Last week went far better for my football teams. Wisconsin looked good against a terrible Boilermaker team, and the Packers were able to survive a late comeback out in LA. You love to see it.
At least around here, we do.
Meanwhile, the Gophers are going to the Rose Bowl to play a game there for the first time since the 1960s. Maybe Basement Brew can lead the team out in order to say he did take the Gopher nation to Pasadena.
He certainly meant to:
Can you feel it? Would you want to? I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPEEEEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work.
Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat (-4) vs. UCLA Bruins So the Gophers pulled off a nice upset win against USC, and PJ does deserve a lot of credit for that win. That is a good way for him to quiet the detractors in the Gopher fan base. UCLA is a program that should be doing better, but they have a lot of work to do. And like USC, they need to bulk up in the trenches to survive a more physical style of play compared to Oregon and Washington. For the Gophers, they are going to need to avoid falling into a trap game that this one is going to be. A lot of Gopher fans will be in Pasadena, as many of them have never seen the Gophers play at the Rose Bowl. Speaking from personal experience, the Rose Bowl is a special place to watch a game. Similar to Lambeau and Wrigley Field in the sense that you instantly feel the history and tradition of the place. Row Row Row Your Boat Elitely 24, Gritty Little Bruins 21.
I actually think the Gophers are the better team. But the better team doesn't always win. UCLA 27, Gophers 23.
Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (+1.5) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Badgers looked a lot better against Purdue. I especially liked how Longo was willing to get the ball to his best weapons a lot more, and I thought the Badgers didn't panic when Purdue got those two picks. Rutgers is really starting to pull it's weight more in both football and basketball. Athan Kaliakmanis has proven that he has some potential, and Rutgers is starting to really get better athletes. The key for Wisconsin is to be able to establish the run early, and I want to see Longo get the ball to his playmakers more in space. And if the receivers can actually catch the ball, that would be great. This will be a close one, but I think the Badgers have a good shot. Badgers 31, Buttgers 13.
Rutgers has never beaten the Badgers. Will that continue? This is the best Rutgers team the Badgers have faced and this is also not the best Badgers team. Having said that, I think the Badgers are better. Wisconsin 24, Rutgers 21.
A School In Columbus (-3.5) vs. Oregon Quack Quack This game is the most anticipated game in the Big Ten this season, as both Ohio State and Oregon are favorites to win the league. From what I have seen of Ohio State, Will Howard looks like a nice model upgrade over Honda McCord, and the Buckeyes seem to be trying to quiet the narrative that Ryan Day can't beat Michigan or win a big game. That narrative is unfair, as should the Buckeyes be dumb enough to fire Day, 99% of schools would hire him instantly. Oregon has looked a little loose in the turns, and some are wondering if they were overranked to start the year. This game is not an elimination game by any means because of the 12 team playoff and the fact that there are going to be some 1 loss teams with the parity we are seeing. I like Oregon to win given that they are playing in Eugene. Oregon 43, Buckeyes 41.
This will be interesting. Somehow I haven't seen OSU play yet, but they are uber talented as usual. Ducks can match up. I tend to agree - home field is the key here. Oregon 37, Ohio State 35.
Arizona Cardinals (+5) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers I thought that the Packers responded well in the second half. Jordan needs to clean up the turnovers, and I think that the pass heavy playcalls instead of running clock late in the game was playing with fire. The good news is that the Packers got an ugly win. Arizona has some good pieces, and the key is to keep Kyler Murray in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm. What I want to see from the Packers is to have a Romeo game. I was glad to see that he took care of what he needed to, and hopefully he can get rewarded. This won't be super easy, but the Packers have gotten better since the first half against the Vikings. Packers 46, Cardinals 21.
Home field again. Packers will defend. Won't be easy, though. Green Bay 28, Cardinals 24.
Enjoy your football this week. Ben out.
No comments:
Post a Comment