Hawk Fanatic Week 11 predictions
IOWA CITY, Iowa – All 14 Big Ten teams will play on Saturday, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing because look at some of the matchups:
Ohio State at Maryland? Over by halftime.
Penn State at Rutgers? Yuck.
Indiana at Michigan State? Please.
Wisconsin at Nebraska? Not interested in the slighest.
Northwestern at Purdue? Make it stop.
The pickings are slim this week in the Big Ten, so we ventured out of the conference for three of our five matchups, including the epic battle that will unfold in Ames.
Iowa State hasn’t been included in the picks much this season, so we figured this was a good week to feature the Cyclones since most of the Big Ten matchups are snooze fests.
Rob Howe is clinging to a one-pick lead over Dallas Jones and Pat Harty with just two games left in the regular season.
The race could come down to how well Howe handles being on top.
Can he finish?
Or, will he wilt under the pressure?
Stay tuned.
Pat Harty’s picks
Iowa 12, Minnesota 10: Iowa will score its points on Cooper DeJean’s third pick six of the season, a 52-yard field goal by Drew Stevens and a safety by Deontae Craig in the fourth quarter to win the game.
Michigan 27, Illinois 24: Jim Harbaugh celebrates the win by sleeping in the Michigan tunnel both on Saturday and Sunday night, and with only a sleeping bag, two bags of Fritos, two bags of gummie bears, two bottles of water and a scouting report on Ohio State.
USC 38, UCLA 35: I can’t wait until both of these teams have to play in Iowa City, Bloomington, West Lafayette, Champaign and Piscataway at 11 a.m. CST in late November.
Oregon 34, Utah 28: Oregon might become a school where its star players prefer to stay in college rather than leave for the NFL because of financial reasons.
Iowa State 24, Texas Tech 23: Cyclone fans blame the officials for the game being this close.
Last week: 4-1
Overall: 31-19
Dallas Jones’s picks
Iowa 20, Minnesota 16: Iowa is going to do that thing that they do when they make the Big Ten championship, aren’t they?
Illinois 13, Michigan31: Illinois is doing everything they can for Iowa to win the west.
USC 27, UCLA 31: Most exciting game of the week and I just hope everyone has a good time.
Utah 24, Oregon 27: Second most exciting game and more fun!
Texas Tech 20, Iowa State 13: The Cyclones don’t like points and aren’t getting better at it.
Last week: 4-1
Overall: 31-19
Rob Howe’s picks
Iowa 17, Minnesota 10: You should never lose to a guy who wears these pants.
Michigan 30, Illinois 10: Speaking of pants, Jim Harbaugh wears kahkis to the beach, and his pants were on fire. You know what they say about those folks.
USC 900, UCLA 899: The total in the Iowa game is 32.5. The total in this game is 76.5. Take the over.
Oregon 35, Utah 30: The Ducks have a lot of money. And they share it with their players.
Iowa State 13, Texas Tech 6: My in-laws are Red Raiders. They won’t read this. Please don’t tell them.
Last week: 3-2
Overall: 32-18