Wow, what a strange start to the 2015 football season. We had blowout wins, humiliating losses, a Hail Mary and four, yes four coaches making their team debut.
Team of the Week: Northwestern – B+ – Stanford came in entered 21st in the nation and left with the fewest points scored as a ranked club since the Rose Bowl…in 2000. NU’s defense gets an A+ for holding the Cardinal to just 240 yards and a nightmare 3/15 on third down. Offense prevents this from being an A day for the team though. Not enough in the passing game developed for me to suddenly climb aboard the Wildcat express. Delightful day running the ball though to the tune of 225, 134 of which came by phoneme Justin Jackson
Illinois – A – They were supposed to clobber Kent State and they did. Illinois was an efficient 134 to 208 rushing and passing yard split and Wes Lunt looked crips. The defense held the Flashes under 300 yards, 3/18 on third and had 4 takeaways. If they can remain that opportunistic and generate turnovers, this Illini team could be a frisky crew to face in the league.
Indiana – D+ – Silver lining, they won. Positive to take away, they racked up 595 yards of offense and Jordan Howard looked solid at back replacing Tevin Coleman. The defense though…non existent. Southern Illinois went up and down the field to the tune of 659 yards, 411 through the air en route to 47 points scored. Worse, SIU’s offense is based of Indiana’s, you know, the one IU faces in practice every day! Yikes.
Iowa – B+ – Hawks looked good, but level of competition lowers the grade. Once up 31-0 the Hawks shut the starters down and Illinois State got two meaningless scores. Offensively Iowa went over the 400 yard mark and had a very nice day rushing the ball. Yet again though the Greg Davis offense refused to pass it deep or incorporate a full compliment of weapons. Back up running back Jordan Canzeri led the hawks in receiving yards (51 came on a screen) and had 4 catches, second on the club. C.J. Bethard looks confident and competent running the offense but until his coaches let him unleash his cannon arm, Iowa is handcuffing their own playmakers.
Maryland – B – Hard to figure out this Maryland-Richmond game. It was 22-14 at half but the Terps played a lot stronger in the second half, including 21 points in the fourth to blow the game open. 341 rushing yards is outstanding but the passing game was lacking. The defense made some nice adjustments after an up and down opening half. Okay start to the season but don’t forget this was an FCS foe.
Michigan – C – Unusual game as Michigan outgained Utah, converted more third downs but came up short…why? First, and most obviously, three turnovers including a pick-six won’t cut it. Secondly, held under 100 rushing yards. Michigan has a good defense but to succeed UM needs to be balanced and play clean. They went oh-for in both of those criteria against the Utes and lost.
Michigan State – B – The offense looked strong, no doubt about that. But that defense, hmm. One thing I noticed is whenever MSU blitzed, they seemed to give up chunk yardage to Western Michigan’s passing game but when they stayed in base, they were covering the field better. Perhaps MSU is so talented that being too aggressive will actually be a negative. Something to keep an eye on going forward, especially against Oregon in their next game.
Minnesota – B – Defense gets an A, offense gets a C and considering this was against TCU, Gophers should take this as a moral victory. UM employed a bend but don’t break by giving up nearly 450 yards but only 23 points, well below their average last year and even below the 30 point mark UM gave in last year’s game. Offensively Mitch Leidner made some timely throws and played clean with a 1 TD to 0 INT mark. Unfortunately in upset bids turning the ball over is a killer and the Gophers lost two fumbles.
Nebraska – C- – Let’s start with the good…Tommy Armstrong Jr. Despite being employed in a system very different than what he is used to he came up large. 24/41, 319 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT. Great baseline. The running game was lackluster and the defense was pathetic, even without the Hail Mary. Huskers gave up 511 yards, 379 through the air. Blackshirts were a liability a season ago and appear to be well on their way to a repeat stinker season.
