Shutouts, near upsets, contenders falling, oh my! Crazy week of action to start Big Ten play. Buckle up because if last Saturday was any indication of how the rest of the season is going, the race to Indianapolis is going to be bonkers.
Team of the Week: Illinois – B – Sometimes it isn’t about how you played but who you played. Illini faced a much better team on paper with an offense that had been scoring at will this season. UI’s defense came up large for the upstart club, playing hard for an interim coach. They held Nebraska under 300 yards, forced field goals instead of allowing touchdowns resulting in just 13 points and had two takeaways. They kept Illinois in the game until the offense could finally get going and two fourth quarter touchdowns later, Illinois had a 14-13 win to stun much of the league. The most impressive defensive stand came when confusion of what down it was had Illinois go for it on a fourth and four when they thought it was third and four on their side of the 50, At 13-0 when the goofy loss of downs occurred, Huskers had a short field and really could have commanded the game with a score. Instead the Illini defenders were up to the task again. What an effort.
Indiana – A – Look, no one wants to hear about moral victories but this is what the game was. They had enough stops and scored enough to be in a position to tie it late, much better than anyone expected them to do. Losing Jordan Howard hurt but they showed so much poise and resolve for battling back. Full disclosure, I take the blame for this loss. I was in Madison for the Iowa/Wisconsin game. We got back to the hotel, saw IU leading and flipped over. From there OSU started to roll. We turned it off, got ready for dinner and went out. Walking to the restaurant a bar had the game on, just in time for the last play. We stopped and watched, IU had the bad snap exchange and couldn’t do anything on that fourth down. Whenever I watched, Indiana struggled. I promise to never watch the Hoosiers again, if that’s what it takes for this plucky club to get to a bowl game.
Iowa – B- – Playing down deep threat Tevaun Smith and LT Boone Meyers the offense looked ragged but thanks to outstanding defensive play, ten points was all they needed. They forced three legitimate turnovers and scooped up a fourth on a botched goal line play by Wisconsin; however, I want to give some credit to Iowa on that play. A controversial call gave UW first and goal at the two. Instead of packing it in, feeling dejected, Iowa stoned Wisconsin on first down forcing another snap and as well know, anything can happen.
Maryland – F – Back to back F’s, way to go Derps! They travel to Columbus next so we might get another, yes! Michigan held them off the scoreboard, limited them to 105 yards of offense and the overmatched shells went just 1/18 on third down. Brutal.
Michigan – A – You just read what Maryland did, right? Can I interest you in 28 points, a bruising offensive attack and a second straight shutout? Wolverines are rolling right now.
Michigan State – D – And the what the hell just happened award goes to Sparty! While at Camp Randall we kept seeing the score be 21-0 until, it wasn’t. After the hot start, MSU lost the rest of the game 21-3 and wound up holding on for the slim 24-21 win. A defense this experienced and talented cannot keep being gashed like this. The offense can’t peter out after building a big lead. This isn’t a recipe for success against Ohio State, a grinding Michigan team or a pesky Hoosier club. They need to wake up and play like we all know they can play.
Minnesota – F – In descending order of value, 173 total yards, 99 passing, 74 rushing, 11 first downs, 4 first down conversions (on 16 third downs), 2 turnovers, ZERO POINTS! Awful day offensively. Simply inexcusable for this staff, in their fifth year mind you, with a veteran QB in Mitch Leidner to be this pathetic. The defense wasn’t much better either, yielding 27 points to the ‘Cats.
Nebraska – D+ – I’ll give the defense an ounce of credit…14 points allowed should be enough to win most games. The offense though? Woof, what a stinker. 292 yards? Barely 100 passing yards? 3.3 average through the air? Two turnovers? What the hell happened to Tommy Armstrong Jr and this team? I know it was windy but is your offensive attack that dependent on great weather? And yes, these are all questions and not statements. How does a day that bad happen this late into the season coming off so many solid offensive games? As for the weather being an answer, If your scheme is that reliant on nice days, you’re in the wrong league because other than the Pac 12 or most southern states across the Big 12, ACC and SEC, weather will be an issue.
Northwestern – A – NU’s passing attack is a strange one. They attempted just 19 passes and had a ho-hum 128 yards through the air. But the efficiency kills you. 14 of 19 were completed, they averaged 6.4 yards per pass. It is enough to keep teams off balance and make the ‘Cat offense much better than we expected this offseason. Hats off to that unit. Oh yeah, the defense is pretty good too as they just shut out their first league opponent since 1995. What a start to the season for the Purple-clad faithful by the lake.
