Big Ten war of attrition The Enlightened Spartan: Big Ten war of attrition

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Big Ten war of attrition

Early battles against the Sisters of the Poor don't stand the test of time when you start taking on the Ohio States, Iowas, and Michigan States... Yes, the season is a war of attrition, and order is being restored to the conference. Let's see where the Big Ten stands:

1. Ohio State. 5-1/3-0. The Buckeyes put Wisky back in their place and stand alone atop the Big Ten. They will stay here a while, with next three stints at lowly Purdue, home vs Minny and New Mexico State before they travel to Joe Pa. BUY.
2. Iowa. 5-0/2-0. The Hawkeyes pushed back scUM, and showed they have some bend-but-dont-break. How far will Wisky bend the Hawkeyes this week? HOLD.
3. JoePa. 5-1/4-1. Smoking Eastern Illinois doesn't tell us a lot; neither will hosting Minny this week, unless Minny pulls the upset. It won't, JoePa will roll. BUY.
4. Wisky. 5-1/2-1. The Badgers are brutally tough at home, and could pull the upset over a Hawkeye team that looked vulnerable against a weakish scUM squad. BUY.
5. Michigan State. 3-3/2-1. Sparty is on the rebound; this week, they play a softy in Northwestern that has been tough in recent years, but won't be this year. Spartans will open a can of whoop-ass on the Wildcats as the Spartans' play in the trenches and as its defense surges. Next week, they face stiff resistance hosting Iowa. BUY.
6. Minny. 4-2/2-1. The Gophers are a middle-of-the-pack team. Now they play the gritty part of their schedule (at Joe Pa, at Ohio State, vs MSU) and won't measure up, even with a new stadium. SELL.
7. scUM. 4-2/1-2. Bo is turning in his grave, as the Wolvies sink low low low to host #178 Delaware State; then they host JoePa. SELL.
8. Northwestern. 4-2/1-1. The 'Cats struggled mightily last week over winless Miami-Ohio; they've also beating woeful Purdue, sneaked past Eastern Michigan (throttled by CMU 56-8 last week), and lost to Syracuse. Now they will be crushed at Sparty. This team stinks -- the worst 4-2 team in the nation. SELL.
9. Indiana. 3-3/0-2. The Hoosiers were smoked at Virginia, 47-7; they lost to Ohio State and Michigan. They have hope, and should beat Illinois this week... maybe Northwestern next week, before a murderous row of Iowa, Wisky, and JoePa. BUY for now.
10. Purdon't. 1-5/0-2. At least the Boilers make it interesting for a while. They've scored at least 20 points in each of their six games, but they've lost five in a row - make that six, as they host the Buckeyes. SELL.
11. Illinois. 1-4/0-3. The Zooks really looked out of sync vs Sparty with their musical quarterback situation. They should have stuck with the Juice. If they have any hope, they need to win at Indy and Purdue the next two weeks. How bad are they? We will find out soon. HOLD.

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