Another week, another topsy-turvy week in the league. Michigan State and Nebraska lived up to the hype. Northwestern won again, Michigan lost again and Darrell Hazell got his first league win at Purdue, possibly saving his job (what does that mean for Beckman?!). Ohio State shamed Maryland and Indiana’s bowl hopes got back on track with a must win against North Texas. All in all, a pretty fun Saturday in the Midwest.
Team of the Week – Northwestern – A – The Wildcats followed up the Penn State win with an equally dominating performance against Wisconsin. PSU and UW have flaws, yes, but to sweep them in such impressive fashion raises my eyebrows. They may have given up plenty of yards (especially on the ground) but this game is about points. Thanks to four takeaways they held the Badgers to just 14 points.
Illinois – F – If they can’t beat Purdue, who can they beat? The loss drops Tim Beckman to 9-21 (1-17) and has the already irate fan base good and steamed. The remaining schedule: at Wisconsin, Minnesota, at Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State, at Northwestern does them very little favors. It is in the realm of possibility they go 3-9 (0-8) this season which would drop Beckman to a brutal 9-27 (1-23). Pretty hard to justify a fourth year with those numbers. As for the Purdue game, Austin Appleby sparked the passing attack in his first career start and the Train sliced and diced Illinois’ hapless defense for over 550 yards, 50% on third down and 38 points.
Indiana – A – North Texas has struggled out of the gate and Indiana showed no mercy, dominating the Mean Green. The win gets them to 3 wins and with low scoring Iowa, reeling Michigan, flawed Penn State and Purdue left on the slate (Rutgers and OSU are the other games) a bowl looks possible. Crucial win.
Iowa – Idle
Maryland – F – The shaky defense collapsed against OSU as the Bucks racked up 533 yards and 52 points. Worse, the offense was slowed enough – and coughed the ball up four times – to turn the game into a laugher. The OSU game was always going to be tough but most expected them to be competitive. They are off this week which is nice timing before getting a chance to right the ship against Iowa.
Michigan – C- – A better performance this week at Rutgers but still a loss. The offense was a tad better with the passing game showing a pulse (outside the interception) and they did score 24 points. The defense let them down this week with Nova dropping 400 yards, 3 TD and 0 INTs on the Wolverines.
Michigan State – B- – Well they played a good hockey game. The fourth quarter was all Nebraska. They put up over 400 yards on a nice defense and without 3 turnovers might have added even more points. Defensively they locked down Nebraska’s vaunted rushing attack. We know this is a good team and we know Nebraska was stiff competition. The important thing is they won and cleared their last major hurdle until the Ohio State showdown.
Minnesota – Idle
Nebraska – C – They forced turnovers but sabotaged themselves with 4 giveaways and a nightmarish day running the ball. This was Nebraska’s tallest task so far this season and they were competitive on the road and nearly had a historic comeback. Thanks to Wisconsin’s obvious issues the Huskers’ still look to be the class of the west. Should be a great title game if they can get the rematch.
Ohio State – A+ – So much for this being a tough test. They stomped the Terps and racked up lots of yards and lots of points. With just one ranked team left (MSU) there is a good chance of running the tables and slipping into the tournament if the rest of the leagues continue to enjoy the chaos of last Saturday.
Penn State – Idle
Purdue – A – Loved the offense as they dropped 349 yards and a 7.1 average on Illinois with the running game. The new look passing attack, thanks to starting a new QB in Austin Appleby, was solid. He went 15/20 for 202 yards and a score. Zero turnovers for the Boilermakers and an efficient day on third and fourth down. Not sure they can squeeze three more wins out of this talent thanks to a rough schedule (MSU, at Minnesota, at Nebraska, Wisconsin, Northwestern, at Indiana) but they have shown enough growth and broke through in league that I believe Hazell has done more than enough to get a third year on campus.
Rutgers – B+ – Running game and defense weren’t great but boy oh boy did Gary Nova have a game. More importunely, they got the win and are now 5-1 (1-1) with a great shot at a New Years Day bowl if they can keep it up down the stretch.
Wisconsin – F – As a team the passing game went 12/29, 138 yards, 4.6 avg, 1 TD, 4 INT. That won’t cut it against the better defensive teams in the league. They still have Rutgers, Iowa and Minnesota with solid defenses and Maryland which can put up points at a rate that will be hard for Wisconsin to hang with. They also face just a little club in Nebraska. There are more losses on this schedule if they can’t find any sort of balance.
Game of the Week – Nebraska at Michigan State – Unlike the MSU fans who left early, I was riveted. I was curious to see how big a margin MSU could make the game and then it turned into seeing if Nebraska could do the unthinkable and come all the way back.
Why Did I Watch This Award – Wisconsin at Northwestern – For all the Badger fans out there, this one was brutal. Simply unwatchable between the horrible play calling, horrible play and turnovers galore.
Gambling Report Card
Illinois vs Purdue – Over (57) – The league’s pillow fight produced 65 points and giving us our first paycheck of the week.
Indiana vs North Texas – Indiana (-13.5), Over (58.5) – Hoosiers came through with a 25 point win and their 49 points helped clear the over easily as we double-dip in this one.
Maryland vs Ohio State – Over (59), OSU (-8.5, degenerate tip) – Social gamblers and my fellow degenerates enjoyed this one as we all won money. The over was obliterated thanks to OSU dropping 52 on the Terps and they won by a much wider margin than anyone anticipated.
Michigan at Rutgers – Points (RU -2), Under (46.5) – Well I thought UM would play better and pull off the win. They did play better and despite losing, we do get our money back from the push. Figured a little more defense in this as the two combined for 50 so we lost money there. Shoot.
Michigan State vs Nebraska – MSU (-7), Over (60) – Well poop, Nebraska’s insane comeback killed the spread and the weather made the scoring much lower than anticipated.
Northwestern vs Wisconsin – UW (-8), Over (47.5) – A double helping of nope.
Week Record: 5-5-1
Season Record: 38-36-2
Random Musing
After driving halfway across the nation I can safely say Denver is one of the must underrated cities I have ever been in. I enjoyed every second I was there with all the great craft breweries and the local music scene. The Mountains aren’t half bad either. It might not have the history of Washington DC, the size of New York City, the food of Chicago, the music of New Orleans, the beaches of San Diego, the diversity of Los Angeles or the coffee of Seattle but it has no weaknesses. DC gets scetchy after dark. NYC smells like piss, Chicago has winter, New Orleans has humidity, San Diego has nothing but beaches (and a zoo), LA is a nightmare to get around in and Seattle has rain. Denver is a beautiful city that you can walk almost anywhere in. The food might not be as good as Chicago, but it is close enough. The music might not be as good as the Big Easy, but it is close enough and on down the line. If you haven’t ever been to Denver I strongly suggest hitting it up. You’ll thank me later.
Big Ten and Counting 