Ohio State Football: Big Ten Week One Predictions

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COLUMBUS, OH – NOVEMBER 18: Patrick Nelson #21 of the Illinois Fighting Illini attempts to wrap up the legs of J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the first quarter on November 18, 2017 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /

How will the Ohio State football team fare in week one, as well as other Big Ten teams? As usual, I’ll provide the answers.

Every week I will provide my predictions for the slate of Big Ten games. Last year I finished roughly 176-1 with the lone loss predicting the Ohio State football team would easily take care of the Iowa Hawkeyes. That’s not too bad, but there is room for improvement.

Here are my predictions for week one of the Big Ten:

Northwestern at Purdue

Talk about pressure coming out of the gate. The loser is already in a hole in the Big Ten West race. Wisconsin might be the favorite, but I think both these teams have a decent chance at winning the division.

The Wildcats are coming off a 10-3 season and return 16 starters, though we don’t know if quarterback Clayton Thorsen is going to start.

Under first-year head coach Jeff Brohm, the Boilermakers surged late in November finishing 7-6 with a bowl win over Arizona.

Offensively, Purdue should be much improved. Defensively could be an issue as it returns just four starters.

Between Thorsen’s status, Northwestern typically being a slow starting team and the game being at Ross-Ade, I think Purdue wins a relatively high-scoring game. Boilermakers 35-31.

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