Big Ten Pick'em 2008: Week 1

This year's Big Ten Bloggers weekly pick'em is brought to you by Gopher Nation. Most of the games are against cupcakes, but there are some really critical games for the Big Ten's supposed tarnished image around the nation. Michigan State traveling to California, Michigan hosting Utah and Missouri squaring off with Illinois could each help tip the balance of power back to the Big Ten. I didn't go with any real upsets, but there are a few picks that go against conventional wisdom... or do they? Find out now.

(FYI: Each team name links to its respective official football site. I also used the USA Today Coaches Poll for the team rankings. Any time you see a ranking before a team name at ZN, it's the Coaches Poll rank.)

Syracuse vs Northwestern - The ZN pick: N'Western

Western Kentucky vs. Indiana - The ZN pick: Indy

Youngstown St vs. No. 2 Ohio St. - The ZN pick: Ohio St

Coastal Carolina vs No. 22 Penn St - The ZN pick: Penn St

Akron vs. No. 12 Wisconsin - The ZN pick: Wisky

Maine vs. Iowa - The ZN pick: Iowa

Utah vs. No. 24 Michigan - The ZN pick: Mich (yes, I actually picked MICHIGAN)

Northern Illinois vs. Minnesota - The ZN pick: Minny

Mich St vs. California - The ZN pick: Mich St

No. 19 Illinois vs. No. 7 Missouri - The ZN pick: Mizzou

Tonight (it might be very late tonight), I'll pick the rest of the FBS games. And tomorrow, the first game preview for 2008, No. 22 Penn State vs. Coastal Carolina. Damn I'm excited!