Week thirteen lines and over/unders are up and that means MGoBlog's 238947324th best weekly post is back.
Recap (game, who covered, by how much, over/under, by how much):
Minnesota @ Nebraska: Nebraska (5) under (-1.5)
Indiana @ Penn State: Penn State (7) over (+11.5)
Purdue @ Illinois: Illinois (4) under (-13.5)
Northwestern @ MSU: Northwestern (3.5) under (-1)
Ohio State @ Wisconsin: Ohio State (10) under (-17.5)
Notes: Northwestern and OSU both upset their opponents on the road. Michigan v. Iowa wasn't up for the last post, but M covered by eight after being favored by seventeen (damn that feels good to write).
If you picked last week, see how you did here.
Week Thirteen (line listed is for the home team):
Illinois @ Northwestern (-19, +/-50.5)
Nebraska @ Iowa (+14.5, +/-53)
Michigan State @ Minnesota (+8.5, +/-38)
Indiana @ Purdue (-5.5, +/-62.5)
Michigan @ Ohio (-3.5, +/-54.5)
Wisconsin @ Penn State (-2.5, +/-45)
Only a couple big spreads this week, with 3.5 rivalry games scheduled. Northwestern could very well cover; there's been some bad blood between those teams recently and the WIldcats can certainly pile up points on Illinois if they want to. My totally (un)homer pick is for Michigan to upset OSU on the road, and I'll take PSU again. Any coach that runs up the gut with eighteen seconds left and no timeouts probably isn't capable of beating a decent team on the road. What say you, MGoBoard?
Elsewhere:
Auburn @ Alabama (-31.5, +/-46)
Georgia Tech @ Georgia (-13, +/-64.5)
Virginia @ Virginia Tech (-10.5, +/-49.5)
Oregon @ Oregon State (+9.5, +/-64.5)
Arizona State @ Arizona (-3, +/-68.5)
Florida v. FSU and ND v. USC are both OFF at the moment, although FSU -7 is getting action, as is USC +6.
llinois @ Northwestern (-19, +/-50.5) - I would have to say with some confidence that I think this is a game which Northwestern can win easily and convincingly. Illinois is close to the bottom in most defensive categories, and if the Wildcats unleash the option on the third-worst rushing defense in the conference, things get ugly in a hurry. Northwestern and the over in a 42-10-ish peformance.
Nebraska @ Iowa (+14.5, +/-53) - Even though Ferentz has pulled off some odd upsets at Kinnick in the past, it is doubtful that this is among them. The Hawkeyes are simply not good on either side of the ball, and Nebraska has a very diverse rushing attack that the numbers say the Hawkeyes cannot handle. That being said, Nebraska's defense isn't elite - the Hawkeys may get through now and again. Nebraska and the over in a 40-14 showing.
Michigan State @ Minnesota (+8.5, +/-38) - The battle of the 5-6 and 6-5 team should be a mildly interesting game, I think. Minnesota is statistically decent at defending the pass, so I foresee a game in which the Spartans try to unleash Bell and with some success - some being the operative word, given MSU's offensive woes. A sluggish game - Michigan State and the under - 24-10. Everybody goes to a bowl here.
Indiana @ Purdue (-5.5, +/-62.5) - Yeah, shootout, and it will be close. Indiana has the great passing offense and terrible rushing game, and Purdue has a slightly less effective passing game and better rushing attack, but not by a whole lot. On defense, they are both a nightmare, giving up about 400 yards per game on average. Purdue in a close pyrrhic victory and the over - 42-35 or so, I think.
Wisconsin @ Penn State (-2.5, +/-45) - Wisconsin doesn't need to play motivated, but coming off a heartbreaker to Ohio State, they will. Two decent defenses will pair up against two middling offenses from a production standpoint and make it an interesting game. Not much scoring here, but I will go with Wisconsin and its slightly better defense and the under - 24-17 is my guess.
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