Big Ten Showdown Comes Early
How important can one game be in the first week of October?
Consider Penn State-Ohio State.
Not only does the loser fall out of the national title chase, but the Rose Bowl most likely slips away as well.
“With all due respect to Notre Dame, this is more meaningful,” OSU coach John Cooper said in the wake of last Saturday’s 29-16 win over the Fighting Irish, “because it’s the Big Ten Conference.”
Speaking of big, the Lions’ defense has to contend with Orlando Pace, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound tackle who has 22 pancake blocks in three games.
“You really can’t do much about Orlando,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. “He’s an outstanding college offensive lineman, but it isn’t as if he’s the only offensive lineman they have who can block.”
While the Lions (5-0) are fifth in scoring defense at 6.8 points per game, the third-ranked Buckeyes (3-0) are first in scoring at 57 points per game. And Pace has played his part, opening holes for Pepe Pearson, who has 395 yards, eight TDs and averages 5.6 yards per carry.
“I’m telling you, Ohio State is one of the best teams I’ve seen in a long time,” Paterno said.
No. 4 Penn State (plus 10) at No. 3 Ohio State… . OHIO STATE 31-20.
No. 9 Tennessee (minus 22-1/2) vs. Mississippi, at Memphis, Tenn. (Thursday): Peyton Manning vs. Archie’s alma mater… . TENNESSEE 41-20.
No. 21 Brigham Young (minus 14) at Utah State (Friday): Game moved so it wouldn’t conflict with LDS Church World General Conference… . BRIGHAM YOUNG 38-14.
No. 1 Florida (minus 30-1/2) at Arkansas: First regular-season meeting between teams; Gators love Hog Heaven… . FLORIDA 52-9.
Clemson (plus 30) at No. 2 Florida State: Seminoles lead nation in defense - 158 yards per game - and also have Warrick Dunn… . FLORIDA STATE 45-7.
Boise State (plus 38) at No. 5 Arizona State: This game is a bad idea… . ARIZONA STATE 42-0.
No. 6 Michigan (minus 6) at No. 22 Northwestern: Wolverines out for revenge after last year’s 19-13 loss… . NORTHWESTERN 24-21.
No. 7 Nebraska (minus 12-1/2) at No. 16 Kansas State: Huskers’ defense too much for K-State… . NEBRASKA 45-14.
No. 12 Virginia (minus 7) at Georgia Tech: Tech’s C.J. Williams could give Cavs’ Tiki Barber a run for his money… . GEORGIA TECH 24-21.
Kentucky (plus 22) at No. 13 Alabama: After Florida loss, ‘Bama will seem like a breeze… . ALABAMA 27-0.
Vanderbilt (plus 19-1/2) at No. 14 LSU: Does Vandy play a Top 25 team every week? … LSU 34-13.
No. 15 North Carolina (minus 21-1/2) at Wake Forest: Tar Heels go from famine to feast… . NORTH CAROLINA 41-6.
California (plus 16) at No. 17 Southern California: This year, Cal’s got the unbeaten record… . USC 38-17.
Stanford (plus 12) at No. 18 Washington: Huskies’ Rashaan Shehee doesn’t care who hands off to him… . WASHINGTON 44-21.
Boston College (plus 14) at No. 19 West Virginia: BC’s Matt Hasselbeck gets hassled all day by WVU defense… . WEST VIRGINIA 24-13.
South Carolina (plus 17) at No. 20 Auburn: Tigers itching to play again after loss to LSU… . AUBURN 31-10.
Oklahoma State (plus 18-1/2) at No. 23 Texas: Longhorns have two-game losing streak… . TEXAS 38-14.
No. 24 Utah (minus 16-1/2) at Texas-El Paso: Utah’s Mike Fouts looks for an encore after 476-yard, four-TD game against Kansas… . UTAH 45-20.
No. 25 Wyoming (minus 22-1/2) at San Jose State: Cowboys looking to extend eight-game winning streak… . WYOMING 42-14.
Last week: 14-2 (straight); 9-7 (spread). Season: 65-15 (straight); 38-37-2 (spread)