Halloween is known for some strange shenanigans and the Big Ten lived up to that legacy on Halloween weekend. From refusing to shake hands to blowouts to shutouts to scary injuries to Heisman hopefuls, the league did not disappoint.
Team of the Week – Iowa – A+ – Just when I write them off, they put in their best performance in, I don’t know, five years? They dominated Northwestern in every phase of the game en route to a 48-7 shelling that keeps them in line with Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin as one-loss clubs in the West. More importantly for Iowa fans, the blowout shows that they may be able to contend with the Badgers and Huskers – something very few of us thought this time last week.
Illinois – D- – Winning at the Shoe was never going to be easy but four turnovers snuffed any prayer of an upset. The reason this isn’t a failing grade though was the Illini were a little pesky to start the game. They moved the ball a little in the first before the clear talent gap caused the blowout. They played with some fight and some confidence stemming from the Gopher win. They won’t be a pushover the rest of the way, or so it looks, and if they can knock off Iowa at home and/or reeling Northwestern, they may show enough to keep Beckman around.
Indiana – F – A horrible missed call on a Michigan touchdown to make it 10-0 really seemed to sap the Hoosiers of much interest in this contest. The fact is without Sudfeld they cannot compete and will most likely lose out. This seems like an overreaction but 5 of 8 for 24 yards is awful. That is worse than what most triple option teams are putting up now days.
Maryland – C+ – Boy was that an ugly win. Held below 200 yards, 1 for 14 on third down, 2 turnovers, 33 rushing yards (on 31 carries) and 5 fewer minutes of possession than Penn State. So how did they win? First they got an outstanding day from the special teams. In addition to 2 for 2 (including the game winning field goal) the kicking game helped mightily with field position as three punts were kept inside the 20. Second, the defense was unbelievably tight. Knowing that PSU cannot run to save their lives, they keyed on the passing game. Sure it produced 177 yards and was instrumental in creating all the points PSU got, but it wasn’t very efficient. 18 of 42 you will live with every day. They also produced 4 takeaways. Now I’m sure you are all wondering what I think about the refusal to shake hands brew ha ha to start the game. Was it childish? Yes. Was it classless? A little. Is it a big deal? Hell NO. Maryland wants this to be a bitter rivalry game and backed up the stunt with a win. How is this any different than all the clowning other teams do with their rivals? Nothing. I think there is a better way to tool your opponent, but let’s not make any more of it than it was.
Michigan – B+ – It helps that they were taking on a wounded animal, but UM showed no mercy and dropped Indiana pretty easily. I like that Devin Gardner finally put in a performance worthy of what people were writing about him during the summer. One reason he found passing against the Hoosiers so easy though was the rushing attack gave his team balance. Last week I said UM could ride that defense to a feel-good finish and springboard them for 2015. It seems like they heard me since the unit was on fire. Even without a passing game, Tevin Coleman is a difficult back to contain but Michigan held him to 108 yards and out of the endzone.
Michigan State – Idle
Minnesota – Idle
Nebraska – A – It is easy to say the Huskers are a one-trick pony thanks to the outstanding talent of Abdullah but they showed a lot of grit by pulling away from pesky Purdue without him. Even more grit when you factor in a sub par day defensively and Tommy Armstrong’s worst game in a while. Championship teams can adjust on the fly and the Huskers did that brilliantly last Saturday.
Northwestern – F – 180 total yards – just 75 through the air on a woeful 9 of 24 day. 105 rushing yards but 43 carries needed to get there. 4 of 15 on third down. A blocked punt with a scoop and score. Pathetic offense combined with even worse defense. Gave up nearly 500 yards to Iowa…262 through the air and 221 from the ground. The only reason they avoided a shutout was a goof in the punting game by Iowa resulted in a NU drive starting at the 18 yard line.
Ohio State – A – A much more polished look after the lazy game against Penn State. Loved how the ground game generated a 6.7 average and the defense was very stiff. They excelled in a tune up before the massive showdown in East Lansing.
Penn State – C- – The defense was great and the kicking game was amazing but offensively, they still aren’t there. 42 rushing yards on 41 carries is the theme to this team. They simply cannot rush the ball and it cost them again. 4 turnovers is debilitating for a team without much scoring punch. This isn’t a hopeless team like Indiana but too inexperienced. The 2015 and 2016 campaigns should be a lot more fun though for the Lion faithful. A lot more fun.
Purdue – C- – They moved the ball fairly well against a good defense, in fact they out gained Nebraska, but had some costly turnovers, including a pass intercepted in the endzone. Of the Big Ten teams least likely to make a bowl (Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue…Michigan has some life thanks to two easier games before OSU) Purdue is the most impressive. They have their quarterback figured out and play with a lot of heart. Defensively they also seem a little more reliable than the other three. Very excited to see what they do in 2015.
Rutgers – F – 8 first downs, 139 yards of total offense and a goose egg on the scoreboard. Back to the drawing board for this team.
Wisconsin – A – Who needs a passing game when you can rush for 300 yards, score 37 points and pitch a shutout? Shutouts are pretty rare, league shutouts even rarer but road-league shutouts? Practically unheard of. This was the first for the Badger program since 1998 and they have had some decent teams since then. Outstanding effort.
