Cory:  While there were some takeaways from Ohio State’s one-touchdown win over Texas last week, beating the number one team in the country with a redshirt freshman making his first start at quarterback, and having to replace 14 NFL drafts, was an impressive start to the season. The Buckeyes get a good a chance to work on some of those takeaways this week against Grambling. Grambling features a very balanced offense that should do a good job keeping the Ohio State defense honest. The Tigers racked up over 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in the win over Langston last week. For Ohio State, it will be important to see Julian Sayin to make a few more downfield throws, but more importantly I’d like to see the running game get going. Having 87 total rushing yards against Texas last week is a concern. While Grambling is no pushover, expect the Buckeyes to pull away in the second half.   Ohio State 45, Grambling 10

Dave:  Ohio State 42  Grambling 7 

Gregg:  Attention fans: Ohio State University has announced they will be holding practice in pads this Saturday at 3:30. This practice is open to the public.  As they are expecting a large crowd this will be moved from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to Ohio Stadium. Fans are encouraged to bring plenty of money as food will be available.  For those that are fans of Marching Bands, two will be brought in to play during a mid afternoon break.  Bring the sunscreen as it will be a pretty afternoon.   Ohio State 70  Grambling 3   

Jason:  It’s a name your score kinda game for the newly minted #1 team in America as the FCS Grambling State Tigers visit Columbus for the ‘paycheck’ game. Ohio State will be able to do what they want on both sides of the football and at the end of the game it will be about how deep into the depth chart they go. Certainly all 3 QBs will see action and a host of young players all both sides of the ball will get to run out in front of 100k.  The Buckeyes roll and by how much is up to Ryan Day and how much he opens up the playbook for the 2s and 3s.  Ohio State 56 Grambling State 3

Joe-S-U:  In 1981, Bruce Jenner starred in the NBC-TV movie “Grambling’s White Tiger” as Jim Gregory, the 1st white football player to play for legendary coach Eddie Robinson.  LeVar Burton and Dennis “Allstate” Haysbert played teammates while Harry Belafonte portrayed Coach Robinson.  You may get more drama out of watching that movie than this game

John:  The only reason the Bucks don’t hang a hundred is because for most of the second half look for Day to play the water boy, equipment manager and random students from Block O.   Ohio State 63  Grambling 3

Josh:  There won’t be much suspense in the Horseshoe this Saturday. After grinding out a statement win over Texas, Ohio State gets a chance to regroup against Grambling. Expect Ryan Day and Matt Patricia to use this as a developmental game — giving Julian Sayin more live reps, feeding CJ Donaldson Jr. and James Peoples in the backfield, and working the wide receiver rotation with Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. The defense will look to stay sharp and continue building its identity after bottling up Arch Manning. Freshmen and second-teamers should get plenty of snaps by the second half.   Ohio State 63, Grambling 3

Steven:  This one will be very much like playing Navy or any of the other service academies, without having to defend that awful triple option offense. Be welcoming. Honor your opponent and their fans. Beat their doors off in the first half, and give the game over to the second and third stringers in the second half. Look for OSU to work on establishing a better run presence. There shouldn’t be a lot of need to throw the ball all over the place, but this is entertainment, so expect a couple of carefully timed deep balls. Hopefully, Jeremiah Smith, Max Klare and Julian Sayin can get into a good rhythm. Time to take the training wheels off.  OSU 56-14.

Trout:  This should be a cake walk. The starters should be done at halftime. I will be nice to see Kienholz and St. Clair out their getting actually reps. This really shouldn’t be looked at as a game, but more of a tune up before the real competition start in a few weeks at Washington. Buckeyes win big.   (Ohio State 63-0)

Final Score:  Ohio State 70   Grambling 0 

Cory:  Michigan’s $12-millon quarterback Bryce Underwood passed his first test, throwing for 251 yards and a touchdown in a win at home last week against Nevada. However, that test was more of a pop quiz compared to what’s coming this week as the Wolverines travel to Norma to face the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables has made a name for himself during his career as a defensive specialist, and the Sooners look to have a good one this season. The Sooners limited Illinois State to just 151 yards of total offense last week. Michigan goes as Underwood goes, but this trip to Norman will be overwhelming for a true freshman quarterback. It will be difficult regardless of how talented Underwood is. Additionally, the big thing that held Oklahoma back last season was a weak passing game and an offense that couldn’t generate first downs. Transfer quarterback John Mateer looks like he has solved that problem.   Oklahoma 28, Michigan 24

