ESPN.com’s picks for the Big Ten games this weekend match ours, which isn’t much a surprise, since there aren’t any games that don’t have a clear choice. None of the ranked teams play each other. Here are ESPN’s comments on the Penn State matchup, which a lot of people seem to think will be a close game:
Michigan State 28, Penn State 24: I’m buying in, Spartans fans. This is your year. Kirk Cousins is banged up and the Spartans haven’t won in Happy Valley since the year before Paterno became Penn State head coach, but they get it done this year. Penn State lacks the pass rush to truly rattle Cousins, who will attack the Lions secondary with receivers Mark Dell and B.J. Cunningham. Michigan State rallies for the win and claims its first league title since 1990.
Meanwhile, two of CBS’s five pickers actually take Penn State. And SB Nation’s OddsShark has the Spartans as only a two-point favorite. Maybe the experts have a point – Michigan State has only beaten one ranked team (Wisconsin), and it got blown out by Iowa. Penn State does represent a test.