Week 2 Big Ten football staff picks

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Get ready for a massive Week 2 in the Big Ten featuring head-to-head matchups against power conference opponents from the ACC, Big 12, and the SEC. Road trips for a couple of the top teams in the conference highlight the schedule as Ohio State travels to Texas and Oregon makes a trip to Oklahoma State, but the Big Ten will get some home-field advantages against a few power conference opponents as well. Illinois hosts defending ACC champion Duke, Minnesota welcomes Mississippi State to town, and Michigan will look to move on from last week's controversial and hotly debated win when they host Oklahoma in the Big House.

Other matchups against Power Four prorgams include Rutgers visiting Boston College on Friday night, Purdue hosting Wake Forest, and Iowa facing off with in-state rival Iowa State.

Here are our staff picks for Week 2 around the Big Ten. For our Penn State picks, including final score guesses and player of the game, check out our staff picks for Penn State vs. Temple. Also note that Northwestern is off this week.

Chris on Rutgers at Boston College: Surely, the Scarlet Knights can't sink any lower right? After an embarrassing display in their home opener against UMass, they now travel to Boston to face QB Dylan Lonergan’s former team. While the Eagles aren't any good either, Rutgers will still be reeling and Lonergan will feel the pressure of returning to Alumni Stadium. I'm taking BC in the mini upset.

Kevin on Ohio State at Texas: This is obviously the big one of the week and one of the most anticipated games of the season. Ohio State faces a stiff challenge on the road against Arch Manning and the Longhorns in a terrific Big Ten vs. SEC matchup. And I think Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith have their moments to give Ohio State a great chance of returning home with a win. But I do think the Buckeyes come up just shy of a win as Arch Manning creates some late-game heroics to drive the personal narrative and Heisman buzz about him wild for the next few weeks.

Paul on Oregon at Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State isn’t a juggernaut by any means, but this will be back-to-back games against unranked but feisty opponents for Oregon. They were in a dog fight against Boise State in Week 1, so I’m interested to see if it was just opening game jitters or a sign of things to come.

Chris on Oregon at Oklahoma State: This game could have been much more interesting had the Cowboys not blown it last week. In a stunning loss to Tulsa, Eric Morris and his North Texas transplants didn't look anything like last years best offense in the FBS. Meanwhile, Oregon wasn't to fix the problems they faced against Boise State last week in a game that was a little too close for comfort for the national title contenders. Expect the Oregon D to be much stronger this weekend and for OK State’s experiment to flounder once again.

Paul on Michigan vs. Oklahoma: This game could go a long way towards determining Penn State’s ceiling this season. If Michigan puts out another performance like last week, then I would feel extremely confident about beating them later in the year. But there’s also a chance they’re embarrassed by that season-opening performance and come out with something to prove against Oklahoma

Kevin on Iowa vs. Iowa State: I came away pretty impressed by how well Iowa started its season, even considering the level of competition. I think the Iowa defense and running game will be just fine this week against Iowa State and will be the difference in a good old-fashioned rivalry game that always seems to be tight.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Week 2 Big Ten football staff picks

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