Dave:  Oklahoma 32  Michigan 28

Gregg:  I don’t know what the biggest surprise for college football fans is for these two storied programs.  The fact that the history of these programs does not include a lot of games between these two teams. Or the fact that this will be the first road game for Michigan against an SEC opponent.  I still see the Sooners as a team that was only 2-6 in conference play last year.  Michigan is bringing in a young QB but I think it will be enough to get a win.  I don’t like to pick the Wolverines but I would love to see the Buckeyes go to Ann Arbor and crush the Maize & Blue when they might have a playoff seat on the line.   Michigan 27  Oklahoma 24

Jason: The biggest game of the week takes place in Norman when #15 Michigan visits #18 Oklahoma. The winner will springboard a potential CFP run, while the loser will need to find a big win or two the rest of the way to be worthy of consideration.

Brent Venables has a team loaded with talent, and this is the first chance to prove it, while Michigan comes in after an uneven 34-17 win in their paycheck game vs New Mexico. On the plus side, true freshman Bryce Underwood was nothing but spectacular in his debut, throwing for 251 years, easily surpassing last year’s high in passing yards of 208. The Michigan defense showed some cracks after losing a lot of talent off of last year’s team. 

The Sooners are led by transfer QB John Mateer, who lit up Illinois State for nearly 400 yards in week 1 and has plenty of playmakers on the edge to make things difficult on the Wolverine secondary. The Sooners defensively have enough up front to force the true freshman QB Underwood into some mistakes and in order for Michigan to come away with a big road win, he will have to avoid too many of those. When the clocks read all zeroes, those mistakes will be too hard to overcome and the Sooners claim an early statement win at home.   Oklahoma 31 Michigan 17 

Joe-S-U:  Bo Schembechler’s volcanic eruptions after having to miss the Rose Bowl in 1973 led to the only other matchup ever between UM and OU.  In 1976, Michigan became the first Big Ten team to play in a bowl other than the Rose when they fell 14-6 to Barry Switzer’s eventually national champions.  Here’s saying Boomer Sooner gets it done this year.

John:  So just how good are these two teams?  Neither was tested last week, with the Cheaters beating New Mexico 34-17 and the Sooners knocking off Illinois State 35-3.  Game is a night game in Norman, so that should give OU a slight edge.  Maybe it’s my hatred as a fan of everything Corn and Blue, but UM feels overrated at 15.   Oklahoma 31  Michigan 24

Josh:  Michigan heads on the road for a massive early-season test in Norman. Bryce Underwood was impressive in his debut, but facing Oklahoma’s defense on the road under the lights is a different challenge. The Sooners counter with John Mateer, who threw for nearly 400 yards last week, but he’ll face the best secondary he’s seen in Sherrone Moore’s defense. The line of scrimmage battle is key — Michigan will try to lean on Justice Haynes to establish tempo. Oklahoma will have chances with explosive plays, but Michigan’s overall balance wins the day in a tight one. Michigan 26, Oklahoma 23

Steven:  Boomer Sooner, I guess. If Michigan pulls off this one, expect them to jump into the top 10 and QB Bryce Underwood to get some Heisman buzz. The impediment to this lies at the feet of the Michigan defense, which has a ways to go to get back to their production of 2 years, or even 1 year ago. This week, the Wolverines face a QB in Oklahoma’s John Mateer who can pick apart a defense. Last week he was 30/37 with 3 TDs and one INT.  Well, at least Michigan gets a prime time game. I wonder who you have to sleep with to get that consideration. This should be fun to watch, especially since it will probably end up with a Michigan loss. OU in a close-ish one 29-24.

