ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

It was an OK, but not great week for the Big Ten, and the same for my picks. I went 8-3, wasn't close on several scores and came close on a few others.

Here's hoping for better results all around on Saturday.

Michigan 34, Eastern Michigan 14 -- A bit a hangover for Michigan after the Notre Dame win, but the run game eventually gets going behind Brandon Minor. Tate Forcier does his thing, and Rich Rodriguez gets Denard Robinson some more reps as Michigan matches its wins total from 2008 only three games into the season.

California 35, Minnesota 23 -- I could see Cal starting slow, but the Bears shouldn't be nearly as flat as they were last year against Maryland. Minnesota has done some nice things on defense, but Cal's offense seems just too powerful. The Gophers haven't found offensive playmakers aside from wide receiver Eric Decker and aren't able to keep up with Cal on the scoreboard.

Penn State 48, Temple 6 -- After a ho-hum win against Syracuse, Penn State shows a greater sense of urgency with Big Ten play looming and thumps Temple. The run game finally gets going as Evan Royster eclipses 100 rushing yards and Stephfon Green adds 75. The Lions defense holds Temple to two field goals as defensive end Jack Crawford has a big day.

Wisconsin 44, Wofford 7 -- The Badgers are healthier and Wofford is not, as leading rusher Eric Breitenstein will be out a month with a knee injury. John Clay puts up 150 rush yards in his first career start and Dave Doeren's defense gets some of its swagger back against the FCS Terriers.

Purdue 35, Northern Illinois 27 -- Something tells me this one won't be easy for Purdue, but the Boilers prevail behind Ralph Bolden and quarterback Joey Elliott, who bounces back from last week's loss with an encouraging performance. Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish tests a banged-up Boilermakers secondary, but Purdue tightens up its play and prevails.

Ohio State 41, Toledo 17 -- This is a good matchup for a struggling Buckeyes offense, which should put up points against a Toledo team that allowed 90 in the first two games. Terrelle Pryor has a big day with his arm and his feet, and the Buckeyes roll. Aaron Opelt could give Ohio State some problems, but the defense I saw last week in Columbus is too solid up front to allow many points.

Notre Dame 28, Michigan State 27 -- By far the toughest game to pick this week, but I'm going with the team that needs it more. Home field really doesn't matter for Notre Dame, which has dropped six straight to Michigan State. But the Irish know a loss here likely torpedoes their season and head coach Charlie Weis. The Spartans secondary struggled mightily last week, and Notre Dame's Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are better than Central Michigan's Antonio Brown and Bryan Anderson. Kirk Cousins plays well, but the Spartans come up just short.

Akron 24, Indiana 20 -- My lack of faith in the Hoosiers hurt me last week, and we'll see what happens this time around. Indiana's defense has performed admirably so far, but the team has made too many mistakes for my liking. Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain is pretty good, and he attacks the IU secondary with Deryn Bowser. The Hoosiers can't survive mistakes on the road and drop this one.

Iowa 21, Arizona 17 -- It will be a defensive struggle at Kinnick Stadium, as both units are solid. Arizona running back Nic Grigsby makes some plays, but Iowa forces several turnovers, including a key interception in the fourth quarter that proves to be the difference. Quarterback Ricky Stanzi limits mistakes and throws a pair of touchdown passes

Northwestern 26, Syracuse 21 -- The win won't come easily for Northwestern, but you have to think the coaches will expand the playbook on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Mike Kafka finally showcases his mobility against an aggressive Orange defense, and he has another big day in a dome. The Wildcats defense gets a big boost from the return of cornerback Sherrick McManis, who keeps Orange star wideout Mike Williams relatively in check.

Bye -- Illinois

Season record -- 18-4 (.818)

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

When Tim Beckman looked at the nonconference schedule assembled for his first season as the head coach at Toledo, he knew his team would need to gain confidence somewhere. With games against Purdue, Colorado and Ohio State to start the year, the Rockets didn’t necessarily have to win, but they had to have better showings than the ones they put forth during their 3-9 season a year ago.

