It was another successful Saturday and I was a hook away from a 3-0 weekend. However, the 2-1 result is a solid one and it moves me to 16-10 on the season.

The Big Ten schedule is as follows: Wisconsin at Ohio State (-14), Iowa (-10) at Northwestern, Illinois at Purdue (-9), Liberty (-7) at Rutgers, Penn State (-6) at Michigan State, Maryland at Minnesota (-16.5), Indiana (-1) at Nebraska, Notre Dame (-1) at Michigan,

Wisconsin at Ohio State (-14) – Noon on FOX

I was going to take Ohio State in this game, regardless of what the two teams did last week. Shockingly, Wisconsin lost at Illinois and some of the luster on this matchup has fallen off. Still, these are two very good teams that will meet in Columbus. I am just going to keep riding the Buckeyes until they prove me wrong. The offense is operating at an extremely efficient and explosive level. That’s a deadly combination. The defense is the key for me though. Chase Young leads a stout defensive line that has dominated every offensive line they have gone against and I expect the same on Saturday against the Badgers. If they limit Jonathan Taylor, Jack Coan is going to keep up with the Buckeyes and I don’t see that happening. Do you see Wisconsin, as good as their defense can be, limiting Ohio State to under 30? If not, do you see Wisconsin reaching the upper teens against the Buckeyes? It’s hard for me to envision this is a close game in the fourth quarter. OSU is a nation-best 6-1 against the spread (ATS). I like Ohio State to roll.

Iowa (-10) at Northwestern – Noon on ESPN2

Northwestern has shown absolutely no signs that they can get their offense going. Hunter Johnson was not getting things done at quarterback so they turned to Aidan Smith in hopes of sparking the woeful attack. However, things have remained pretty toothless for the Wildcats. Isaiah Bowser and Drake Anderson are pretty decent backs but the line has struggled and the pass catchers are not explosive. Northwestern just does not have very many weapons on that side of the ball and they will struggle to get on track against Iowa’s defense. The Hawkeyes have sputtered recently on offense but I am betting on them being competent enough to get to 20 and Northwestern has scored more than ten points one time in Big Ten play. The Wildcats are just 2-4 against the spread (ATS). I think Nate Stanley and the Iowa defense does enough to get a double-digit victory in Evanston.

Notre Dame (-1) at Michigan – 7:30 on ABC

I am not taking Michigan in a big game. That is a principle that I will bet by until proven otherwise. The Fighting Irish have been very good this season and I think they will benefit from a week off after a stretch of some challenging contests. The Wolverines played better than I expected they would at Penn State, particularly after falling behind 14-0 early. Their defense was stout against the Nittany Lions, who went surprisingly conservative with their lead. The question I have: can Harbaugh’s Wolverines put together a complete 60 minutes against a very competent opponent. I still have no trust in Shea Patterson and the turnover prone Michigan offense and I think Brian Kelly has seen enough Don Brown defenses to know how to effectively attack the pressure they’ll bring. Notre Dame enters the game 4-2 ATS and the Irish have been quite good offensively, scoring at least 30 against everyone but Georgia. Give me Notre Dame.