Ohio State – C+ – 517 yards of offense, insanely balanced 245 passing / 272 rushing and yet a one possession game? Turnovers, penalties, horrid third down rate, and a defense that couldn’t get off the field – issues that shouldn’t happen to the number one ranked team in the nation. Luckily for Buckeye fans, they have five games and a bye to get whatever is plaguing them out of their system before facing the two Michigan schools. I’m not worried……….yet.
Penn State – D- – Just because you tried to fly under the radar with a non-con game doesn’t mean we didn’t notice Penn State. You were out gained, out first down-ed(?) how do you word that?, out TOPed and nearly lost to Army. Yes, Army the team that was 1-3 entering the day with a loss to FCS Fordham. You were saved by 3 Army turnovers that resulted in 10 of your 20 points. I hope Indiana kicks your ass. Oops, supposed to be an impartial blogger. Umm, insert a cliche about needing to regroup for a tough Hoosier opponent next week. Yeah, that’s it. Regroup.
Purdue – B – Oh what might have been. Two first half fumbles gave way to 14 points, one of which was due in large part to a short field created by the fumble. Tough to win any game with 3 turnovers, let alone one against the second ranked team in the nation. I think the Train figured out a lot of good things though over the last two weeks despite losing by a combined 10 points in their last two outings. They host reeling Minnesota next, might we finally see Purdue put all this improvement together into a win instead of a moral victory? That could be interesting.
Rutgers – Idle, thank God.
Wisconsin – C- – Outstanding defensive effort but just too many mistakes. Badly timed penalties stalled drives, Stave threw two INTs to Desmond King (now up to 5 picks on the year) and fumbled twice. Easy to pin the loss on him but the OL didn’t protect as well as they had in previous games and some of the playcalling was lacking. Good news is, everything is fixable. Bad news is, they have to do it before heading to Lincoln in what feel like an elimination game for the west. I’m not sure 6-2 can win the division, especially if UW has tiebreakers against them with Iowa and Nebraska. Must win is thrown around way to much, but this really feels like a must win.
Game of the Week – Indiana against Ohio State was like Les Miserables. You knew the outcome would be sad but damn if it wasn’t stirring to see the Hoosiers battle so valiantly. My enjoyment of Kevin Wilson’s team is through the roof. I’m just disappointed I put myself on a self-mandated probation from watching them anymore since I’m bad luck for this fun club.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – Outside of laughing at the train wreck that has become Maryland football, that was not an enjoyable game to watch. The first half was just waiting around for Michigan to wake up and the second half was just waiting around for the game to end as the Wolverines pulled away with ease in the second stanza.
Gambling Report Card
- Illinois vs Nebraska, NU (-7), Over (57)
Well the wind played a factor, no doubt. You know what also played a factor? Illinois’s defense! If Nebraska had won ugly, I would be mad at losing money with two bad bets…but with UI’s gritty comeback win, I’m not even mad. Way to go Fighting Cubits!
- Indiana vs Ohio State, Points (OSU -21.5)
Alrighty, got some money back. That spread felt way to high. I know at some point OSU is going to destroy someone (probably next week against Maryland) but for the time being, let Vegas keep putting up lofty spreads and we’ll keep taking some winnings.
- Iowa at Wisconsin, Under (44.5)
…And with just 16 points scored, we have another winner. With these two stout defenses, I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot more under bets with these two clubs.
- Maryland vs Michigan, UM (Blue, -15.5), Under (43)
Sure enough, Wolverines smoked ’em but their defense gave ups so little in the way of points (zero) covering the over became nearly impossible. Nice double, dip.
- Michigan State vs Purdue, Points (MSU -21.5), Under (55.5)
My predicted score was was somewhere in the 40s with something like 35-14. Well, the game ended in the 40s folks, just not in the way anyone expected. MSU’s tight 24-21 win gives us gamblers another double dip.
- Minnesota at Northwestern, NU (-3.5), Under (40.5)
I said take NU would cover “barely”…I’m sure in some universe winning by 27 is “barley.” Great win for the ‘Cats but even better result for us gamblers as we nab a third straight double dip game.
- Penn State vs Army, PSU (-25), Under (47)
Well one thing happened, and that was a low scoring affair. One thing that didn’t happen, and that was Penn State looking like a Big Ten member.
Week Record: 9-3-0
Season Record: 59-40-0
Big Ten and Counting 