TOC Weekly Picks

After a big win against Purdue, Michigan State will look to carry that momentum into a road matchup against Maryland. Check out our staff picks for this week’s action.

Matt Sheehan

Michigan State 23, Maryland 20

Yes, Maryland did just drop a 60-burger on Illinois...but it was also against Illinois. And Maryland has yet to bring the same team to the field two weeks in a row since, like, week two. They’re up-and-down, and I think running into MSU’s defense will be enough to bring them back down to earth. Maryland’s secondary will be solid enough to make this game close, but for some reason I’m seeing MSU make it happen. It could be the Stockholm Syndrome kicking in.

Michigan 27, Penn State 13

Wisconsin 41, Rutgers 10

Ohio State 870, Nebraska 3

Minnesota 24, Illinois 10

Iowa 23, Purdue, 21

Notre Dame 28, Northwestern 27

Kyle Thele

Michigan State 20, Maryland 7

Hopefully Spartans fans enjoyed the ugly win over Purdue, because things are just going to get uglier – which isn’t a bad thing. Maryland’s defense is strong and they are going to cause plenty of problems for MSU no matter who is taking the snaps. Fortunately, their offense is almost non-existent. Another late touchdown should secure the win for Michigan State.

Penn State 17, Michigan 27

Rutgers 7, Wisconsin 31

Nebraska 10, Ohio State 41

Minnesota 20, Illinois 17

Iowa 20, Purdue 28

Notre Dame 24, Northwestern 20

Zach Manning

Michigan State 24, Maryland 13

I know Maryland’s offense has some firepower, but MSU’s defense should be able to slow them down. I think the Spartans will score a defensive touchdown, and the offense will do enough to pull out a win.

Penn State at Michigan

Rutgers at Wisconsin

Nebraska at Ohio State

Minnesota at Illinois

Iowa at Purdue

Notre Dame at Northwestern

Ryan O’Bleness

Michigan State 27, Maryland 14

Maryland only has one quality win this year (over Texas), and I think the Michigan State defense is going to be too much to handle for the Terps. Will the DJ Durkin situation — he was reinstated one day earlier this week and then fired the next — affect the play and morale of the Maryland football team? Time will tell. I expect Rocky Lombardi to get another start, as Brian Lewerke continues to heal, although Maryland has a really strong pass defense (No. 22 in the country). Quarterback play will be crucial, but I think the Spartans get it done similar to last week with strong defense and ball control offense.

Penn State at Michigan

Rutgers at Wisconsin

Nebraska at Ohio State

Minnesota at Illinois

Iowa at Purdue

Notre Dame at Northwestern

David Harns

Michigan State 26, Maryland 18

MSU’s offense has confidence now. It knows that its quarterback -- whether it’s Lombardi or Lewerke -- can handle the job. The defense will continue to do its thing and MSU will head home bowl-eligible with Ohio State in its sights.

Penn State at Michigan

Rutgers at Wisconsin

Nebraska at Ohio State

Minnesota at Illinois

Iowa at Purdue

Notre Dame at Northwestern

Matt Hoeppner

Michigan State 24, Maryland 13

The Michigan State defense is good, and they have been playing fantastic lately. Maryland’s offense is heavily geared toward running the ball. Teams do not run the ball against Michigan State. Sure Penn State put up 200+ yards and Michigan had 183, but Penn State got almost all of it on two plays and Michigan needed 53 carries because they were averaging less than 3.5 yards per attempt. Also, both of those teams have much more effective passing games than what MSU will face on Saturday. Oh, and those two teams still only averaged a combined 19 points against the Spartan defense.

On the offensive side, I was terribly impressed by Rocky Lombardi last week and I expect him to play again Saturday. If the coaching staff comes out with a similar game plan as they did against Purdue, I see more success for the MSU offense. They aren’t going to light the world on fire, but they should be able to move the ball and put up enough points to get the job done.

Penn State over Michigan

Wisconsin over Rutgers

Ohio State over Nebraska

Minnesota over Illinois

Purdue over Iowa

Notre Dame over Northwestern