By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Albert Einstein is widely credited with saying “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”

That sort of describes my decision to pick Iowa to win for a third consecutive week after having been wrong about the Hawkeyes in each of the first two games.

It’s hard to know what to expect from 1-1 Michigan State under first-year head coach Mel Tucker.

Iowa could be in serious trouble if the Spartans play like they did last week while defeating Michigan 27-24 in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Or, Iowa could cruise to a much-needed victory if the Spartans play like they did while losing to Rutgers in the season opener at home when they committed seven turnovers.

Michigan State has been wildly inconsistent, while Iowa is a desperate team playing at home.

The atmosphere inside Kinnick Stadium will be far from normal with hardly any fans present due to COVID-19 restrictions, but any team still would rather play at home than on the road.

Pat Harty’s picks

Iowa 31, Michigan State 29: Caleb Shudak kicks a 60-yard field goal as time expires to keep Iowa from starting the season 0-3.

Northwestern 34, Nebraska 20: Scott Frost blames the loss on not having enough fans in the stands because the Cornhuskers are used to playing before sellouts.

Michigan 37, Indiana 34: Take away Michigan State and Ohio State and Jim Harbaugh might actually win something significant as the Michigan head coach.

Penn State 35, Maryland 17: The Terrapins will think at some point in this game; where’s Minnesota’s defense when you need it?

Minnesota 38, Illinois 35: It seems only fitting that neither one of these teams has the letter D in its name, or in its nickname.

Ohio State 44, Rutgers 14: W.C. Fields in his prime could start at quarterback for the Buckeyes and they’d still win this game.

Last week: 3-3, overall 9-4

Tyler Devine’s picks

Indiana 31, Michigan 27: Michael Penix Jr. is a decent quarterback, but he’s in the hall of fame of names you need to be REALLY careful with.

Northwestern 10, Nebraska 7: Northwestern runs the ball 77 times and possesses the ball for over 45 minutes.

Michigan State 23, Iowa 17: I picked Iowa in the first two games, and we all know what happened there. Maybe a little reverse psychology will do the trick.

Penn State 42, Maryland 38: Raise your hand if you had Iowa, Penn State and Minnesota all starting the season 0-2. Nittany Lions win a shootout.

Minnesota 35, Illinois 14: After capsizing in the first two weeks, the Golden Gophers finally row the boat.

Ohio State 56, Rutgers 10: Rutgers’ chances to win this game are as good as my chances to ever see Prince live.

Last week : 3-3, overall 9-4