Week 9 viewing guide: Breaking down/predicting Michigan vs. Michigan St, plus other key games from around the country
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It’s time for the Week 9 installment of my weekly viewing guide. For those of you who may need a reminder, this Friday staple typically includes the following:
My breakdown and prediction (both straight and against the spread) of Michigan’s game
My choices for the three biggest Big Ten games of the week that don’t involve Michigan, including predictions straight and against the spread
My choices for the three biggest non-Big Ten games of the weekend, including predictions straight and against the spread
Rapid-fire predictions for all other Big Ten games, both straight and against the spread.
My weekly Big Ten power rankings
Last week was a really good week in terms of straight picks (I went 8-1 on the nine Big Ten games, with the lone miss being Minnesota’s improbable Friday night win over Nebraska as more than a touchdown underdog, and then 10-2 overall with the three SEC games factored in, too). But it was a pretty rough week in terms of picks against the spread, moving my season-long win rate on B1G games down to 52.2% and just a hair over 50% overall.
We’re still on the right side of .500. But certainly not with the level of cushion we had over the past few seasons. We’ll try and create a bit more of a gap from the .500 line with a bounce back week this weekend. Here’s a look at how the season-long results have been so far this season:
2025 results
Michigan games
Straight: 5-2
Against the spread: 2-5
B1G games
Straight: 75-15
Against the spread: 47-43
Overall
Straight: 91-24
Against the spread: 58-57
And with that, let’s get to this week’s viewing guide, picks, predictions and power rankings on the other side of the paywall jump. 👇
