Check out Pt. 1 of Jamie Mac’s gambling odyssey here.

THE FAVORITES 

Minnesota, 4-1 

There really would be no better storybook season to write than Minnesota parlaying the excitement over its new stadium into a stirring run to the Motor City Bowl.  I’m torn on which way the Gophers will go this year. Will they build on that 7-1 start from last year? Or, will they crater like their 0-4 finish? What I’m not torn on are the Tim Brewster Twitter possibilities as he enjoys the finer points of the great American city of Detroit.  

COACH BREW LOOKING FOR PLAYMAKERS IN HIGHLAND PARK I FEEL LIKE I AM ON A MOVIE SET 

YOU SHOULD HOLD AT 15 BUT I LIKE AGGRESSIVE PLAYMAKERS SO HIT ME  

DAMMIT A QUEEN 

WINDSOR TONIGHT.THOSE GIRLS HAVE AN AMAZING SET OF GOPHERS 

Swing Game: Michigan State, 10/31. The Gophers enter this game off back-to- back trips to Columbus and Happy Valley. They will be on a losing streak. The game against Sparty–the first of three straight home games–will either extend the losing streak, further kicking the Gophers away from bowl contention, or be the start of a winning streak that launches them back into the mix for a 13^th game. If it’s the latter, their sights will squarely be set on Motown. 

Purdue,  3/1 

Purdue is only a season removed from being Motor City Bowl Champions. The program knows what its doing as far as mapping out a successful season and ending in Detroit. Last year was a down year in Joe Tiller’s swan song. Now that he’s left town to hawk oatmeal and Our House season DVDS, perhaps new blood surges the program back into the mix. Purdue will need to step up against better competition as their woeful 4-24 mark against bowl teams can attest. Purdue will need to improve, although not too much, mind you, to make it back to Detroit. 

Swing Game: Notre Dame, 9/30. The schedule sets up nicely for Purdue with four of their first five and six of their first eight at friendly Ross Ade Stadium. A win against the Irish will show this team as bowl caliber. A home loss and you have to wonder where late season wins will come from with so many road games down the stretch. 

Indiana,  2-1 

Indiana is spending their spring in transition, moving their star QB to wide receiver and installing the Pistol, I mean, Makarov Offense. Who knows, maybe this surprises the entire league and the Cream and Crimson win the Big 10. It’s probably 50/50. If not, IU will be battling it out with the rest of the legit Motor City Bowl contenders. 

Swing Game: 10/3 at Virginia. Indiana has to follow the same script it did in 2007 to go bowling. they need to sweep their four OOC games and try to cobble together a pair of Big 10 wins. The trip to Charlottesville looms large as it’s the only non MAC or FCS team on IU’s OOC slate. A loss means they’ll need to spring an additional league upset to go bowling. A win could set up an Old Oaken Bucket showdown in November with tickets to Detroit on the line. The Bucket wont have seen this much excitement since it slept with Lee Corso. It will be definetly better than the night Matt Pike and Mike Alstott got so drunk and stoned they puked an entire night’s worth of LaBamba munchies into it. Barfed up tacos? That reminds me, anyone know what Lisa Horne is doing these days. 

Michigan, 5/6.  

The Wolverines are the betting favorite. They will be on the leaderboard in the Motor City Bowl chase all season long. Comrade Rodriguez looks to add to the school’s mighty tradition by taking it to their first ever MCB.  To commemorate the event, every Michigan player will also wear the #1 jersey during the contest. And, with the economy, Detroit could really use the boost from a local school qualifying for its prestigious bowl game. One factor weighing against Michigan is its early schedule. It offers a chance for a great start, which could prematurely bump the Maize and Blue out of contention. 

Swing Game: Notre Dame, 9/12. The rivalry is irrelevant no more. A win against the Irish could send Michigan off to a 4-0 start and dreams of bigger bowls. A loss won’t tarnish an early season surge by Michigan, but would  keep their MCB candidacy strong.