THE WORLD OF BAX: Huge Opportunities Await the Big Ten

Week Three is one of the juiciest weeks in recent memory. No less than three matchups between top 20 teams dot the schedule and a large number of other games are also exceptionally intriguing. Obviously, the highlight of the week is the long-awaited epic matchup between Ohio State and USC in Los Angeles, a game which could be an elimination round in the National Title chase.

However, this weekend could also turn out to be the weekend that the Big Ten smacks down doubters around the nation. No less than 5 BCS matchups are on the schedule: Ohio State travels to USC, Oregon travels to Purdue, Iowa faces rival Iowa State, Penn State goes to Syracuse, and Michigan travels to Notre Dame. Furthermore, Wisconsin travels to ranked and dangerous Fresno State, Michigan State hosts a tough FAU team and even Minnesota, 1-11 a year ago, could move to 3-0 with a win this weekend. In short, a solid showing by the Big Ten could go a long way to helping restore the conference’s image as more than Ohio State and friends, but the biggest boon would be a Buckeye victory over a universally respected Trojan team. The intrigue is fascinating.

I improved last week with my picks, finishing 4-2 and bringing me back to .500 on the year. After two weeks, my cumulative record is 8-8 and I plan on improving on that one this week.

#17 Kansas at #18 South Florida

Friday 8:00 PM EST

It is a matchup of former coaching colleagues as Mark Mangino and Jim Leavitt bring their ranked teams together in one of the weekend’s best clashes. South Florida now carries the Big East banner and holds the conference’s entire reputation on its back. Meanwhile, Kansas looks to enter Big XII play on a roll and a big non-conference win would do the trick. South Florida played poorly against UCF last week, but I think that they are a very strong team. However, their secondary concerns me and Kansas’ star QB, Todd Reesing, could be too much for the Bulls defense to handle. Kansas wins this game on the strength of their offensive attack.

Kansas 27, USF 17

Iowa State at Iowa

Saturday 12:00 PM EST

The Hawkeyes have been very impressive in the early going, running the scores over 40 in both of their first two games and finding a quarterback in sophomore Rick Stanzi. Meanwhile, Iowa State has also started well and both teams enter the game 2-0. Last year, ISU upset Iowa on a last second field goal and this is usually a close game. In fact, when Iowa finished ranked in the top ten for three straight years, Iowa State routinely knocked them off. Expect this to be a hard-fought matchup but the Hawkeyes should win out in the end.

Iowa 17, Iowa State 13

Michigan at Notre Dame

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

This has to be the least illustrious matchup in this historical rivalry since, well, last year’s game. The difference this fall is that Michigan at least had a decent team a year ago whereas this fall both teams are quite miserable. Michigan has no quarterback and their already thin offensive line just lost their starting left tackle. However, Notre Dame seemed equally inept against a terrible San Diego State team, so this game should provide plenty of joy for all the haters of both teams out there. Expect a sloppy game but I think that Charlie Weis’ team is slightly less terrible than their toothless Ann Arbor rivals.

Notre Dame 20, Michigan 10

 

> Check out the all of the College Sports Fans 2008 college football previews and the 2008-09 college basketball preview today!

UCLA at BYU

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

BYU hosts UCLA a week after getting a very lucky break against Washington when the Huskies were penalized on a late game-tying touchdown for a very questionable excessive celebration penalty, forcing a long extra point try that was blocked to preserve a one point victory. This week, they face a UCLA team that is coming off of a big upset in Rick Neuheisel’s first game as the Bruins’ head coach. BYU’s offense didn’t ring up points like I expected them to last week against a fairly weak Washington defense, making me wonder if they’re really as strong as they are hyped to be. I’m going to pick UCLA and their stellar defense to continue their solid play by knocking off the Cougars at home.

UCLA 31, BYU 27

#11 Oregon at Purdue

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

This is a really intriguing game. Oregon has absolutely killed their first two opponents with a strong combination of an explosive offense and an excellent defense. Meanwhile, Purdue opened the year with a solid but underwhelming win over weakling Northern Colorado. Both teams possess excellent offenses and this could be a high scoring affair. However, Oregon looks like an elite team that could challenge for a Pac Ten title, while Purdue is a middle of the pack team in the Big Ten. Oregon is the clear choice here, despite the long trip across the country.

Oregon 41, Purdue 31

#10 Georgia at South Carolina

Saturday 3:30 PM EST

If you had asked me to predict this game before the season began, I would have picked South Carolina. If you had asked me last Wednesday, I’d have been even stronger in my belief that South Carolina would defeat the Bulldogs. Then the Gamecocks blundered their way into a loss at Vanderbilt and Georgia looked very sharp in a blowout win. While I still really like South Carolina’s defense, I can’t in good conscience pick the Gamecocks in this one because they simply haven’t shown the level of quarterback play necessary to defeat Georgia. While I think this is a pretty close game, Georgia pulls away late.

Georgia 24, South Carolina 16

#1 Oklahoma at Washington

Saturday 7:45 PM EST

The Sooners face a tough road trip to Seattle to face an angry Washington team that feels that the referees took a game away from them. Oklahoma has an exceptional offense and could run the score up. However, Husky Stadium is a tough place to play and Washington has played the likes of USC, Ohio State, and BYU tough since the start of last season, so don’t expect an easy game. However, Oklahoma is too talented to pick against in this game and it is another tough loss for the Huskies.

Oklahoma 34, Washington 27

#3 Ohio State at #4 Southern California

Saturday 8:00 PM EST

This is the epic matchup that has had all of college football excited for months. It appeared that Ohio State was a little bit too excited about this game last week, when they forgot that they had to play Ohio for three quarters before they put it together to knock off the Bobcats. Much of the country has since seemingly written off a very good Ohio State team, but I don’t think USC will. Here’s a telling fact: USC cancelled all official visits from recruits this weekend when the Trojans normally flood their sidelines with some of the country’s best prep players. In fact, USC even told prospects who were supposed to be at the game not to come unless they wanted to pay their own way. Carroll and company are taking this game deadly serious. The key matchup to this game will be USC’s young offensive line against a very much improved Ohio State defensive line. If Mark Sanchez has time to throw, that could help decide the game. However, expect a hyped up Ohio State team to come out with a lot of fire and utilize a healthy Beanie Wells to pull away late for the Buckeye victory.

Ohio State 24, Southern California 10

> Check out Bax's full dual preview featuring detailed USC and Ohio State previews!

#9 Wisconsin at #21 Fresno State

Saturday 10:30 PM EST

The Badgers are a rare BCS visitor to Fresno State and this will be one of the toughest home FSU tickets in years. Wisconsin has used a power running attack to dominate its way to victory the past two weeks. Fresno State was very impressive in victory after traveling across the country two weeks ago to knock off Rutgers and they have a stout defense. However, Wisconsin is one of the country’s best teams and Fresno State won’t be able to handle the relentless power rushing attack of the Badgers.

Wisconsin 34, Fresno State 20

By Matt Baxendell
CollegeSports-fans.com Staff Writer

Matt Baxendell is collegesports-fans.com’s newest staff writer. If you’d like to join his college football therapy group, email him at matt.baxendell @ gmail.com with all your questions, comments, and anything else you would like to share. Also be sure to check out Matt's 2008 conference previews and college football Top 25 rankings here at CollegeSports-fans.com!

More college football articles from Baxendell:

• College Football Top 25 Rankings after Week #2
• 2008 College Football Week #2 Preview
• College Football Top 25 Rankings after Week #1
• 2008 College Football Week #1 Preview
• College Football Preseason Top 25 & National Title Contenders
• 2008 college football conference previews
• NCAA Football 2009 video game review