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Staff picks: Smooth sailing for MSU, Michigan

Welcome to the Big Ten season!

Michigan and Michigan State both open conference play Saturday with games they're favored to win: the Wolverines at Maryland (noon, BTN) and the Spartans hosting Purdue (noon, ESPN2). The U-M game, of course, has moved up eight hours because of the threat of Hurricane Joaquin.

So will the games follow the cakewalk script? Our experts weigh in:

Michigan vs. Maryland

Mark Snyder

Michigan 35, Maryland 10: No one expects Michigan, with all of its momentum, to be slowed by Maryland, the Big Ten's worst team right now.