So when Toledo rallied from a 21-0 deficit against Purdue and pulled within a touchdown before ultimately losing 52-31, Beckman was encouraged that his team could play with anyone.

	Rick Osentoski/Icon SMI
	Quarterback Aaron Opelt threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns against Colorado.

When Toledo turned around in Week 2 and defeated Colorado 54-38 in the Glass Bowl, its first home opening win in the past three seasons, the Rockets started to believe it as well.

“The last two weeks I’ve had to grab kids and say, ‘Hey, this can be done.’” Beckman said. “If you can believe that you can do it, that’s 90 percent of it and then we’ve got to go out and do it, of course. If you don’t believe you can do it then you’re never going to have a chance.”

Quarterback Aaron Opelt, who threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns against Colorado, said both the offense and the defense executed the game plan well. When the team became a little lax after getting up 54-24 in the fourth quarter, it was Beckman that kept yelling like it was a tight contest. It’s something Opelt said the team has gotten used to and embraced.

“He brought the excitement back,” Opelt said. “He’s got that fire in him that gets us going. He doesn’t let the team slack, which is good for us. We’re always pushing harder, we’re always going to play four quarters. I think that’s what we needed to do and he’s definitely brought a lot of energy to us.”

Both Opelt and Beckman said the foundation for last Friday’s win was built in the season opener against Purdue and they’re hoping the team can build on the Colorado win heading into a tough game at No. 11 Ohio State this weekend.

“It’s definitely given us some confidence and we’ve found out who we are after playing two good weeks of football,” Opelt said. “The guys kind of got an eye-opener about what this offense can do and the talented players we have and the plays we can make.”

The Rockets are no strangers to playing in big games and coming out victorious. Even during their down season a year ago, they walked into the Big House and upset Michigan 13-10. The year before, they beat Iowa State. Before that, Kansas.

Beckman said even though he and some of the current starters weren’t with this team during those wins, he can feel a confidence that the team isn't afraid of those types of situations. Instead, it seems to embrace them as another opportunity to gather momentum and rekindle the team they were earlier in the decade.

“They’ve been in big games, so they get the opportunity and they know what it’s like,” Beckman said. “Credit goes to the players and credit goes to the coaches I’ve brought in to get them to believe we can be good and be successful.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Graham Watson

Case Keenum, QB, Houston: Led Houston to a 45-35 upset of No. 5 Oklahoma State by completing 68 percent of his passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.

Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan: Completed 33-of-46 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-27 win against Michigan State. He became the Mid-American Conference's all-time leader in total offense with 12,166 yards in his career.

Aaron Opelt, QB, Toledo: Passed for 319 yards and rushed for another 109 in a 54-38 upset win over Colorado. Opelt accounted for six total touchdowns -- four passing, two rushing.

Tyler Albrecht, K, Louisiana-Lafayette: Made a 48-yard field goal with 31 seconds remaining to give Louisiana-Lafayette a 19-17 win over Kansas State. It was his first collegiate kick.

Jerry Hughes, DE, TCU: Had a career-high and team-best 11 tackles, including 2.5 for loss with 1.5 sacks in the 30-14 win against Virginia.

Greg Alexander, QB, Hawaii: Completed 25-of-35 passes for 441 yards and three touchdowns. Alexander's yards passing were the most against Washington State since 1989.

Honorable mention

Mike Clausen, QB, UNLV: Came in in the fourth quarter and led the Rebels to two touchdowns and nearly helped them defeat Oregon State.

Zach Maynard, QB, Buffalo: Completed 68 percent of his passes for 400 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-27 loss to Pittsburgh.

Austin Pritchard, LB, Western Michigan: Finished with 12 tackles and his 22-yard field goal block in the fourth quarter gave WMU the opportunity to score the go ahead TD late in the game. It was the first blocked kick of his career.

