Two coaches fired, two programs finishing strong, a Western champion crowned and Iowa being…Iowa. Week 13 was an interesting on to say the least.
Team of the Week – Illinois A – For the second week in a row it is those plucky Fighting Beckmans. They dropped 291 rushing yards and 438 total on their rival en route to a 47 point explosion at Northwestern. The defense slacked in the second half but with a massive 26-7 lead at the break, it didn’t matter. Illinois is bowling, Beckaman saved his job, the team gained momentum for next year and the kids rallied – always a nice sign for chemistry and future mojo as a club. I rag on 6-6 making bowls but in Illinois case, the way they came together at 4-6 to win out and make a bowl is special.
Indiana – B – Indiana rallied (?) down 13-3 in a completely meaningless game outside the state of Indiana. Winning their second straight bucket is nice and after an injury plagued season finishing on a high note was nice. Let’s see if this is enough to keep Kevin Wilson around. Personally, I would give him one more year. The offense is vastly improved, as expected, and the team was .500 and playing Iowa tight on the road before Sudfeld went down with his season ending injury. It may also be harder to find a coach when both Nebraska and Michigan are also in the hiring process. The allure of the Big Ten for a good candidate would draw them to Ann Arbor or Lincoln to join a prestige program. If they wait, give Wilson one last try, then be first in line next winter if it doesn’t work out could be a smarter play.
Iowa – F – Special teams – horrible. Defense – atrocious. Offense – awful. Iowa is a triple-threat in the spectacularly bad. For the few Iowa fans defending the team for putting up 31 regulation points, need I remind you that 14 of them were on goofy defensive and special teams plays? 17 points by the offense will not win many league games. Gary Barta says they are not reevaluating the staff. Guess what Mr. Barta, the fan base is reevaluating you. Your marks are not impressive. Once Ferentz’s final leg to stand on is gone, the new AD will do what he wants with the 16 year coach and his staff.
Maryland – F – Talk about clutching defeat from the jaws of victory. Maryland was up 35-10 just minutes before the break and rolling. The defensive meltdown was massive but 3 second half points doesn’t help the cause either. Considering they should have finished 8-4 (5-3) and made a nice little bowl game, 7-5 (4-4) with such a choke job could have Randy Edsall’s seat a tad warm next year. It didn’t help matters that former UM coach, Ralph Friedgen, is the Rutgers OC who engineered the insane comeback.
Michigan – D – A perfect summation of the Brady Hoke era. Good for a half, not good enough to win the game. Hoke was fired earlier today as a result of a sliding record that dipped below .500 this year at 5-7. The search begins but considering it has been 10 years since a conference title, Michigan’s always eager fan base may have to learn some patience as this looks more and more like a multiyear rebuild and not a quick fix.
Michigan State – B – They took out the trash that is Penn State. It wasn’t flashy but the results are mighty effective. The defense is rounding into great form, sadly it is a few losses too late due to an idiotic post season structure.
Minnesota – B- – We have applauded this team all year for making great adjustments at halftime. Sadly Wisconsin out maneuvered them and dominated the second half. It felt like the so-so passing game would haunt Minnesota at some point this year. It did in Madison as that game produced just 95 yards on 5-18 passing. The numbers would have been even uglier if not for Maxx Williams’ fantastic 53 yard reception, with at least 43 of that coming after the catch. Unfortunately for Minnesota fans, that was the bruising tight end’s only catch.
Nebraska – C – Rallying to beat Iowa was nice but getting fired a few days later is not what Bo Peilini had in mind. Was it a good call? I would say no. Banking nine wins a year is pretty impressive. His numbers against ranked teams and above .500 clubs left a lot to be desired, but at least he doesn’t lose to Iowa State on a regular basis. If Nebraska has a plan and a big name all lined up, then go for it. If this turns into a slow search and a desperation Callahan hire than the Cornhuskers could be on the mat for a while. Huge gamble. Let’s see if it pays off.
Northwestern – F – The defense was pathetic all day. When I picked Northwestern to win, I didn’t think that missing up-and-down Trevor Siemian would be that big a deal. The quarterback situation behind him was a mess though. If you aren’t prepared as a back up, your coaches have failed you. Fitzy has one of the longest leashes in the nation, but this is two straight losing seasons. A third will make 2016 mighty interesting.
Ohio State – B+ – Well they won the battle but may have lost the war once J.T. Barrett went down with his injury. More worrying is the points allowed to a sub-par Michigan team (28) and a rather unknown running back getting the best of them (Drake Johnson, 74 yards, 4.9 avg, 2 scores). The Wisconsin game looks a lot more difficult than it did a few weeks ago.