Trout:  I am hopping for a blow out win for the Sooners, but I don’t see that happening. It will most likely be a close game.  Underwood looked good in the opener, giving Michigan a little bit of hope for the season. Although it was against lesser talent. On the flip side, Oklahoma is a bit of a mystery. They should be better, but they were awful last year. It’s still hard to comprehend how they beat a down, but still good Alabama team. It may be the Wolverine hater in me, but I will pick the Sooners. I can see the game being sloppy, with not a lot of trips to the endzone. But in the end, Oklahoma does enough to defend their home filed and wins the game.   (Oklahoma, 17-14) 

Final Score:  Oklahoma 24   Michigan 13 

Cory:  Iowa thought they were getting a good quarterback in transfer Mark Gronowski, but against Albany last week he only completed 8 of 15 passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. That’s an average of 2.9 yards – yikes! Iowa State’s offense was not great against Kansas State, but the Wildcats are a much tougher opponent than Albany, and I have a lot more faith in Cyclones quarterback Rocco Becht than I do in Gronowski.   Iowa State 17, Iowa 10

Dave:  Iowa State 28  Iowa 14

Gregg:  Coach Frentz is looking to pass Woody Hayes as the winningest coach in the Big Ten.  Not this week.   Iowa State 21  Iowa 17

Jason:  The battle for the Cy-Hawk trophy is one of the fiercest rivalries in college football and this year looks to be no different. Iowa believes it finally has a QB in transfer Mark Gronowski, who had a decent debut in an easy 34-7 win over Albany and it will be critical for him to be special to get a road win in this one.

Iowa State has high expectations coming off a trip to the Big 12 Championship last season and will have to be prepared for Gronowski being able to game manage while having the talent to throw the ball over the top for some big plays. A year ago, Cyclone QB Rocco Bech was special, throwing for just under 300 and a pair of TDs in the 20-19 Cyclone win, and will look for a similar result in this one. He made enough big plays to get by Kansas State, and he didn’t make any big mistakes, and opened it up against South Dakota State in the tune-up last week. The road game has won every game since 2018, however, Iowa State has a bit more talent on both sides and at home pull out a 4 quarter game.   Iowa State 24 Iowa 21 

Joe-S-U:  Kirk Ferentz has certainly had his issues with the Cyclones over the years.  In fact, Ohio State’s dream 2002 season might have gone entirely different had Iowa not stubbed their toe in the Cy Hawk matchup.  I want the Big 10 to do as well as possible but the CyHawk trophy stays in Ames.

John:  In state rivalry games are always fun, but this one doesn’t quite rise to the level of the Iron Bowl.  Again, both teams played patsy’s in week one, so not sure how good either really is yet.  The game is in Ames, which I think give the Cyclops a slight edge.  Vegas agrees, making ISU a 3 ½ point favorite.   Iowa State  28  Iowa 24

Josh:  The Cy-Hawk rarely disappoints the fanbases, and this year both teams enter with confidence. Iowa State is off to a 2–0 start, riding Rocco Becht’s hot hand and a strong ground attack from Cartevious Lee. Iowa’s defense is still stingy, but their offense continues to lag behind, struggling with efficiency and chunk plays. Jack Trice Stadium will be rocking, and this feels like a moment for Iowa State to grab momentum in the rivalry. Expect a defensive struggle with a few explosive plays deciding the outcome late.   Prediction: Iowa State 22, Iowa 19

Steven:  Oh boy, this year could get ugly for Iowa and Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeye offense looks straight out of 1975. Last week against Albany (!), Iowa QB Mark Gronowski only attempted 15 passes, and failed to connect on almost half of them. Meanwhile, in 2025, Iowa State’s Rocco Becht was 33/48 with 5 TDs. Being on the road and with little concept of how to get out of the hole the Hawkeyes have dug, this could easily be an early nail in the coffin for the Iowa staff.   Cyclones 44-7

Trout:  I don’t expect much from either team this year. Iowa is always going to be middle of the road in the Big Ten while Kirk Ferentz is still there. They have little offensive star power, and he plays a terrible version of Tressell ball. Iowa State and Matt Campbell always tend to get so much hype but never live up to it. Having to pick one of the teams, I will go with the Cyclones, just because their offense will be better than the Hawkeyes. It will be a sloppy, low scoring affair, with a lot of punts. Iowa State wins this year’s Cyhawk trophy. (Iowa State, 16-9) 

