I'm not a big fan of Warde, if your a daily reader of this blog you know this already. Like my feelings about Wink, I do give credit when credit is deserved. Warde made an excellent hire in Dusty, who I consider one of the best basketball coaches in America. He has also made a smart decision by cancelling the game in Germany.
In my mind, there was zero reason to play that game. #1 It takes a home game away from the season ticket holders, #2 Western is located like a hour and half away from Ann Arbor, and #3 Michigan would make a lot more money hosting the Broncos then traveling overseas. Not to mention the Wolverines would also lose a recruiting visit weekend. Smart move Warde.
ESPN is struggling right now. They are in a huge fight with Youtube TV that has 10M subscribers and now they are shutting down the ESPN Bet app after 2 years into a 10 year agreement. The worldwide leader in sports better start to figure out how to be a better partner. Maybe not paying $30M+ for your MNF Booth might be a good start at saving some money. Reports are they losing $5M per day with the Youtube fight and shows audiences are way down.
Big Ten Weekend Preview Week 11
Friday Night:
Northwestern @ USC (-14.5): This is an interesting game for Wolverines fans to watch. Michigan needs USC to keep winning to keep their quality loss status and next up at Wrigley is NW. We know what happens when teams travel west and a Friday night kick doesn't help. USC 31 NW 17
Saturday:
Indiana (-14.5) @ PSU: This seasons difficult schedule didn't cost James Franklin his job, the easy games did. It what was supposed to be another major match-up has PSU at a 2 TD dog at home. PSU plays tough by IU wins. IU 28 PSU 20
Ohio State (-30.5) @ Purdue: We know Purdue is feisty, but I think us Michigan fans are going to be ashamed of the point total that the Buckeyes will put on the Boilermakers this weekend. OSU 40 Purdue 10.
Oregon (-6.5) @ Iowa: I did not see this one coming. The Ducks have zero good wins and a home loss to IU (Yes, the PSU win in Happy Valley was good at the time). Iowa is playing really good football and is the only program to give IU a game this season. This game will knock one of the teams out of the CFP picture. Yes, Iowa is playing for a spot! Iowa 24 Oregon 21
Washington (-10.5) @ Wisconsin: The UW Bowl as nobody has ever called it! 😀 Poor Wisconsin. Washington is still really good in my mind. UW - West 34 UW - Midwest 7
Nebraska @ UCLA (-2.5): I like UCLA in this one as Creepy Mahomes is out for the year with a broken leg and Matt Rhule has James Franklin vibes to me. UCLA 21 Nebraska 13