[TonySpreads]

I like Northwestern (-1) and Tulane (+6.5) tomorrow night.

NU @ Purdue (-1) ESPN

This line made a pretty decent jump this week from -2.5 to -1. A lot of experts are saying this is because of the health of Northwestern QB Clayton Thorson. Clayton Thorson reminds me a lot of Perry Ellis from Kansas Basketball in that it feels like he’s been the starting Quarterback for Northwestern since 2007. But back to his health, he tore his ACL during Northwestern's bowl game last year doing something Tom Brady couldn’t do, catching a pass on a trick play (boom roasted). Thorson is extremely talented and is likely to be drafted in the early rounds of the NFL Draft in April, so his health could is not only super impactful on this game, but for Northwestern’s season. If Thorson can’t go, a former walk-on will be the guy under center for Northwestern. Trust Tony on this one, Thorson’s gonna play as Northwestern needs to start the Big 10 season off on a good note.

Northwestern’s biggest loss was the graduation of star running back Justin Jackson (now with the Chargers). Jackson was 3rd all time in Big Ten rushing yards and eclipsed 1,000 yards in all 4 of his seasons at Northwestern. Jeremy Larkin (SO.) will take over those duties and he was actually really productive when he got on the field last year with 500 yards at 6 YPC. While there will be a significant drop off from Justin Jackson, I think Jeremy Larkin is sufficient enough to keep the chains moving against a Purdue defense that only returns 4 starters.

Moving away from the backfield, Northwestern’s defense is there strong suit. There front 7 is among the best in the Big Ten. The defense brings back 7 starters from a defense that played extremely well last year against the run. I expect Northwestern to shut down the run pretty easily, forcing Purdue to become one dimensional and predictable on offense.

Not only is Northwestern’s defense insufferable but so is the national media. Since 96% of the national media is made up of Northwestern graduates, you’ll likely see Twitter blow up from all the graduates pretending to care for a game. Some celebs you’ll see embarrassing themselves include Mike Greenberg & Dan Rovell plus many more.

Purdue’s strengths are there QB and Offensive Line play. While we don’t know who’s starting yet (Elijah Sindelar or David Blough), there both pretty good. In fact Elijah Sindelar played the last 3 games last year with a torn ACL and actually had 3 of his best games of the whole season. While Purdue's Offensive Line is solid, Northwestern’s Defensive Line is better and should win the battle of the trenches.

Tony’s Verdict: Northwestern (+1.5)

Leave the gun and take the cannolis, and by cannolis I mean a couple units. Northwestern is stronger across the board and I was surprised to find them as an underdog. Full disclosure I did get this spread at +3 earlier in the week so if Northwestern loses by 2 I’m still counting this as a win for Tony’s Mafia. Also, even if Northwestern screws us, you can take solace in the fact that Darren Rovell and all other other annoying Northwestern grads on twitter will be upset.

Other Picks:

Wake Forest @ Tulane (+6.5) CBSSN

Who just bets one game? Put a unit on Tulane (+6.5). Wake Forest is starting a true freshman (Sam Hartman) at QB due to a suspension of Kendall Hinton. While they do have one of the best running attacks in the ACC because of their great offensive line, this is going to be a completely one dimensional team. The freshman starting at Quarterback for them was a 3 star recruit out of high school (out of 5 stars, that’s almost average for you math scholars) and was not recruited by major D1 schools. Tulane on the other hand has a dual-threat senior in Jonathan Banks who transferred to Tulane a few years ago from Kansas State. Tulane returns 9 guys on offense and I’m not sure Wake can keep up with them, let alone cover the spread with a 3 star freshman QB.

Tony’s Verdict: Tulane (+6.5)

https://theupstairsbasement.wordpress.com/

[gojetsgomoxies]

Clayton Thorson reminds me a lot of Perry Ellis from Kansas Basketball in that it feels like he’s been the starting Quarterback for Northwestern since 2007.

i like the picks and i like your comment........ we need a list of players who seemed like they play(ed) CFB forever. i'm thinking dononvan mcnabb from olden days. i had a couple of recent names but lost them.

maybe royce freeman from oregon. kenny bigalow - ex USC, not at WV

[TonySpreads]

Hahaha Royce Freeman felt like he played for a decade! I hope he does well in Denver this year.

Some quick names that come to mind are Taylor Martinez from Nebraska and Denard Robinson from Michigan.

[ChiTownTeaBagger]

JT Barrett

[wufpakman21]

I like the NW pick, not so much the Tulane pick. Wake is one of the best coached teams, if not the best coached team, in the acc. Their scheme on offense is very simple, and doesn't require a QB that can throw it 60 yards downfield on a dime. They run the same 10 plays over and over, with a few wrinkles mixed in and it's very hard to stop. Wake took hung with a very good ND team on the road last year. They hung 64 at Syracuse the following week. Tulane's defense is garbage. WF will hang at least 35 points on them. Wake wins easily.

[PaperTrail07]

I like the NW pick but being on the road game 1 means a lot too....Due could just be hyyyped....means a lot w these kids

[DennisT]

Appears N.W. the play here.

[TonySpreads]

Tulane covers!! Glad it went to 6.5 before game time

[TonySpreads]

Looks like Northwestern wins. Two great games tonight.