Ohio State – A- – Strange game and 42 points against Va Tech is nothing to sneeze at. Defense played okay but let Tech hang around way too much, especially with some scores in that second quarter. They made nice adjustments at the half as a team but I would qualify this game as a, “it is what it is” game. We expected OSU to win big, Tech to score a little, the crowd to be rocking and it was. Nothing really learned from it – other than the Buckeye starting quarterback.
Penn State – F – 10 sacks, that’s all you need to know about this one. Unless they find a way to protect, this is going to be a long, long season for Lion fans.
Purdue – F – Conservative coaching, horrid defense and another loss. Same old same old for the Train(wreck). After an interception that could have really stretched the lead Purdue went conservative, running three times and kicking a field goal…which they missed. PU’s defense hit a wall late allowing Marshall to mount a comeback. Last, but certainly not least, 4 interceptions – two of which were housed by Marshall’s Tiquan Lang.
Rutgers – B+ – Very strange game with several players suspended for the first half. Still not one-hundred percent who will be the starting quarterback or how good that defense really is since they had the softest opener in the league with Norfolk State. Nice win, just doesn’t help much for predicting how the rest of the Knights’ season will go.
Wisconsin – C – Game played out pretty much how everyone expected but need to give some credit to Joel Stave. He played much better than most expected. Based on how good Alabama’s defense is and how cool, calm and collected he looked, it seems fair to say Stave is the best quarterback in the Big Ten West.
Game of the Week – Nebraska vs BYU – Hail Mary / Hail Joseph / Hail Heavenly Father…whatever you want to call it that was a fun game to watch. What a way to kick off the season.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – I made it through just a handful of series in the Rutgers-Norfolk State game before I had to examine my life and make some new life goals.
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois vs Kent State, Illinois (-14.5)
I stayed away from the over/under sine my predicted score was dead on what Vegas had at 52. I’m still glad I stayed away since the two combined for just 55 points. Illini easily covered, winning by 49 points.
- Michigan at Utah, Utah (-5), Over (46)
A split as Utah won by 7 but the two combined for just 41 points. Maybe if Utah kicker Andy Phillips hadn’t missed two kicks…he’s on my list now.
- Michigan State at Western Michigan, MSU (-17.5), Over (58)
We earned the split as WMU scored way more points than expected to clear the over but the Bronco’s production also made this a 13 point game, preventing Sparty from covering.
- Minnesota vs TCU, Under (57.5), TCU (-16.5, degenerate pick)
Hey, hey, the casual gambler grabs a win as the defenses clashed to a 40 point total. Degenerates earn a split as the Horned Frogs could not cover that line.
- Nebraska vs BYU, Points (NU, -5), Under (60)
A tough beat as that Hail Mary gave us 61 total points. Had BYU kicked a field goal or lost when it was 28-27, we would have double-dipped with this game. Instead we take a split. Damn.
- Northwestern vs Stanford, Under (47.5), Points (Stan, -12, degenerate pick)
Our first double-up of the year boys and girls. NU won 16-6 meaning we steer well clear of that over and the Cardinal obviously fail to cover. Cha-ching!
- Ohio State at Virginia Tech, OSU (-14), Over (52.5)
My predicted score for this game was 42-17. Pretty close since the final was 42-24. Either way Bucks covered and the Over was splashed. Double it up, folks!
- Penn State at Temple, PSU (-7), Over (41.5)
Woah…huge swing and a miss. Until that OL proves they can block, I don’t think I’ll be taking any PSU overs for a while.
- Purdue at Marshall, Points (UM, -7.5), Under (63)
Note to self, don’t gamble on Purdue anymore. The over was crushed by 9 points and the Train lost by 10. We’ve undid all that work for the two double-ups.
- Wisconsin vs Alabama, Points (UA, -12), Under (49.5)
After that first half I was feeling pretty good. I expected a low scoring, quick game thanks to all the rushes. Instead Alabama turned it on in the second half. As they pulled away from the Badgers that over also came under fire. These last three games killed us. Gambling gods were not kind to us on week 1.
Week Record: 9-10-0
Season Record: 9-10-0
Big Ten and Counting 