Who will this one-time Ohio State assistant coach root for on Saturday night (Darren Reese)

Week 3 is in the books, which means we can look forward to a slate of 9 B1G games featuring all fourteen teams in action. Oh, and we can look forward to Touchdown Jesus, the Golden Dome, and 'Play like a champion today'. And perhaps a reminder or two that it was 35 years ago (when moi was finishing up my final semester at the University of Maryland) that the fellow shown above led the Fighting Irish to their most recent National Championship.

Speaking of championships, I somehow managed to eek out an 8-6 record. Who would have thought this would be the week that Iowa breaks the Ferentz Line and Minnesota left their offense at Mall of America? Well a few folks did. All in all a decent week: nobody looked as bad as Tennessee in Gainesville... or Minnesota in Chapel Hill. Here's where things stand with 3 weeks in the books.

And with that, it's time for me to let the mediocrity flow.

Friday September 22:

Wisconsin at Purdue (+7): my pick - wisconsin. Last week the Boilermakers couldn't handle the Syracuse 2-3 zone. Now they have to face the Dairy Raid offense. Purdue couldn't outscore The 'Cuse, and I'm thinking they won't outscore wisconsin either. 27-20 gets the job done in this one.

Saturday September 23:

Rutgers at Michigan (-26): my pick - Buttgers. No I'm not that crazy to think that the Scarlet Knights win at The Big House in Jim Harbaugh's 2023 debut. I am crazy enough to think that Rutgers covers this huge spread. This game will be close into the fourth quarter before Michigan can breathe easily, with Rutgers beating the spread.

Iowa at Penn State (-13): my pick - Penn State. Think Iowa beats the Ferentz Line against this defense in a whiteout game? Neither do I. Don't be surprised if James Franklin runs up the score in this one. Penn State wins bigly.

Minnesota at Northwestern (+13): my pick - Row Row Row Your Boat. Both teams return from The Triangle after embarrassing themselves by a combined score of 69-27. Somebody has to not lose this game, so I'll go with the road team to win and cover the baker's dozen.

Maryland at Michigan State (+6): my pick - Maryland. How long has it been since Maryland won in East Lansing? Bob Devaney was a high school coach in Michigan, Bo Schembechler was a senior tackle on Woody Hayes' Miami of Ohio team, and Baylor went 7-3 led by senior quarterback Hayden Fry. As it's September, Maryland gets a win (and cover) in East Lansing for the first time in 73 years.

Florida Atlantic at Illinois (-12): my pick - Illinois. Florida Atlantic is the right opponent for Bert to give Luke Altmyer a tutorial on not throwing interceptions. Illinois won't need 44 pass attempts to get past the Owls and score just enough points to beat the spread.

Louisiana Tech at Nebraska (-19.5): my pick - Nebby. Terry Bradshaw's alma mater was a 3-9 mess last season. Johnny Carson's alma mater was a 4-8 mess last season. 4 is greater than 3, so go with the Power 5 team winning and covering at home.

Akron at Indiana (-17.5): my pick - IU. The Zips are coming off a 35-3 loss at Kentucky, and their only win so far was by 3 against FCS Morgan State. That said, I would recommend that Indiana not wait until they're down 21-0 before they turn their offense on. The Hoosiers get a win and cover under the lights in Bloomington.

Ohio State at Notre Dame (+2.5): my pick - THE Ohio State University. Fuck Notre Dame!