RB Josh McCray (ILL) - Feels/Looks like Illinois may have dodged a major bullet with the Week 0 injury to McCray as it is not a season ending injury despite the fact it looked exactly like one. While Chase Brown is the undisputed starting RB, McCray showed ability/explosiveness last year and was expected to take a big step forward and to help fill in for Brown to keep him fresh. Running the ball looks like it will be Illinois' most effective way of moving the ball again and Brown toting the rock 30+ times a game just isn't very sustainable. Getting McCray back would be huge from a depth perspective and adding another playmaker is massive for a lacking offense.

OL Matthew Bedford (IU) - The worst OL in the B1G just got worse. Bedford, the only IU lineman to have All-B1G honors, tore his ACL vs. Illinois. Indiana will look to replace the veteran with a transfer from Western Texas A&M. Losing your left tackle is always tough but when he also is your best player, it stings a lot more. The impact? An inept IU rushing attack becomes more inept? While even with Bedford playing Indiana was likely to resort to passing the ball more, the injury reinforces my view that IU will be very pass oriented the rest of the way.

WRs Nico Ragaini & Keagan Johnson (Iowa) - Iowa's top 2 WRs will again be out this week vs Iowa State after missing the season opener. Obviously this hurts the prospects of Iowa's offense taking a meaningful step forward this week and certainly limits their upside until the return (keep in mind Iowa lost 2 other top receivers from the '21 team to Purdue in the offseason). This reinforces my view of Iowa State + points and the under in the game. I see scenarios where either, or both, teams do not get to double digits.

Hybrid/Safety Darrius Snow & Xavier Henderson (MSU) - Spartans may have won the game but I am sure Tucker and Hazleton didn't feel too good walking off the field knowing they had lost 2 of their top defenders to injuries. Snow is a dynamic hybrid player who was poised for a breakout year and was a unique athlete on the Spartan D, able to play multiple positions. Snow had a brutal leg injury and is out for the year. Henderson, a veteran w/ All-B1G accolades, will miss a chunk of time but is expected to return at some point. Losing a key guy like Henderson in the back end for a secondary that struggled desperately at times last year is tough. We will have to wait until Week 3 when MSU travels to Washington (hello Mr. Penix) to evaluate how significant these injuries may end up being for MSU.