The league may not have started too hot but they certainly got their act together at the last minute of the out-of-conference slate. The league went 12-1 with several marquee wins. With the struggles of the ACC so far, combined with the Big Ten going 3-0 against them this week, I think the Big Ten is out of the cellar of power conference rankings too. Not too shabby.
Team of the Week – Indiana – A+ – First win over a ranked opponent since 2006 and the road variety to boot. What’s incredible is Indiana pulled this off despite giving up 500 yards of offense and going just 1 for 14 on third down. It wasn’t a clean performance but it is worthy of an A+ and could springboard Indiana. The Hoosiers host Maryland and North Texas before going to Iowa. If they match or improve their Missouri performance, they are capable of winning all three. That would put them at 5-1 before hosting Michigan State. Talk about an opportunity for a signature matchup for the upstart Hoosiers.
Illinois – B- – Texas State was a pretty pesky team but the Illini found a way to turn it on in the second half and build a lead. Yes a late score by the Bobcats made it a single score game but Illinois found a way to seal the deal. The offense is coming along nicely, especially the rushing attack, which punished Texas State to the tune of 219 yards on 27 carries. Good for an 8.1 average. If Illinois had any hope of a bowl game they needed to take advantage of the non-conference schedule. They did just that maximizing the three winnable games to go 3-1. They host Purdue and Minnesota – both winnable and also get Iowa and at Northwestern – two games that are doable. Don’t look now but bowl hopes are alive and well in Champaign.
Iowa – C – Outgained by over a hundred yards, another rough day running the ball and yet a salvaged victory. This Iowa team continues to bewilder their own fans. Strap yourself in for a wild ride of nail bitting games. The defensive adjustments at halftime were incredible as Pitt was bottled up in the second frame. That unit will keep the Hawks in most games.
Maryland – B – A nice road win but holy smokes the defense needs to improve. The Orange racked up nearly 600 yards of offense and 370 on the ground. 20 points allowed is good but that is living dangerously.
Michigan – F – Against power conference caliber teams (Utah and Notre Dame) the offense has produced exactly three points. Uh-oh!
Michigan State – A – I cannot give an A+ when your opponent is Eastern Michigan. Maybe if they had hit 80 points instead of a pedestrian 73 I would give that boost.
Minnesota – D+ – A win is a win, but come on. They completed just one measly pass. 1/7, 7 yards, 0 td, 1 int will not get it done in-league. Even triple-option teams have more success than that.
Nebraska – A- – Solid win against a Miami team that should be bowling at the end of the year. Still a few flaws that could bite Nebraska later in the season. First is the defense. 31 points and 435 yards isn’t very hot. Louisville held this same team to just 13 points. Two turnovers isn’t great either. The good news is that they have plenty to build on. The overall defense wasn’t great but the rush defense was. They also forced 3 turnovers so despite the offense being a little sloppy they still won the turnover margin. Lastly their passing game continues to do just enough to keep opponents honest. Tommy Armstrong isn’t the leagues best qb and he isn’t the league’s most valuable player but I would say he is the most important. Without his numbers, Nebraska’s ground game would not be what it is. Without that rushing attack Nebraska doesn’t have a prayer to win the Big Ten. Guess that makes Armstrong pretty important.
Northwestern – C- – Thank heavens for Western Illinois. The Mildcats get into the win column but against most teams their performance would have resulted in a loss. The passing attack was bland. The rushing game was average and they turned it over twice. NU only produced 283 yards against a FCS team. If WIU had taken better care of the ball (4 turnovers) there is a very good chance Northwestern is sitting at 0-3 right now.
Ohio State – Idle
Penn State – A – They took UMass to the woodshed like we all expected. The much maligned running game showed a pulse against the overmatched Minutemen. The big question is if they can build upon that and keep it going against stiffer competition.
Purdue – B+ – The score doesn’t look terribly impressive, but they were in control much of the way as the Boilermakers built up a 25-0 lead and didn’t look back. Purdue was pretty balanced offensively and the defense was stout in the opening thirty minutes. There is something to grow from with this performance but temper expectations – this was against FCS Southern Illinois. They host Iowa next week in what will be a much better measuring stick of Purdue’s improvement from last year to this year.