T.Y. Hilton, WR, Florida International: Had a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against No. 4 Alabama.

Greg Salas, WR, Hawaii: Had seven catches for 194 yards and a touchdown in the 38-20 win against Washington State.

Dwight Dasher, QB, Middle Tennessee: Dasher accounted for 320 of the Blue Raiders' 436 yards of total offense in a 31-14 win against Memphis. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 231 yards and added a team-high 89 yards on the ground.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

The Glass Bowl continues to be a chamber of horrors for Big 12 teams.

	AP Photo/J.D. Pooley
	After an 0-2 start, Dan Hawkins may regret his “10 wins with no excuses” statement.

But even those earlier losses weren’t anything like the humiliation that Dan Hawkins and Colorado endured for nearly four hours Friday night.

Toledo upset its third Big 12 team in four seasons at its home stadium as the Rockets hammered Colorado in a convincing 54-38 victory.

No matter how you spin this debacle, it was a humiliating performance for the Buffaloes.

Even after Colorado scored a couple of late touchdowns in garbage time to make the final score appear more presentable, it won’t make this one go down any easier.

Hawkins’ prospects for hanging on to his job took a hit when his team was blown out in the first half. And his son, Cody, endured a devastating helmet-to-helmet tackle on Colorado’s final touchdown run that knocked him out of the game.

Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt came into the game leading the nation in passing after one game. His built on those statistics with a strong effort as he passed for 319 yards and four touchdowns and added 109 rushing yards and two touchdown runs. Opelt had a hand in Toledo’s first six touchdowns.

Former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Tim Beckman claimed his first victory as Toledo’s head coach. And if his team plays like it did Friday night, they will be legitimate challengers to win the Mid-American Conference’s West Division.

Before letting up on the last possession, Toledo moved the ball at will against the pedestrian Colorado defense. The Buffaloes allowed 624 yards in the game -- the most they have permitted since yielding 639 yards against Missouri in 1984.

Those struggles made Hawkins' job security appear more tenuous. After a disappointing home loss to Colorado State last week, the Buffaloes have started 0-2 for the second time in the last four seasons.

His “10 wins with no excuses” prediction for this season appears to have bitten him in the backside pretty quickly. His team might be mathematically eliminated from being able to accomplish that feat before October.

And if the Colorado message boards and fan forums are any indication, Buffalo fans aren't happy about that possibility after the first two weeks of the season.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

Here are my Big 12 picks for this weekend.

Colorado 21, Toledo 20: This might be the biggest game of Dan Hawkins’ career after his team’s opening-game debacle against Colorado State. The Buffaloes need to get a ground game going -- remember that guy on the bench is Darrell Scott -- and do a better job of limiting big plays on defense. Toledo quarterback Aaron Opelt threw 67 passes in last week’s loss at Purdue, but will find it much tougher this week against the Buffaloes’ underrated secondary keyed by cornerback Jimmy Smith. I’m looking for the Buffaloes to do just enough to escape the Glass Bowl with a victory-- but it’s not going to be easy or pretty.

Iowa 21, Iowa State 17: The Cyclones have had much recent success against the Hawkeyes at Jack Trice Stadium, where they have won four of the last five in the series since 1999. The Hawkeyes struggled last week against Northern Iowa and were lucky to escape with a victory only after blocking field goals on the last two plays of the game. I look for replacement running back Adam Robinson to run with a little more confidence this week for the Hawkeyes. Don't be surprised if wily Iowa coordinator Norm Parker cooks up a defensive scheme that will handcuff the Cyclones’ emerging no-huddle offense. But it wouldn’t surprise me if the Cyclones were able to make this one close and maybe even eke out an upset victory.

Nebraska 41, Arkansas State 14: The Cornhuskers ran off a 49-3 victory over FAU and Bo Pelini wasn’t happy about his team’s defensive efforts. They’ll be facing another challenger from the Sun Belt in Arkansas State, who shouldn’t pose too many problems. I’ll be interested to see the continued development of future Cornhuskers like Rex Burkhead and Cody Green and see how the defense reacts after the scalding criticism of their coach. If Pelini gets mad after giving up three points, what's he going to do if they give up seven or 10 or 14 points this week?