Game of the Week – Maryland at Penn State – A gutsy fourth quarter comeback by the Terps pushed them to bowl eligibility and was a great new chapter in a rivalry game dominated by PSU for decades. Should be a lot of fire for this game in 2015.
Why did I watch this award – Michigan and Indiana spell unwatchable football. Good grief. It was nearly as bad as a CUSA game.
Gambling Report Card
Illinois/OSU – OSU (-28.5), Over (65) – A direct quote from the preview, “Take the Bucks and the over (I think 56-14 sound like a good score).” The final was 56-14.
Indiana/Michigan – UM (-7), Under (52.5) – Not only did Michigan win going away (by 24) but the two combined for just 34 points thanks to Indiana’s awful offense.
Iowa/Northwestern – Under (42), points (UI -4, degenerate tip) – In my defense, my dad loved this and thought we were losing too. If this is the result I can expect when picking against Iowa, than I will continue to bet against them.
Maryland/PSU – PSU (-3.5), Over (47.5) – Where was this Maryland team against Wisconsin? I’m sure that is what the coaches are trying to figure out. Huge win for the Terps. Oh, I am now 0 for 4 in the last two games after starting 4 for 4. Damn.
Nebraska/Purdue – NU (-23.5), Under (60.5) – Earned a split as the two combined for 49 points but Purdue’s 14 points were enough to prevent the Husker cover.
Rutgers/Wisconsin – UW (-13.5), Over (52) – Another split as UW dropped the hammer offensively but did not let Rutgers score, killing any chance at the over.
Week Record: 6-6
Season Record: 58-55-2
Josh’s Top 25
Real AP:
1 – Miss St.
2 – Florida St.
3 – Auburn
4 – Alabama
5 – Oregon
6 – TCU
7 – Michigan St.
8 – Notre Dame
9 – Kansas St.
10 – Baylor
11 – Arizona St.
12 – Ole Miss
13 – Ohio St.
14 – LSU
15 – Nebraska – Ranked below two 2-loss teams and their 8 wins match 1,2 and 5 (and Marshall) as most in the nation. Smells pretty underrated if you ask me.
16 – Oklahoma
17 – Georgia
18 – UCLA
19 – Clemson
20 – Utah
21 – Arizona
22 – Duke
23 – Marshall
24 – West Virgina – Only three-loss team ranked.
25 – Wisconsin
Josh:
1. Miss St.
2. Alabama
3. Florida St.
4. Auburn
5. Oregon
6. Michigan St.
7. Kansas St.
8. TCU
9. Notre Dame
10. Nebraska
11. Ohio State
12. Baylor
13. Oklahoma
14. UCLA – Swept the Arizona teams, including crushing ol Sparky. They look like they are rounding into form at the right time.
15. Arizona State
16. Arizona
17. LSU
18. Clemson
19. Georgia – Violating a guideline with this one but UGA was dominated by an unranked Florida team and has zero defense. Clemson has matured nicely since the opening week loss and plays some very strong defense.
20. Duke
21. Ole Miss – Steep drop, yes, but I am a sucker for well coached teams with offensive lines. We know Hugh Freeze can recruit but based on some of the boneheaded mistakes his teams make, I’m not sold on his in-game skills and the OL has been destroyed by injuries.
22. West Virginia – Keeping them in but dropping Utah…I’ll explain it. WVU’s three losses are to top 12 teams per my rankings. Utah lost to Washington State. End of controversy?
23. Marshall
24. Louisville – Had FSU on the ropes before some coaching gaffes cost them. Still love their defense and that Miami win is looking better and better.
25. Georgia Southern/Colorado State/Wisconsin/USC/Boston College/Iowa – Mercy we have some teams to look at. GSU has scored 400 points and has allowed just 188. They are 7-2 and rolling with six straight victories. Their two losses are single-possession games to ACC clubs. CSU boasts the best record of this group at 8-1 and their BC win keeps looking better. They lack style points and similar to GSU, their league is letting them down. It hasn’t helped that they lost to the only other Mountain West team with some swagger in Boise State. USC is an interesting team since their three losses (Utah, Boston College, ASU) are all solid clubs. The problem is they don’t have any real wins like WVU to back up being ranked with 3 losses other than the Arizona game. BC has 3 losses as well but their win over USC is counteracted by a loss to CSU in this group. Nice ACC surprise, not one of the 25 best teams in the nation. Iowa has a 6-2 mark but the Iowa State loss is a bad one and none of their wins are marquee. That leaves Wisconsin. They are 6-2 and while Northwestern is a bad loss, it isn’t to the level of Iowa. The fact that they have outscored teams 89-7 the last two weeks has people’s attention again – mine included.
Where is ECU?! From 12th to unranked, what’s the deal Josh? Well I thought hanging with South Carolina, knocking off UNC and Va Tech as well as rolling through the American was impressive. They have struggled two weeks in a row though in the AAC and this has been compounded by Tech and the Tar Heels falling apart. I still really like them but losing to Temple is not something one of the 25 best teams do. What top 25 teams would do is bounce back, take down a decent Cincinnati team and win out, including a game against well-coached UCF.
Big Ten and Counting 