A disheartening weekend for me as my personal team, Iowa, face-planted in epic fashion at Maryland. Hats off to the Terps for overcoming an early 14-0 hole but Iowa’s coaching leaves much to be desired. It was downright brutal. I really don’t want to relive this weekend but since I write the grades I guess I have to…
Team of the Week – Nebraska – A – They shook off a sluggish first half (down 17-14) to dominate Northwestern in the third and fourth en route to a 38-17 victory. They racked up over 450 yards against a hot defense and surrendered just 290. Their balance continues to impress me as the passing game chipped in 237 yards as the running game could only contribute 234. Clearly the best of the West.
Illinois – Idle
Indiana – F – Without Nate Sudfeld the passing game was going to struggle. I don’t think anyone thought it would be this bad though as the Hoosiers combined to go just 5/16 for 11 yards. To overcome a substandard defense this team needs to score…a lot. 17 points won’t cut it. Such a shame.
Iowa – F – Harsh but true. Their coaching decisions were just baffling all day. With a strong 20 mph wind Iowa deferred to the second half. Maryland naturally opts to receive the ball. Iowa than takes the wind…so they have it the first and third quarters? That set the tone all day. A pick six sealed the game for Maryland but again it was a terrible call. An out pattern that required a 30 yard throw into the 20 mph wind to gain just 3 yards? Moronic. Oh and down 3 to start the fourth quarter sounds like a good time to throw 13 consecutive passes when you have a running back averaging 8 yards a carry on the day. Fools.
Maryland – B – First the good…the struggling Maryland ground game got a boost as they gashed Iowa for 212 yards. They also forced 3 turnovers. For the bad though, this was Iowa. They got down early, had some sloppy play (turnovers and penalties) and barely held on late against a pedestrian team. What in the world will they do against Michigan State? This wasn’t an inspiring outcome.
Michigan – Idle
Michigan State – A – Showed no mercy against the over-matched Hoosiers as they thumped them 56-17.
Minnesota – C – Well they won, that’s the good thing. Offensively they were impressive – especially in the second half – and their special teams continues to be a boost as Ryan Santoso hit two big field goals, including the game winner late in the fourth. But where in the world did the defense go? 451 yards to Purdue. 38 points to Purdue. Those aren’t numbers that you want to see, even with the Boilermaker improvements this season. Hard to see this team getting over the hump against a more complete team like Nebraska.
Northwestern – D – So much for being new and improved. That two week blip has faded with back-to-back losses and they slipped under .500 again. This team is not talented enough offensively to score past teams like the good old Cardiac Cat teams in the 90s and early 00s and their defense simply doesn’t have enough strength for physical teams a la Minnesota or against multi-deminsional teams like the Huskers.
Ohio State – A – Rinse and repeat what I wrote about the Spartans (same score too, strange!). Can you remember the Braxton Miller era?
Penn State – Idle
Purdue – C- – They gave up the lead in a very poor second half but the improvement is clearly there. The next step in the rebuild will be finishing games off like they failed to do against Minnesota. To do that the defense needs to come around more. Offensively they have it now with Austin Appleby running the show but they cannot get off the field enough defensively.
Rutgers – F – 3 turnovers and gave up nearly 600 yards of offense. That won’t win you very many games. Thankfully they still have Indiana to get them bowl eligible and do-able games against Wisconsin at @ Maryland to try and improve their bowl date but any hopes of upsetting Nebraska or Michigan State seem very slim considering the talent gulf Ohio State demonstrated the other day.
Wisconsin – Idle
Game of the Week – Purdue at Minnesota – A back and forth, one point game. Come on, we dream of games like that as fans. Of course I had some skin in the game since a Purdue win would help out my Hawks quite a bit (of course this was assuming Iowa would not shoot themselves in the foot). Despite their undefeated league start the Gophers are still quite the head-scratcher of a team. When their defense plays lights out, the offense goes to sleep and the game is tight. When the offense is clicking, the defense uses it as an off week and the game is tight. Not sure how much longer they can go playing like this, but it is certainly fun to watch.
Why Did I Watch This Award – Michigan State at Indiana – When I saw the score was competitive, I flipped over to see just how in the world the Hoosiers had a lead. Seconds after flipping too it MSU went up 21-17 and the rest of the game went pretty much like that. I would take a peek and see MSU score. 15 minutes later, flip back to see if the Hoosiers had anything in the tank and MSU would put up another score. Waste of time.
Gambling Report Card
Indiana vs Michigan State – MSU (-15.5), Over (59.6) – Easy double up here as MSU steamrolled Indiana by 39 and the two combined for over 70 points.
Iowa at Maryland – Stay Away / Points (UM -5, degenerate tip) – Well I saved the amateur a few bucks but me and my fellow degenerate took a loss.
Minnesota vs Purdue – Points (UM -14), Under (48.5) – Too much faith in the Gopher defense but we earned the split as Purdue easily covered being two touchdown dogs.
Nebraska at Northwestern – Nebraska (-6.5) – Picked up a few dollar bills here as the Huskers would win by 21.
Ohio State vs Rutgers – OSU (-21.5), Under (63) – Well I figured the Bucks would kill them (they did, winning by 39) but I thought Rutgers up and down offense wouldn’t put up many points but their 17 helped kill that over so we settle for the split.
