The Prognosticators are back from a wild Halloween weekend in Madison, Wis. Vanilla Rice will try to redeem himself this week especially after realizing that it’s probably not wise to wear a Wisconsin sweatshirt to the Bobby Williams press conference and player interviews.
Racy Lacy is in the lead with a 25-17 record while Rice is 24-18. With this being rivalry week, the prognosticators have both agreed that it’s time for the Spartans to redeem themselves after disappointing losses to Northwestern and Minnesota. Those weasels from Ann Arbor won’t know what hit them after getting a case of “gang green.”
No. 6 Michigan (6-1 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) at MSU (4-2, 2-2)
Once again the state’s biggest rivalry is back. This game marks the 54th consecutive sell-out in the series. MSU beat Wisconsin 42-28 on Saturday and the Wolverines barely slipped past Iowa 32-26
Vanilla Rice: Former MSU wide receiver and current Pittsburgh Steeler Plaxico Burress broke out against the Wolverines two years ago in Spartan Stadium and sophomore wide receiver “Touchdown” Charles Rogers will do it this year.
But an even more exciting receiver to watch in this game will be U-M’s Marquise Walker, who will be a handful for an impoverished MSU secondary. But it has held up so far against guys like Wisconsin’s Lee Evans, so they should be able to do it again.
MSU 34, Michigan 29
Racy Lacy: Oh boy, a sell-out crowd and a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. U-M fans better get ready, because not only are they going to see abuse during the game, but also in the parking lot.
The fact is that MSU is due to have its annual “breakout game.” Unfortunately it happened in the final game of the season against Purdue last year. Expect offensive studs sophomore quarterback Jeff Smoker and sophomore wide receiver Charles Rogers to make more connections on the field than AT&T.
MSU 27, Michigan 24
No. 9 UCLA (6-1) at No. 16 Washington State (7-1)
UCLA will look to rebound after a 38-28 loss to Stanford that could cost them the Pac-10 title. But Washington State had a tough loss of its own last week when Oregon slipped by them 24-17.
Vanilla Rice: Cory Paus, UCLA’s quarterback may not play in this game after spraining his thumb against Stanford last week. But DeShaun Foster will pick up the slack, especially since Washington State has one of the worst rush defenses in the Pac-10. Foster is averaging 142 yards a game and leads the Pac-10 with 997 yards. I’m going to take the liberty of saying, that baring an injury, he’ll break 1000 yards this week.
UCLA 35, Washington State 17
Racy Lacy: No doubt about it, this is definitely a crucial game. The Cougars face one of the top running backs in the country in Foster, who has already rushed for 997 yards this year.
Oregon beat the Cougars last week 24-17, thanks to running back Onterrio Smith’s school-record 285 yards and three touchdowns. Who’s Onterrio? The only one I know of is Ontario, Canada, a place that has my favorite beer, Molson XXX. Cougars fans could use plenty of that Saturday to drink the painful memories of Foster, who will be dancing all over the place.
UCLA 34, Washington State 31
No. 10 Stanford (5-1) at No. 11 Washington (6-1)
Four teams are gridlocked at the top of the Pac-10 at 4-1, including Stanford and Washington. Stanford is on a roll after beating UCLA 38-28 last week and is looking continue its hot streak against a Washington team that beat Arizona State 33-31.
Vanilla Rice: Stanford’s momentum from beating UCLA will carry over to this week, especially since they jumped from No. 14 to No. 6 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings last week.
Stanford 28, Washington 23
Racy Lacy: The Huskies are in a four-way tie for first in their conference along with the Cardinal, so this game should be a war. But what could hurt the Cardinal the most is the loss of quarterback Randy Fasani, who’s expected to be sidelined for at least another three weeks with a sprained knee.
Backup Chris Lewis is going to have to work some more magic this week, unlike my partner Vanilla Rice, who hasn’t been able to deliver - especially with the ladies. Hey dude, what was your excuse again for not spending more time with that nice young woman?
Washington 34, Stanford 28
No. 20 Purdue (5-1, 3-1) at No. 21 Illinois (6-1, 3-1)
The MSU vs. U-M game may overshadow this one because of its in-state rivalry, but when it is all said and done this game will have a huge impact on the outcome of the Big Ten standings. Purdue beat Northwestern 32-27 and Illinois beat Wisconsin on Oct. 20 42-35.
Vanilla Rice: If MSU can give Illinois a hand by giving U-M its first Big Ten loss, a win over Purdue on Saturday could pave the way to a Big Ten Championship for Illinois. They’d need U-M to lose once more after this week, but it could easily happen.
Illinois 38, Purdue 35
Racy Lacy: I’m going with the Boilermakers just because I like what head coach Joe Tiller has done with this team. Just like the men’s basketball coach Gene Keady, Tiller has shown the ability to keep his teams in title contention each year.
What makes this game great is the fact that both teams still have a chance to win the Big Ten and bump the Wolver-weenies. Unfortunately, the Boilermakers won’t get a shot against the Maize and Blue this year and the Illini failed to deliver on Sept. 29.
Purdue 21, Illinois 17
