It's the middle of October, and both Michigan and Michigan State have realistic expectations to get into a New Year's Six bowl -- or better.
Will it happen? There's a lot of football to be played, including their showdown against each other next weekend in Ann Arbor. In the meantime, let's see how our experts see Saturday's games between U-M and visiting Northwestern (3:30 p.m., BTN) and MSU and host Rutgers (8 p.m., BTN).
Michigan vs. Northwestern
Mark Snyder
Michigan 24, Northwestern 10: These teams have played three straight nail-biters against each other, though we'll stop short of calling them classics.