Week Record: 5-3-0
Season Record: 48-43-0
Random Musing Josh’s Top 25
Well I had so much fun a week ago looking at the top 25 I am thinking about changing this segment. After all, I do another random musing in the preview posts, so why not mix it up. Here is the real one:
1. Miss State – Agree
2. Florida State – Won thanks to a 50-50 call that was iffy at best because of the bang-bang nature of the play. I thought the FSU defender had a hand on the shoulder and was gripping the Irish player just as much as the wideout was pushing/blocking him. I would have swallowed my whistle there. I can say all this since I hate each team equally and was not rooting for either one. They sit here since they are undefeated.
3. Ole Miss – KILLED a somewhat serviceable Tennessee team. By somewhat serviceable I mean that the Vols would probably finish mid pack in the Big Ten, Pac 12, ACC and would finish second in the AAC (to my boys from Greenville of course.)
4. Alabama – So much for my theory that top 10 teams don’t beat hapless Arkansas by a single point. What a butt-whippin’ that was.
5. Auburn – Idle
6. Oregon – Nice to see UO jump MSU (why were they ranked below them last week) but in the suddenly weak Pac 12 North, they face just one more ranked team…seriously, what happened to Stanford?
7. Notre Dame – Glad (kill me) they didn’t slide too far after that controversial end.
8. Michigan State – Sorry Sparty, but no one outside the Big Ten thinks much of you killing a weak Hoosier team.
9. Georgia – Long, long time ago since a healthy South Carolina team got the better of them. How bad do they humiliate Florida this week and does Willy Mussy get shitcanned at halftime?
10. TCU – Thank you!
11. Kansas State – Thank you! But still low in my opinion.
12. Baylor – Told you good teams don’t give up 33.5 points per game in league play. Long time since that shutout of SMU and 6 points scored by a FCS team.
13. Ohio State – I was bearish on them last week and then they spanked Rutgers. I may have to be bullish on them now.
14. Arizona State – Just no…they were killed by UCLA. Thankfully they play 3 ranked teams (okay one of those is a Utah team I can’t stand but two legit ranked teams) so they will sink or swim down the stretch.
15. Arizona – Idle….waaaaaay too low I think.
16. Nebraska – Seriously, what do they have to do to get some love? Replay McNeese State and crush them?
17. Oklahoma – I found a team with worse special team’s than Iowa’s!
18. East Carolina – Too low alert!
19. Utah – Marquee wins…none. Bad losses…Washington State. Sure, they are a top 20 team.
20. USC – In their defense, BC does have a winning record…………barely (4-3)
21. Clemson – Feels right. I don’t think they should have ever fallen out of the polls for a loss to UGA and the tight one against FSU but they don’t feel top 20 either.
22. West Virginia – Three straight wins have gotten them here but let’s break down those five wins. FCS (doesn’t count), mediocre Maryland, Kansas (doesn’t count), mediocre Texas Tech, overrated Baylor. Color me not impressed.
23. Marshall – Their latest victim, Florida International, has one of the worst offenses in the nation. FIU also played two FCS teams; however it didn’t help them pad their record much since they lost to one of them.
24. LSU – No, no, no a million times no! Their five wins are Wisconsin (no longer ranked), Sam Houston (FCS), UL Monroe (tiny Sun Belt), New Mexico State (one of the worst programs in the nation…probably the worst), Florida (haha) and Kentucky. When Kentucky is your BEST win, you have some issues. Also ranked teams shouldn’t lose games 41-7.
25. UCLA – maybe…but I think there are more deserving teams out there like Minnesota. The ASU win is the only thing they can hang their hat on.
The real top 25
1. Miss State and Ole Miss – Had them tied a week ago and nothing changed. If the Egg bowl is a classic and the winning team goes 12-0 (and wins the SEC) and the loser is 11-1, do both make the tournament? I would say yes.
3. Alabama – You wouldn’t like them when they are angry.
4. Florida State
5. Auburn
6. Notre Dame
7. Oregon
8. Michigan State
9. Georgia – How did they drop three spots after beating Arkansas? Well that’s what happens when you are the quietest top ten team of all time. I had to double check my notes that I even had the Dawgs this high a week ago. I love when my Hawkeyes fly under the radar so I have a feeling a lot of people in Athens are happy the target is on the state of Mississippi, Alabama and Will Muschamp. Keep it quiet boys, silent ninja style.
10. Kansas State – Their lone loss (Auburn) is more impressive than TCU’s choke job to a Baylor team I think very little of.
11. ECU
12. TCU
13. Arizona – Regardless of what happens the rest of the way, can they please destroy Utah and Arizona State. That’s all I ask.
14. Ohio State
15. Nebraska
16. Baylor – One more game and I don’t have to rank them anymore! Crap the bye week than Kansas. I’ll rephrase, Three more weeks and then I don’t have to rank them anymore!
17. USC
18. Oklahoma – Knowing how OU has gone historically under Stoops, watch them win out, be 10-2 (7-2) and some how win the league. That’s just what they do.
19. Minnesota
20. Clemson
21. Duke
23. Louisville – Two league road losses by a combined 8 points. Quietly putting together a nice season and the Miami win will look better and better as the season goes on and the Caines get some more Ws.
24. UCLA – I really wanted to put Georgia Southern here (5-2 / 4-0) as their two losses were by a combined five points and both were at ACC schools but I went with the Bruins. After all they spanked Arizona State (who everyone but me thinks is good). I know they lost to Utah but I still think they are better than the Utes so I am violating one of my own rules and ignoring the head to head. I hate doing it and is pretty rare but felt it was justified considering the body of work between Utah and UCLA.
25. Marshall – I really did not want to rank them but undefeated is undefeated. I will reward them for this week.
Big Ten and Counting 