Oklahoma State 45, Houston 34: Oklahoma State had a strong opening performance, including a salty defensive showing that stopped Georgia cold after the Bulldogs scored a touchdown on their opening possession. It will be interesting to see if that huge victory left the Cowboys with a hangover. It’s something they can’t afford, considering Houston’s high-powered offense keyed by Case Keenum. The Cougars had Oklahoma State on the ropes last season before the Cowboys blew the game open in the second half. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar kind of game on Saturday.

Texas 45, Wyoming 7: The Longhorns’ toughest nonconference road game shouldn’t pose too many problems, even with injuries on the offensive line and other personnel losses in the secondary. I’ll be interested to see how alternating Wyoming quarterbacks Robert Benjamin and Austyn Carta-Samuels attack a Texas defense that allowed more points in an opening game last week in 10 years. It will also be noteworthy to watch Texas’ running backs and see if Vondrell McGee still is the featured back after his fumble problems last week. Despite playing at high elevation, the Longhorns should have no worries.

Kansas 44, UTEP 35: Kansas ran the ball strongly last week against Northern Colorado and should be able to do the same against the Miners. But it wouldn’t surprise me if UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and some underrated offensive weapons make the Jayhawks sweat their way through their visit to the Sun Bowl. In the end, Dezmon Briscoe will make enough plays as a receiver and maybe as a kick returner to extend the Miners’ 16-game losing streak against Big 12 teams.

Missouri 34, Bowling Green 14: What can Blaine Gabbert do for an encore? His auspicious start has been the talk of the “Show-Me” State this week after a breakthrough performance against Illinois. I was just as impressed by the Tigers’ “Scorpion” defensive front which made Illinois quarterback Juice Williams miserable. The Missouri defense will be tested by Bowling Green’s talented pass-and-catch duo of Tyler Sheehan and Freddie Barnes. The Falcons beat Missouri in each of Gary Pinkel’s first two seasons at Missouri, including his first game there in 2001. But that’s a long time ago.

Oklahoma 34, Idaho State 0: Landry Jones gets his first start at quarterback as he replaces Sam Bradford. I look for Bob Stoops to have a conservative approach this week designed to build confidence for Jones over the next several games. There won’t be anything fancy as the Sooners will lean on a running game that needs to help restore assurance in an offensive line that struggled last week. Idaho State dropped a 50-3 outing at Arizona State last week in a game where Bengal quarterbacks threw four interceptions. It might be more of the same as the Sooners’ defense will be charged to pick up its performance with all of the lingering questions on offense.

Texas Tech 41, Rice 17: Taylor Potts didn’t have the best of college career starts, throwing three interceptions last week against North Dakota. I look for improvement from him and the Tech running attack as they meet rebuilding Rice. Owls coach David Bailiff is still struggling to find a quarterback and I expect both John Shepherd and Nick Fanuzzi to get an opportunity to play. But it won’t nearly be enough as the Red Raiders should cruise into the Texas game with a better performance than their first game.

Kansas State 31, Louisiana-Lafayette 24: Carson Coffman should have a better performance in his second game and the Kansas State special teams will be improved in a tougher-than-expected battle at Cajun Field. The Ragin’ Cajuns have a couple of nice offensive weapons in quarterback Chris Masson and running back Undrea Sails. If they get rolling, it could be a long night in the bayou for the Wildcats. I’m also a little concerned about how Kansas State’s lack of depth affects them at both offensive line and defensive line during what should be a hot, humid night. But in the end, Kansas State running backs Daniel Thomas and Keithen Valentine will provide enough offense for the Wildcats to escape Louisiana with a tough victory.

Last week: 10-2 (83.3 percent)

Season: 10-2 (83.3 percent)