Final Score:  Iowa State 16   Iowa 13  

Cory:  It didn’t take long this season for Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy to start running his mouth. He put this week’s opponent, Oregon, into the crosshairs by saying that teams should only play against other teams that spend similar amounts of money in NIL. Nevermind the fact that Oklahoma State, as a university and a football team, has received millions of dollars from oil tycoon Boone Picken. Not much to say on this one – Oregon should cruise to a big victory.   Oregon 42, Oklahoma State 21 

Dave:  Oregon 38 Oklahoma State 14

Gregg:  This game is going to be a great opportunity for the Big Ten to get a solid victory over the Big 12, only sad part is the Cowboys have been going south of late.  A lot of talk about how much Oregon has been spending in the portal compared to Oklahoma State.  I guess the Pickens money is running dry.  Expect Oregon to come out fast and hard and take care of this one early.  Eugene is a great game experience and the fans will be ready to cheer on their Ducks.  Only question in this one is if the Oregon mascot will keep his head on the entire afternoon.   Oregon 44  Oklahoma State 17

Jason:  Mike Gundy’s Cowboys are coming off a tough 3-9 season and are in need of a big signature early season win to catapult this team forward with confidence to rebound in 2025. Oregon rolled Montana State in a 59-13 win with Quarterback Dante Moore looking like he is ready to step into the big expectations in Eugene, but the Ducks remain grounded and have a lot to prove despite their lofty #6 ranking. Unfortunately for Okie State, starting quarterback Hauss Hejny suffered a foot injury and is out for the foreseeable future. They now lean on backup, Zane Flores who is a talented passer, but not the runner that Hejny is, so the Cowboys will move to a more vertical passing game to utilize their talented receivers. Oregon, backed by their home crowd will start fast. Oklahoma State will punch back but the Ducks will wear on the ‘Boys and ultimately pull away, winning comfortably and sending the Cowboys back home searching for answers.   Oregon 38  Oklahoma State 17 

Joe-S-U:  I actually searched YouTube to see if John Wayne ever fought a beaver in any of his cowboy movies.  Came up empty, which is what these Cowboys are going to do.  And no, I’ll never get the 10 minutes of my life back that I spent searching that.

John:  Assuming they keep their head (let’s see who paid attention to the not quite top 10 plays last week) the Duck win bigly.  Oregon  38  Oklahoma St  10

Josh:  Oregon begins the Dante Moore era with confidence, as the sophomore looked every bit the part of QB1 in Week 1, operating the Ducks’ offense with efficiency and poise. Moore has elite weapons around him—speedsters at receiver and a deep running back room—that will challenge the Cowboys’ secondary early and often. For Oklahoma State, the Mike Gundy identity is still there: tough running backs and opportunistic defense. But with inexperience at quarterback and an offensive line still gelling, going into Autzen is as brutal as it gets. Expect the Cowboys to hang around in the first half with a couple of defensive stands, but Oregon’s depth and pace eventually pull away. This isn’t just about a win—it’s about Oregon flexing its Big Ten muscles for the first time in 2025. If Moore continues to develop at this trajectory, the Ducks won’t just be a Big Ten threat, they’ll be in the thick of the playoff picture again.   Oregon 34, Oklahoma State 20

Steven: There was a time where this game would be a major tilt. Now, with the ascent of Oregon, and the precipitous drop of Okie State, this could well turn into the blowout the oddsmakers say it will be. The also-ran of the three OSUs is currently a 4 TD underdog. I’m not sure if it will get that ugly, but it could. It’s too early in the season to make much of anything relying on stats, but I guess you could point to the fact that Oklahoma State has a better ranking in total defense than Oregon. Giving up 7 to Tennessee Martin vs.14 to Montana State really doesn’t tell you enough to make much of an informed choice, so I’ll go with Oregon, but I expect it isn’t going to be quite the 28 point blowout the numbers say it will be. Oregon 28-17

Trout:  I can see Ducks wiping the floor with this Oklahoma State team. The Cowboys are not what they used to be. Mike Gundy is hanging on by a thread to that job. They have been really bad the last few years. The days of the Cowboys being in the mix for a Big 12 championship are well into the past. While the Ducks have been really good under Dan Lanning these past few year. He’s been building a really solid program. The Ducks did lose some important pieces from last year, but I don’t see them taking too much of a stepdown. I think the Ducks get out to a solid lead, and Oklahoma State will be unable to keep up.   (Oregon, 42-21) 