Penn State – C- – Defense was outstanding, limiting the yards to under 300 but 27 points (7 came from the opening kick off) is way too many for PSU’s pathetic offense. That side of the ball didn’t disappoint: 233 total yards, 38 on the ground.
Purdue – F – So much for Austin Appleby being the future for this program. His stinker against Indiana will lead to a long, long off season for the coaching staff to figure out where to go under center. Worse, with Akeem Hunt’s graduation, this team will be without its lone offensive star. 2014-2015 might be even worse this year if something isn’t righted between now and opening day. A scary proposition for train nation.
Rutgers – A – It was ugly but when you out score a team 24-3 in the second half to come back to win, you deserve an A. Getting plastered 35-10 in the first half RU let it rip. Gary Nova passed 42 times, connecting on 28 for 347 yards and 4 touchdowns. He engineered a solid drive to make it 35-17 before the half. Not ideal but that touchdown was critical since 18 is two TDs, 1 2PC and a field goal away. 25 needs four touchdowns or an equally improbably 3TD, 3 2PC and a field goal run…four scores either way.
Wisconsin – A+ – When running yards were hard to come by in the first half, the passing game kept them in it. After some adjustments at the break UW was rolling. They held a solid Gopher club to just 272 yards and only 7 points post-halftime. Meanwhile Bucky put up 448 and were balanced with 215 through the air and 233 from the ground. In the critical second half UW managed 21 points.
Game of the Week – Wisconsin and Minnesota lived up to all the hype in a back and forth battle. There were huge hits, some slick offensive plays, some impressive scores and some solid drives. Each school has to be proud of their effort and for Minnesota they must be liking their chops for next year since 2014 was supposed to be a step forward year, not a nearly win the damn league year.
Why Did I Watch This Award – Returning the opening kick-off 90 yards pretty much sums up how Penn State’s day against the Spartans went.
Gambling Report Card
Illinois/Northwestern – NU (-8) – Who in their right mind could have predicted Illinois’ point explosion and Northwestern’s complete face plant? The one time I expect Fitzy to have his team prepared they look like that. Shame on me.
Indiana/Purdue – Points (IU -3), Under (58) – Indiana rallied to end this crap fest. Thankfully they combined for a stirring 39 points, giving us the split.
Iowa/Nebraska – Points (UI -1), Over (56) – Ding ding ding, Iowa can’t beat teams with winning records or play any defense. Double-dipping on my woeful Hawks. Bittersweet, I guess.
Maryland/Rutgers – UM (-8), Over (52.5) – The over was shattered at 79 but thanks to the amazing second half the Knights put together, no double up.
Michigan/Ohio State – OSU (-21), Over (51) – Earned another split as OSU could only muster a 14 point win. Bah.
Michigan State/Penn State – MSU (-13.5), Over (45) – MSU did their part winning by 24. Sadly they combined for just 44 points. C’mon, Penn State! Help a gambler out.
Wisconsin/Minnesota – Points (UW -14), Over (50) – A solid week concludes with another double up as Wisco won by 10 and the two combined for 58. Money in the bank.
Week Record: 8-5-0
Season Record: 83-80-2
Josh’s Top 25
Real AP:
1. Alabama
2. Florida State – whatever let’s you sleep at night.
3. Oregon
4. TCU
5. Baylor
6. Ohio State – Slow starting team, shaky defense, now on their third string quarterback. Even with a win in Indy, how can they possibly jump?
7. Michigan State
8. Arizona – Y’all were late to the party. I was early.
9. Kansas State – Since both schools wear purple, is TCU allowed to send any extra players to help KSU take down Baylor? I mean if you can award co-championships with a head-to-head win, why not?
10. Mississippi State – Yes, because they have so many wins over ranked opponents now.
11. Wisconsin – Underrated! clap…clap…clap/clap/clap. Underrated!
12. Georgia Tech – If there is a football god (which there doesn’t seem to be anymore) Tech will slay Florida State.
13. Ole Miss – A few injuries away from a magical season. Lots of talent back but losing a fearless quarterback is never easy.
