Ohio State did not cover the massive spread at Rutgers but Northwestern did against UMass and the Wolverines spanked the Spartans to give me a 2-1 weekend. I now sit at 24-13 as we move into the back-half of November.

The slate is as follows:

Penn State at Ohio State (-18), Minnesota (-7) at Northwestern, Illinois at Iowa (-12), Michigan State (-20) at Rutgers, Michigan (-8) at Indiana, Nebraska (-4) at Maryland, Purdue at Wisconsin (-21)

Minnesota (-8) at Northwestern – Noon on ABC

This line makes very little sense to me. It opened at Minnesota by seven and is climbing so jump on it quickly. I like the Gophers by up to around 16.5 or 17. Northwestern finally had a nice offensive showing but they were playing UMass and were still unable to effectively throw the ball. I think Minnesota will be able to load the box and overwhelm the Northwestern running game, rendering their offense largely ineffective. On the other side of the ball, while Northwestern has a strong defense, I think they will wear down when on the field for possibly two-thirds of this game. Minnesota has some very good weapons and I don’t see the Wildcats being able to line up with them. The Gophers bounce back from their first loss with a big win in Evanston.

Penn State at Ohio State (-18) – Noon on FOX

I understand this is a lot of points but I have lost trust in the PSU defense as an elite unit, particularly in the secondary. While the Penn State run defense is still as stout as almost anyone’s, their pass defense has some serious holes. Indiana outgained the Nittany Lions and really stressed them through the air (IU probably wins that game but PSU had exactly zero penalty yards…no comment on that), much like Minnesota did prior to that. Well, Ohio State has the weapons to hurt this defense as much as the Gophers or Hoosiers did and they bring an elite defense to the party as well. Chase Young is back in the fold and probably more than ready to make a statement. I think Ohio State is going to come out on fire and build a big advantage early before settling in for a very comfortable victory and cover.

I only like two games as official picks this week. However, I don’t want to shortchange any readers that happen to enjoy this weekly article (thank you for those that do!). Here are a few leans (not official picks but sides I do like): I like Indiana at +8.5. The Hoosiers are hosting the Wolverines and looking for their eighth win. IU is a legitimately good team and they have played Michigan very tough in the past few meetings, taking them to overtime on more than one occasion. Keep an eye on Whop Philyor’s health. If he can play, maybe take a gamble on IU to win outright. Take the over in Illinois versus Iowa. It is currently posted at 48. I think Iowa might have a bit of a letdown and give up some easy points to the Illini but I don’t think Illinois will be capable of shutting down the Hawkeyes. Nebraska has been woeful on the road but they looked pretty good against Wisconsin on Saturday, give me the Huskers as four-point favorites at Maryland.