Oregon State: Gary Andersen spent four years as Utah State's head coach (2009-2012) and in his final season, the Aggies went 11-2 after a bowl win. He used that as springboard to take the Wisconsin job and while the Badgers were 19-7 in his two seasons in Madison, he was supposedly frustrated with the school's high academic standards for athletes. He paid a $3 million buyout and took the open Oregon State job. His first year (2015) was a disaster, as the Beavers had no one to replace QB Sean Mannion and the team went 2-10, including 0-6 on the road while allowing 44.0 PPG.

Minnesota: Tracy Claeys joined the Minnesota staff on Dec. 10, 2010, when Jerry Kill hired him as defensive coordinator. He transformed the Gopher defense into one of the best in the Big Ten and was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2014 season. Claeys filled in for Kill when Kill missed parts of three games in his first three years at Minnesota and for the entire game when Kill had a seizure before a game at Michigan in 2013. Claeys became interim head at Minnesota when Kill retired for health reasons on October 28, 2015 and now assumes the role as head coach in 2016.

The pick: Expect a turnaround for the Beavers in Andersen's second season, as he now has his systems in place. In particular, he's added QB Darell Garretson, a transfer from Utah St. He was recruited by Andersen when he was at Utah State and followed him to Corvallis after red-shirting last season. OSU owns a a deep receiving corps and look for Garretson to put up Mannion-like numbers. Claeys hopes to rely on the RB combo of Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith (the duo combined for 1,379 rushing yards and nine TDs in 20150 but Brooks is is doubtful for Thursday's game with a broken foot suffered in mid-August.The Gophers last had a QB selected in the NFL draft back in 1972 and don't expect senior Mitch Leidner to break that streak come April. The big points are awfully inviting. Oregon St. is a 10* play.