Big Ten Football: Predicting Every Final Score In Week 1

Week 1 is here and is ready to roll on Thursday night. There are two Big Ten schools playing on Thursday -- Nebraska vs. Minnesota -- and of course, all the Big Ten teams will play this weekend.

We actually will see three Big Ten conference games already this weekend. The other two, besides the Thursday game, we will see Ohio State vs. Indiana, and then Northwestern will take on Rutgers on Sunday.

I'm going to predict every final score for all the Big Ten games this weekend.

Nebraska vs. Minnesota -- Thurs. 8:00 p.m. ET

It's finally the Matt Rhule era in Lincoln. Rhule has done a great job of turning around every college team he has coached. The Huskers are going to look like a new team this season after Rhule had his way with the portal, but Week 1 is going to be tough for Nebraska. I'm not very high on Minnesota's quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, but I would expect the Gophers to have a formidable rushing attack to combine with their stout defense. Give me the Gophers at home.

Final score: Minnesota 27, Nebraska 17

Central Michigan vs. Michigan State -- Fri. 7:00 p.m. ET

I admittedly don't think Michigan State will be very good this season and it might struggle to make a bowl game. But Week 1 bodes well for Mel Tucker and his new-look offense. I expect Noah Kim to look good enough at quarterback against Central Michigan and MSU should roll here.

Final score: Michigan State 34, Central Michigan 20

East Carolina vs. Michigan -- Sat. 12:00 p.m. ET

East Carolina was an eight-win team in 2022, but the Pirates lost just about every playmaker you can imagine from last season. Michigan might be battling a few injuries, will be without two coaches, but the Wolverines should dominate in Week 1.

Final score: Michigan 48, East Carolina 13

Utah State vs. Iowa -- Sat. 12:00 p.m. ET

Former Michigan QB Cade McNamara is questionable to play in this one. If he plays, I expect the Iowa offense to look better than it did all of last year, but if the Hawkeyes are forced to use Deacon Hill, it makes this game more interesting. But good thing for Iowa that its defense remains a top-10 D.

Final score: Iowa 27, Utah State 7

Fresno State vs. Purdue -- Sat. 12:00 p.m. ET

This game is interesting to me. Purdue is favored by just 3.5 points at home. Fresno was a powerful offense last year but lost Jake Haener to the NFL. The Boilermakers will also resemble a new-look offense without Aidan O'Connell, Charlie Jones, and others. But it's hard to believe the Ryan Walters era will start out 0-1.

Final score: Purdue 34, Fresno State 27

Ohio State vs. Indiana -- Sat. 3:30 p.m. ET

This is a conference game for Ohio State, but might as well be a non-conference foe. Indiana is a bad football team and I would fully expect Kyle McCord and Devin Brown to both look good while they get their shot. The Buckeyes are going to look great on Saturday.

Final score: Ohio State 48, Indiana 17

Buffalo vs. Wisconsin -- Sat. 3:30 p.m. ET

Luke Fickel went out and landed SMU transfer Tanner Mordecai to lead his new spread offense in Madison. The Badgers have been a mess the last few years throwing the ball around, but that shouldn't be an issue this year. Badgers' fans will love what they see on Saturday.

Final score: Wisconsin 49, Buffalo 10

Towson vs. Maryland -- Sat. 3:30 p.m. ET

I have Maryland being super talented and competitive in 2023 going 9-3. Mike Locksley has Taulia Tagovailoa back for his final season with the Terps and Maryland should expect big things from the savvy veteran. Destroying Towson is just a small piece of the puzzle.

Final score: Maryland 45, Towson 10

West Virginia vs. Penn State -- Sat. 7:30 p.m.

This is certainly the game of the week in the Big Ten conference. After 20 seasons, Sean Clifford is no longer with the Nittany Lions. PSU fans were clamoring for their new shiny toy last season after five-star Drew Allar was on campus. It's Allar's turn to show the country why he was highly touted. West Virginia is a decent team, but PSU will be too much for the Mountaineers to handle.

Final score: Penn State 30, West Virginia 10

Toledo vs. Illinois -- Sat. 7:30 p.m. ET

Toledo was one of the better MAC schools last year with an explosive offense. However, Illinois had the best scoring defense in 2022 and the Illini returns 62% of their defensive production from last year. I don't look for Illinois to score a ton without Chase Brown and Tommy DeVito, but the Illini will play tough defense.

Final score: Illinois 17, Toledo 6

Northwestern vs. Rutgers -- Sun. 12:00 p.m. ET

There are three games on Sunday, and it might be the worst of them all -- sorry fans. The Wildcats are more than likely going to have a rough season and Rutgers is projected to win four or five games in 2023. If the Scarlet Knights are going to make it to a bowl game then they must beat the teams they are supposed to.

Final score: Rutgers 23, Northwestern 9