Final Score:  Oregon 69   Oklahoma State 3 

Cory:  It’s time to start paying attention to Illinois – this team might be legitimate. The Illinois face their first test this season with a trip to Duke. Both teams face cupcakes last week and beat them soundly, so it’s hard to away too much from week one. Duke has a dynamic quarterback in Darian Mensah, who transferred in from Tulane. Illinois has Luke Altmeyer, who is in his fifth season of college football. Under Bret Bielema, the Illini have had very stout defenses so I will give the edge to them this week. Mensah faced three ranked opponents last season (Oklahoma, Kansas State, Army) and took nine sacks in those games. Negative plays like that will be too much to overcome against the Illinois defense.   Illinois 21, Duke 17 

Dave:  Illinois 32  Duke 14 

Gregg:  The Fighting Illini got a lot of love in the polls this week, can they keep it going from Triangle Park?  Duke didn’t have to show anything with a game against Elon (no that is really the name of the school, it is not misspelled).  Should prove to be a good game, and I may be putting my B1G homer hat on but I think Big Brent gets it done to make people set up and take notice of the boys in Champaign.   Illinois 34  Duke 24  

Jason:  The 11^th ranked Illini head to Duke, who went 9-4 last season in the first year of the Manny Diaz era in what will be a test for a Brett Bielema team trying to live up to lofty expectations and with playoff aspirations. Illinois is an experienced, confident football team, but can’t overlook the Blue Devils in a tricky road game. Tulane transfer QB will lead Duke and is shifty in and out of the pocket so the Illini will have to bother him and force him into mistakes. If he gets into a rhythm, Illinois will have problems. On the other side of the ball, Illinois should be able to get a push up front but lacks overall explosion. They will have to open it up and take their shots to keep a solid Duke D honest.  Look for this game to go back and forth, with the lead changing hands a few times before a late score gets it done for Illinois, who survives their first test and keeps their playoff hopes alive.   Illinois 31 Duke 27

Joe-S-U:  This would’ve been a fun basketball matchup in the late 80’s/early 90’s.  One of those Sunday afternoon ABC matchups with Keith Jackson tolerating Dick Vitale while Coach K and the “Lou-Doo” did battle with loaded rosters.  Will this football game be as fun?  Doubtful, but the Illini carry the Big 10 banner proudly.

John:  If the Illini are who we think they are, they win this one.  Wallace Wade Stadium isn’t exactly Death Valley, and Duke isn’t Clemson or LSU.  For some reason, the money isn’t impressed – Illinois is only a 2 ½ point road favorite.  The betters may know something I don’t, but I don’t think this one will be that close.   Illinois 28  Duke 17

Josh:  This is one of the more underrated matchups of the weekend. Illinois crushed Western Illinois in the opener and will try to keep their physical identity rolling, with Altmyer distributing and a deep running back room pounding away. Duke counters with a wide-open offense led by QB Mensah, who threw for nearly 400 yards last week. The Illini secondary will be tested, but their ability to control the line of scrimmage and shorten the game gives them the edge. Expect a tight, competitive battle where Illinois’ physicality wins out late.   Illinois 24, Duke 22

Steven:  The Blue Devils started out a little slow last week against Elon, but eventually cruised to a 45-17 win with QB Darian Mensah tossing 3 second half TD passes. Illinois QB Luke Altmyer kept pace with 3 TDs in the Illini’s game against Western Illinois. This week’s matchup probably hinges on establishing the run game, which Illinois did much better last week.  Duke may not have run a lot last week, but they did end up running for a slightly better average. Until proven otherwise, I’m leaning on my belief that the ACC is top to bottom the weakest of the 4 major conferences, and as such, I’ll go with Illinois.   Illini 24-14.

Trout:  I see Illinois willing this game. They were a pretty good team last year, and I think that continues this year. They’ve got a solid quarterback returning, and Bielema has this team believing they can compete for the Big Ten Championship. Duke can be sneaky and give team fits, they will never be a constant figure in big boy college football. They’re always going to be a basketball first school. I can see the game being very close for a while, and then the Illini are able to pull away from the Blue Devils. Illinois wins by a couple of scores.   (Illinois, 24-10)

Final Score:  Illinois 45   Duke 19