Rutgers – A – The defense put up yet another good performance and the offense fixed its biggest problem from a week ago – ball security. It’s amazing how much easier it is to win games when you don’t turn it over! I love how their defense is up to whatever task they face. So far they have seen the air raid at WSU and a month later faced the triple option of Navy and everything in between. This team probably won’t win the east but they will be a nasty thorn in the side of everyone they face and an extremely tough out.
Wisconsin – A+ – So much for my theory that Bowling Green would keep it competitive. 644 yards of rushing will basically beat anybody; let alone a team playing without their starting quarterback.
Game of the Week – Miami at Nebraska – A stunner considering the Iowa and Indiana games were so tight but I really liked the chippiness of this one. Lots of strong hits, lots of extracurricular activity after the whistle. I would love to see this develop into a more frequent rivalry. These teams just don’t like each other. Guess the glitz and glam of south beach and the blue collar fields of Nebraska don’t exactly mix well.
Why Did I Watch This Award – Utah at Michigan – Michigan cannot score, the game was boring and oh yeah, a weather delay! God himself wanted ESPN 2 to put something else on so he pulled a Pacman Jones and made it rain.
Gambling Report Card
Illinois vs Texas State – Over (62) – 42+35=money in our pockets.
Indiana at Missouri – Missouri (-13.5), Under (70.5) – You know what, considering the magnitude of the upset, I am pretty happy with a split and breaking even for this game.
Iowa at Pittsburgh – Pitt (-7), Under (46.5) – I think I dialed in on betting for Iowa games…ignore the spread and just hammer the under. Another split.
Maryland at Syracuse – Over (52) – A meaningless touchdown by Syracuse in the final minute brought the total to 54 points. Cash well earned.
Michigan vs Utah – Michigan (-4) – From the preview, “If Michigan can’t hold home-serve and win by a touchdown against a team that went 5-7 a year ago, hasn’t won a road game against a power-5 team since 2011 and will have traveled halfway across the nation (see USC as why this matters) then I guess we don’t deserve to win any money.” We didn’t deserve to win any money.
Michigan State vs Eastern Michigan – MSU (-45.5), Over (52) – Not only did MSU cover that insane spread, they did so by two touchdowns. The over was also obliterated thanks to the favorites pouring on 73 points. Beautiful double-down for this game.
Minnesota vs San Jose State – Under (51.5) – Vegas was nowhere close as the two combined for just 31 points. We are killing it this week folks!
Nebraska vs Miami – Nebraska (7.5), Over (56) – Yet another successful double-up as Nebraska won by 10 and the two rivals racked up 72 total points.
Penn State vs Umass – Points (-27), Under (degenerate tip) – Oof, not only did I steer casual betters wrong but the degenerates also missed money. Guess the signs of life UMass showed against Vandy and Colorado were fool’s gold.
Rurtgers at Navy – Under (53.5) – 55 points scored, damn.
Wisconsin vs Bowling Green – Points (-27), Under (degenerate tip) – Damn. Clearly overestimated BGSU playing without Matt Johnson.
Week Record: 9-8
Season Record: 23-24-1
Random Musing
Rich Rodriguez went 105-62-2 before getting the Michigan job at three schools, highlighted by his 60-26 run at West Virginia. Brady Hoke was 47-50 with his high-water mark a MAC title at Ball State. Once at Michigan Rich Rod had the problem of turning Lloyd Carr’s team into a spread attack team. The transition was rocky but his record improved every year. He was fired after three. In Hoke’s first season, Rich Rod’s upperclassmen got that team to 11 wins. Hoke’s record has since gotten worse each season. Arizona meanwhile has gone 20-10 with a 4-0 start this season under Rodriguez – in a tougher league I might add. So what does this boil down too? My relief at Rich Rod’s dismissal three years ago proves to be justified. That man can flat-out coach. Maybe Hoke can too and maybe Michigan will be more patient with him but it is pretty clear based on that 11-2 season in 2011 that Michigan was on the up-swing with Rich Rod and that firing him set this program back several years.
Big Ten and Counting 