14. Missouri
15. Georgia
16. UCLA
17. Arizona State
18. Oklahoma
19. Clemson
20. Auburn – Four loss team can be one of the twenty best? A terrible defensive team can be one of the twenty best? Hmmmmmm…
21. Louisville
22. Boise State
23. LSU – Umm, No.
24. Utah – Umm, double no.
25. Nebraska – Who was the last program to fire their coach while ranked in the AP top 25?
My Top 25
1. Oregon – Best team in best conference (don’t care the rankings say Big 12, love the Pac 12).
2. Alabama – Always find a way to win.
3. Baylor
4. TCU
5. Wisconsin – Best defensive team in the top six. Defense wins championships, does it not?
6. Florida State
7. Ohio State – A healthy J.T. Barrett would have this team ranked 5th.
8. Michigan State – Lord why can’t this tournament be 8 teams?
9. Arizona – Lord why can’t this tournament be 16 teams?
10. Kansas State
11. Georgia Tech
12. Mississippi State
13. Boise State – Sneaky good. That tight ball game they had against Ole Miss looks better and better, no?
14. Missouri – For the love of chaos, knock off ‘Bama!
15. Ole Miss – Quite possibly the best three-loss team I have ever seen.
16. Georgia – Quite possibly the strangest three-loss team I have ever seen.
17. Oklahoma – Quite possibly the least talked about three-loss team I have ever seen.
18. Clemson – Quite possibly the most forgotten three-loss team I have ever seen.
19. Arizona State – Solid team but just so many new faces on defense from last year to this year. Fantastic job to get to 9-3. Probably could have been a lot worse without a fantastic coaching job by Todd Graham.
20. Memphis – What a year. 3-9 (1-7) this time last year to 9-3 (7-1). If they keep this up, combined with their basketball team and Memphis being a nice big city, they could be a sleeper program to join the Big 12. Not next year, maybe not even in the next five…but West Virginia needs a fellow team out by them and you know Bowlsby wants to get a championship game for his conference. UConn would be the logical 12th choice based on their basketball program (can you imagine UConn vs Kansas twice a year?!). I have a breakdown below of this re-imagined Big 12.
21. Colorado State – Lost in their…well…loss is that Air Force is also 9-3 now. Mountain West is quietly putting together a nice season.
22. Louisville – Hey, we have 3 losses too! My mistake. This is the most forgotten.
23. Northern Illinois – 10-2
24. USC – 6-3 in the Pac 12 is outstanding. Plus they have a better record than Utah (why are they ranked?!) and LSU/Auburn. I suppose Utah did beat them, but the Trojans are 3-1 since that game. Utah is just 2-3.
25. Marshall – 11-1 is still worth applauding
Josh’s insane Big 12 Idea
Adding just Memphis and UConn
- North: Kansas, KSU, Iowa State, Memphis, UConn, West Virginia
- South: Baylor, Oklahoma, OSU, Texas, TX Tech, TCU
Further down the line you would want to expand to 14 like the Big Ten and SEC. The most logical 13th and 14th teams would be Cinci, Temple thanks to big cities, nice hoops and competent football.
- North: Cinci, Kansas, KSU, Iowa State, Temple, UConn, West Vriginia
- South: Baylor, Memphis, Oklahoma, OSU, Texas, TX Tech, TCU
Why not USF or UCF? Big 12 has turned into a solid hoops league. Kansas is always good. ISU is rising under Hoiberg, Baylor has had some solid seasons under Scott Drew, Oklahoma finally has a coach to go with all that talent. Texas recruits as well as anyone in the nation. Their last additions – TCU – combined with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State’s struggles would dilute the product too much to add USF and UCF. Additionally, USF’s program is woeful now in football. You could talk me into Central Florida above my weakest addition (Temple) but USF isn’t going anywhere.
Sad day for UAB
Look I’m not going to get into the whole sniping thing about the UA board of regents being in the hip pocket of Tuscaloosa or vice-versa. I know there was a lot of questionable calls from the bait-and-switch with Jimbo Fischer and blocking an on-campus stadium from being built. At the end of the day this is a shock for a coach at his first head coaching gig, his staff and of course all their players. This is a team that rallied under a storm cloud to go 6-6. I hope the NCAA and a bowl does the right thing (doubtful) and find a slot for this team to get a proper send off.
I find it hard to believe in this day and age of payday games, teams are jumping to the FBS for a slice of that pie (Georgia State, Georgia Southern, Old Dominion, Texas State, Appalachian State, UTSA, South Alabama and UMass) and one program has been shut down and another might be too (Hawaii). With all the cash swirling around and football-hungry Alabama, it makes me worried that the worst of what I have heard about the UA board of regents is true. Hopefully the politics can be cleared up and UAB is able to get to a bowl and in those weeks a genuine solution can be found. To me shutting it down is too drastic and too hard on the kids.
RIP Kosta Karageorge
Big Ten and Counting 