Nebraska, Michigan, Maryland, and Iowa Give the Big Ten a Third Chance. Vegas Big Ten Predictions for Week 4 Here.

Saturday Blitz Vegas Big Ten Predictions Week 4

Indiana Hoosiers at No. 18 Missouri Tigers 

Line: Missouri by 13.5

The Missouri Tigers have looked so far like they’re not going to miss a beat with Maty Mauk taking over for James Franklin. The offense blew out Central Florida over the weekend and looks as good as ever, while the defense has played well too. With Indiana coming to town this week, the Tigers will want to use a lot more of that offense. The Hoosiers know how to score at will, but they are very weak on defense. Using such great running backs as Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy on the ground would be ideal in this type of game to limit Indiana’s offense, but both are dinged up. To save them, Mauk needs to get the job done.

Indiana, meanwhile, is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Bowling Green because, you guessed it, they still can’t play defense. They’ll want to run the ball with Tevin Coleman, who already has 437 yards through two games. If the Hoosiers can do that and mount long, time-consuming drives with the addition of Nate Sudfield’s timely accuracy, it’ll be enough to keep this game close and for them to potentially pull out a win in the end. But somehow the defense is going to have to get a stop, and it’s up for debate whether or not they can do that.

Prediction

Indiana will raise some questions about Missouri’s defense and gash the Tigers on the ground, but the Tigers will match them score for score and pull away easily after a few stops in the second half. The Hoosiers move to 1-2 and will continue with questions as to why their defense is so bad.

Missouri: 45 Indiana: 31