Prognosticating

Finally, it is Friday and the football weekend is here. The weather is starting to feel like fall, the pretenders are beginning to separate themselves from the contenders, and we are starting to get into the meat of conference schedules.

Ohio State vs. Indiana

I do not expect this one to be close. Although this is by Ohio State standards, not Oklahoma vs. Div 1AA West standards. I feel like Indiana brought out a lot of their offensive package last week against Michigan, which caught the Wolverines a bit off guard. Now, with a good tape to study, Ohio State's defense will overwhelm the Hoosiers with speed and talent. Defensively, Indiana could not stop the run against Michigan; I expect that Ohio State will have success and Brandon "Slowest Fast Guy Ever" Saine gets his first career start. However, Indiana's safeties proved that they can make plays, so if Terrelle Pryor get careless with the ball then Indiana may force some turnovers, making this more interesting than it has any right to be. I've got this one at...

Ohio State 34 Indiana 6

Miami (FL) vs. Oklahoma

Well, the media is trying to jump off The U's bandwagon as fast as they can since Miami got waxed by Va. Tech last week. Sam Bradford is supposedly back, and will likely start, but I am not sure how rusty he will be. Backup QB Landry Jones proved he could manage the offense against the junior high teams that Oklahoma has played since BYU. I'm not sure Miami is the team to be coming back from injury against, but I think Bradford gives the Sooners the better chance to win. I'm predicting Canes QB Jacory Harris is still exhausted from the proverbial blowjob the media gave him leading up to last week, and the Oklahoma defense makes him look like the first year starter that he is. Oklahoma will establish the run and wear down the Canes defense, this one looks like...

Oklahoma 38 Miami 17

Washington vs. Notre Dame

Locker > Claussen

Washington 183 Notre Dame -34

But seriously, without Michael Floyd, the Irish offense loses a ton of the explosiveness that made it so good against Michigan. Floyd has 1st round draft pick written all over him, and now teams can focus on Golden Shower Tate. This is about as close to a pick em' as you can get, but I'm gonna go with Washington on the strength of Charlie Weis out geniusing himself.

Washington 24 Notre Dame 20

Michigan vs. Michigan State

The main event for many of NRTTS reader. This one is gonna be an intense, physical game that hinges on a couple different factors.

• How will Tate Forcier, Denard Robinson and the rest of the Michigan squad handle their first road test? All signs point to Forcier being healthy, so there is no excuse there. The key in the quarterback match up will be whether or not Forcier can make big plays by keeping the play alive, and whether or not Rich Rod and Calvin McGee decide to take the Forrest Gump Tag off of Denard Robinson. MSU LB Greg Jones will likely be in some kind of spy role, and the MSU D will no doubt be looking to put The Force out of the game with one big hit (legal or illegal).
• How will Michigan counteract MSU's power running/play action offense. MSU featured RB Glenn Winston (fresh out of the California Penal League) heavily in their lopsided loss to Wisconsin, so he looks to have one the RB derby. If Michigan can make the Spartans one dimensional, their chances of success jumps infinitely. I expect MSU will employ the same game plan Notre Dame did: run, and then max protect off of play action, forcing Michigan's inexperienced corner (in this case it will be JT Floyd) to cover the deep ball. This is a very scary proposition for Michigan, as Floyd looks no faster than Justin Slauterbeck did on the football field. Floyd also does not have the power of the "boom, jigga jigga" like Slauterbeck did, so Michigan fans, say your prayers.
• Will Michigan still have Trey Junkin playing center for them? Or will David Moosman settle into the role and deliver solid, catchable snaps back to the QBs. This offense can absolutely not have negative plays; multiply that factor by a million considering this is a freshman QBs first road test. Moos' needs to get that part of his game corrected and Michigan will have a lot of success on offense.

So what does all of this mean? It means I have no idea what is going to happen tomorrow. I would like to think that MSU's 1-3 record is indicative of the type of team they have, but I know better than that. This is Mark Dantonio's whole life - beating Michigan. He has been puffing his chest out ever since last year's 2 TD victory at the Big House against the two headed monster that was Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet. He will be in for an all kind of different 2-headed monster this year, as Tate/Denard and Carlos/Minor have proven they are playmakers, not playruiners. Buckle up, Michigan fans. It may not be pretty, but this is definitely the biggest game in this series since the Burress/Duckett years. One win at East Lansing, and the "Dantonio is taking over the state" arguments die down. A loss, and more fuel is added to the fire.

I cannot wait.

NRTTS
Coach Deuce