, but I trust Dante Moore in the clutch more than I trust Mark Gronowski. If the Ducks can force Iowa to throw the ball, that will be their best bet at a win.
Christopher on Oregon at Iowa: This matchup has suddenly become very compelling in terms of the CFP race. Iowa have set themselves up to be gatecrashers with a 6-2 record. Meanwhile, Oregon hasn’t necessarily looked all that impressive after their loss to Indiana. This game will come down to the Oregon defense vs the Iowa run game. In games when Iowa averages over 3.5 yards per carry, they tend to win. The Ducks only allow 3.3 which ranks them fourth in the nation. At the end of the day, defense reigns supreme and Oregon has just enough of a disruptive to pull out a tense victory that looks to be a defensive struggle.
Kevin on Ohio State at Purdue: We have seen Purdue take on the role of Spoilermakers before, including at the expense of a highly-ranked Ohio State. I doubt we see any real struggle here from the Buckeyes, though. Julian Sayin and the wide receiver combo of Jeremiah Smith and Cardell Tate will explode against Purdue early and often, allowing the Buckeyes to cruise to a victory to retain their No. 1 ranking for another week.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Staff picks for Big Ten football in Week 11
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