Your Week Nine Big Ten Preview

Coming into the year this may have looked like the best week of Big Ten football of the season. Now? Not so much, but there are still some intriguing games, including what is without a doubt the game of the year.

Penn State will travel to Ohio State in what will be its biggest test on the way to a 12-0 season. Penn State has not won in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993. That's a 7-0 mark in favor of OSU. Both quarterbacks will be starting in their first OSU-PSU game and both have passed early season tests. Daryll Clark has led the Nittany Lions to an unblemished record and Terrelle Pryor has shown he is the man to lead Ohio State's offense. Both won games on the road at Wisconsin (not that cool this year) and Pryor picked up another road win last week at MSU. Pryor has been asked to make plays with his legs and not make mistakes with his arm. Penn State will likely sell out against Wells, in an effort to make Pryor win through the air. Other than the QB position Ohio State has the edge in experience and I think this will be a tough one for Penn State to win.

Illinois travels to Wisconsin this week and will try and send the Badgers to 0-5 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin has officially moved Allan Evridge out of the starting spot and given the job to Dustin Sherer. For Illinois the key will be to get up early on the Badgers, much like Iowa did last week and force Sherer to put the ball in the air to come back. Illinois can score with the best of them, but they don't want to get into a grinding ground war with Wisconsin, I don't care what their record is.

Coming off a deflating loss to Ohio State, there is no better game for Michigan State to play next than Michigan. The Spartans should have no trouble getting up for this one, as it represents their best chance to beat the Wolverines in a long time. I think the game comes down to which quarterback will suck less. If Steven Threet is healthy for Michigan, they have a chance. With Threet at the helm, Michigan had a great start to the Penn State game, but as Threet broke down, so did the offense. Michigan's defense will obviously be keying on Ringer, giving Hoyer the chance to make a difference.

Northwestern is at Indiana and Minnesota is at Purdue. Picks?

Picks:

Northwestern 42 - Indiana 14
Minnesota 21 - Purdue 24
Michigan State 21 - Michigan 23
Illinois 38 - Wisconsin 17
Ohio State 24 - Penn State 20