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Health & Fitness

Following the Upset, can OSU Push for a Big Ten Championship Berth?

The overall 1 LSU faces off against 2 Alabama in an SEC West showdown.

Wow, what a game! Ohio State’s defense has now solidified itself once again among the best in the nation, and they did this against one of the toughest offenses in the nation. On offense Herron had an outstanding game rushing for 160 yards, while Miller added another 100 yards rushing and 90 yards passing, against one of the better defenses in the Big Ten.

So where do the Buckeyes go from here? They are potentially four wins away from going to the first Big Ten Championship Game, and have gotten through the toughest part of their schedule while remaining in good standing.

This week’s game against Indiana should be easy, assuming the trends we are seeing from this offense and defense continue. Indiana, which is 1-8 this season, will be lucky to be within two touchdowns at the end of this game. Things are finally looking up for the Buckeyes, but soon the NCAA will come out with their punishment on the University and Football team. But until then, we have reason to rejoice, even though OSU is once again left out of the top 25.

Prediction: OSU 41 Indiana 10

Oklahoma St faces Kansas St in a battle for the Big 12. If Kansas St loses, they might as well be out of the running for the Big 12 championship, but if Ok St loses there is a three-way tie! As said in a previous post, Kansas St is a team that was lucky to make it to 7-0, and then they got pounded by Oklahoma. There isn’t much good about the Wildcats, but Oklahoma St is one of the top offensive teams in the country, especially through the air. Oklahoma St averages over 370 yards per game through the air, while Kansas St’s pass defense ranks 96th. But if Oklahoma St makes mistakes, anything can happen on any given Saturday.

Prediction: Ok St 58 Kansas St 17

Michigan travels to Iowa to face an unpredictable Hawkeye team. After losing much of their Defensive Line and several key offensive pieces, Iowa has struggled to stay consistent this season, and suffered a more or less embarrassing loss to the Golden Gophers last Saturday. Michigan, on the other hand handled Purdue pretty easily after their loss to Michigan St. This game against Iowa will test their ability to play in a hostile environment against a competent team that is coming off of a loss to one of the worst teams in the conference. Michigan’s strength is running, mostly Denard scrambling. If Iowa can force mistakes, they have a chance to win. Michigan just needs to score a lot, and they have definitely shown their ability to score in bunches this season.

Upset Alert Prediction: Iowa 32 Michigan 27

The game of the week, and possibly of the year, is Alabama vs LSU, a battle of the unbeaten, a battle for the SEC West, and a battle for the clear overall #1 in the nation. The best way to estimate who will win is to look at similar teams each has played, and see if either team is clearly better. Well we see that both teams put up similar numbers against similar opponents in Tennessee and Florida, and that overall these defenses are ranked 1(Alabama) and 4 (LSU). Alabama is allowing less than 50 yards rushing per game, and less than 140 yards passing. This proves unfortunate for LSU as they depend on the run to win their games. On the other hand LSU’s rush defense is equally stiff, and Alabama relies on the run just as much as LSU. Though, overall, Alabama’s offense is better in terms of numbers. All in all this will be an exciting game, likely going into overtime, but there can be only one winner.

Prediction: Alabama 34 LSU 31

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