Benster and D Pick Your Games -- Somehow, Kirko Chains Has Returned Edition

That screaming sound you heard on Tuesday was Dan Stolz celebrating the fact that Kirk Cousins is back with the Vikings because he can do commercials with Kirko again. Also, Kirk Cousins is going back to Pizza Ranch because it was something that he liked when he was here. 

Gettin' the band back together!

Commerce!

 The Vikings needed that because what happened on Monday night against the Bills showed that the offense needed work. 

Kirko can work for a credit union. Maybe Carson Wentz can find the ghost of Jack Prescott, the formerly busiest bankruptcy attorney in Minnesota.

 Don't think that will work, Old Dude! Prescott's been dead for years. Kinda like Wentz's career. I am feeling the HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEE! and ready to pick some games. Watch me work. 

Minnesota Golden Elite Rowers of the Boat (+11.5) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions The Gophers gave UCLA a bit of a battle, but sadly in the fourth quarter they ran out of magic pixie dust. Assuming that they can get there with the flights being grounded, the challenge for the Gophers this weekend is going to be what happens if they fall behind. PJ likes to control the clock, but this isn't sustainable because he needs to be more balanced. However, the Gophers fans dont like it when you question if PJ is really elite or if he is just hitting the Glen Mason level of achievement. Sadly for the Gophers fans, I don't see them getting back to where they think they will be. Nittany Lions 28, Row Row Row Your Boat Elitely 10.

Given how unpredictable the Gophers have been this season, it's obvious that this is a game they should lose but will win. Why? Tell me anything about this season that's made sense for Peej. Minnesota 27, Penn State 23.

Beloved Wisconsin Badgers (-9) vs. Maryland Terpy Terps Ryan Hopkins really showed me something, even though it is just one game. He was actually throwing the ball downfield, was making good decisions, and actually looked competent at QB. This is the first time I've seen that since the Jack Coan era. The good news is that Maryland is not very good and they are openly playing out the string. And after last year's embarrassment it is time to get revenge in a good way. This should be a fairly comfortable win and the Badgers can get to a better bowl game. While I don't think that Hopkins is going to be Russell Wilson 2.0 just yet; remember, we all fell in love with Graham Mertz and his one good half, and then seeing the bottom fall out later in the year. That being said, this should be a nice and comfortable win, and hopefully I don't have to worry about things this week. You can do that for me, Badgers? Badgers 45, Terps 7. 

I don't think the Badgers romp, but I do think they win. Wisconsin 27, Maryland 17.

Minnesota Vikings (+3) vs. Glorious Green Bay Packers Boy, last week was just a complete demolition job by Jordan Love. He made Christian Gonzalez look hopeless and somehow he made it seem very easy to go into New England and win. People can call me biased, but people want to see Love fail because they don't want to admit that the Packers know how to evaluate quarterbacks and they need to cover for their own teams not knowing how the heck to pick one. The Vikings, on the other hand, had to go back to Kirk Cousins. As far as I am concerned, until further notice it is time to revoke KOC's title as an offensive genius because the Vikings have not been able to develop a QB since he left and had to trade a third round pick to get Kirk back. It is also a damning indictment of the entire Vikings organization that both Darnold and now J.J. McCarthy have looked better since they left Minnesota.

What I saw on Monday night shows a lot of worrying signs for the Vikings, and every single member of the offensive coaching staff and the offensive players are responsible. Justin Jefferson in particular should be doing more. At some point he needs to take over a game because he is getting paid quarterback money and put himself in a position to succeed. I don't want to hear about him being double teamed and being focused on so much by other defenses. He needs to get open more and make more plays. A leader and superstar needs to step up and put the team on his back, and I believe that the Vikings are in danger of wasting his talent. This is a revenge game for the Packers because of the regularly scheduled 4th quarter Matt LaFleur brain cramp festival from week 1. The good news is that the bye week will have Micah Parsons coming back and the defense will get a lot better. I also believe that this is the week that Christian Watson and Matthew Golden show the world that they are the best wideouts in the NFC North. Packers 37, Vikings 24. 

Watson and Golden might be the best, but every team in the division has talented receivers. Love has been otherworldly for the last month and some of the things he's done have been incredible. You have to be of a certain age to remember Daryle Lamonica, the old Raiders quarterback who was known as the Mad Bomber. Some of the things I'm seeing Love do remind me of watching Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis trying to explain what Lamonica was doing. It's impressive. The issue is this - the Packers still haven't demonstrated that they can run the football consistently and if Love has to pass 35-40 times this week, it will not go well. Playing in Lambeau will slow the Vikings defense down a half-second or so, but that means it's still going to require something other than bombs to get it done. I do suspect the Vikings won't be inept offensively with Cousins back in tow, but he's been gone for three years and it's not exactly the same team he left. My hunch is the Packers get it done, but it's gonna be a struggle. Green Bay 27, Minnesota 22.

Enjoy your football this weekend. Ben out.