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 Big-10 Football has a buzz around it this season with the addition of Rick Rodriguez in Michigan and the high preseason ranking of Ohio St.  My free Big-10 picks were 24-22 a season ago.  Let’s see how I start things off in Week #1 of the 2008 season:

This week’s picks:

Utah v. Michigan
Saturday 3:30 P.M. est

The Michigan Wolverines have spent the whole offseason hearing about how this season is going to be a struggle.  Too many players graduated,  Rodriguez doesn’t have the athletes he needs to run his spread offense.  I think they have allowed all of this talk to fester and it has fueled their fire.  Look for the Wolverines to be jacked up and ready for this contest.  Oddmsakers have only made them a slight favorite over Mountain West competitor.  They have to be looking at this as a slap in the face and they will deal with it accordingly.  Michigan has 7 starters returning on defense to hold things down until Rodriguez’s spread offense fills the tank.  Take Michigan

Wilson Says: Michigan (-3)

Syracuse v. Northwestern
Saturday 12 P.M. est.

Syracuse has been a train wreck the last three years under Greg Robinson.  You would have liked to have seen some progress in year three a season ago but the team took a step back.  I think morale is low at this program and where there was once a time in which you could have jumped on them confronting these kind odds on the road,  I think you have to think twice before making such a move.  Northwestern is explosive and can put up points in bunches.  Defensive gives you some concern when laying a number this big but I just don’t have a lot of confidence in the Orangemen.  Northwestern wants to start out with a bang and a blowout win over Syracuse here could do just that.

Chad Wilson Says:  Northwestern (-11.5)

Akron v. Wisconsin
Saturday 12 P.M. est.

Plenty is expected out of the Badgers this season and while they will be a good team as always,  I think they may be laying just a little too much chalk in this game.  Wisconsin does have a history of coming up short in spots like this.  Wisconsin can sometime be offensively challenged.  With a brand new quarterback at the controls,  I think they will be a little off in terms of execution.  Akron was a losing team a season ago (4-8 record).  They obviously don’t excite anyone in this spot but the Zips are capable of surprising you if you don’t come prepared.  Akron has covered the number against Ohio St., NC State and Purdue in the last three years.  With 13 returning starters and 8 of them on offense,  I can see them staying within the big number.  Take Akron.

Wilson Says:  Akron (+27)

Northern Illionois v. Minnesota
Saturday 7 P.M.

2007 was a disaster for the Golden Gophers.  Minnesota lost 11 games and spent most of the year getting embarrassed.  I am sure they are looking to come out in 2008 and start hard and fast.  To do that,  they have to put the boot on a Northern Illinois team that was 2-10 a season ago.   While some may think that this will be a fairly easy thing for them to do,  I will let you know that Northern Illinois is returning 20 starters.  Despite that,  I think oddsmakers have built that factor into the line.  I think this number needs to be larger in favor of Minnesota for me to consider taking up the Northern Illinois cause here.  The Huskies obviously will be a better team this year but I think they start 2008 off with a loss. 

Wilson Says: Minnesota (-8)

Western Kentucky v. Indiana
Saturday 12 P.M. est

Indiana is the Big-10 team and with most people not knowing much about Western Kentucky,  I expect most in the general public to go ahead and lay the points with the Hoosiers.  However,  Western Kentucky was a 7-5 team a season ago.  They bring a winning attitude into this game and that should not be overlooked.  Indiana comes in with 13 starters and they should have a strong team but I don’t see a whole lot of experience with them laying a number like this.  20.5 is the largest number in Indiana’s favor since 1999.  I think the Hoosiers will manage to look good but not cover this big number.

Wilson Says: Western Kentucky (+20.5)

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Feel free to post comments on any of these picks