Halfway home, really?! Is it just me or is this season flying by? I think what makes it so fun is we’ve seen a lot of new faces pop up, not just in the Big Ten but nationally. Utah undefeated, Florida back in business, Temple relevant. It has felt like every week a new contender arrives and an old face fades away.
Team of the Week: Michigan – A+ – Can I interest you in three straight shutouts? So, yeah, the defense has been pretty good. The offense has also been rounding into form. Jake Rudock remained his efficient self with 17/23 passing and 179 yards. He may not have found the end zone but he protects the ball and had his second clean game without an INT. The ground game continues to churn opponents but c’mon, let’s circle back to that defense. They will keep the Wolverines in any game against any opponent in any location. What a fun team to watch.
Illinois – B – They played a pretty good game on the road outside of two issues. The first is the rushing attack provided nothing and second they were -2 in the turnover department. Underdogs on the road cannot cough up the ball and that is exactly what the Illini did late. It was just a six point game with under four to go when backup running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn fumbled and let Iowa hit another field goal to extend the lead to 9 and all but end the game. Good performance, just not enough to steal a road win.
Indiana – Incomplete – This game was sickening. Both Jordan Howard and Nate Sudfeld are listed day-to-day and then neither plays. Dalvin Cook for Florida State was listed day-to-day and he dominated Miami. What a disappointment.
Iowa – B+ – Yes they let Illinois hang around and yes they had a boatload of penalties BUT, those are why they didn’t get an A…let’s discuss the good. 478 yards on a very balanced 200 passing and 278 rushing. 0 turnovers and 2 takeaways. Dominated the Illinois running game and forced them to be very one dimensional. Nearly a 12 minute advantage in TOP. The score was closer than it should have been but with stats like Iowa had, it would be tough to beat them.
Maryland – C+ – Gritty performance in a trying game and yes, it was just a 14 point game going into the fourth but let’s not dress up the pig too much. They had 2 more interceptions, gave up almost 500 yards of offense and had a ton of penalties. Their rushing attack was nice and could give Terp fans hopes for a more competitive finish than the first six games have gone.
Michigan State – D+ – It’s funny, when you look at the raw stats, you see MSU won every major statistical category but one (-1 turnover margin). 489 yards to 349 / 34:12 to 25:48 TOP / 1 penalty (5 yards) to 3 penalties (20 yards) / 11 of 17 third down conversions vs 3 of 12. Yet, MSU has these lulls. They get up by 10 in the second half and you think they are going to pull away to only have it become a tied game again. They are playing with fire and it might burn them this Saturday in Ann Arbor.
Minnesota – A – 48 rushes, 326 yards, 6.8 average…UM clearly knew they were more physical, more talented and more hungry in the trenches than the overwhelmed Boilers. The win keeps the Gophers right there in the western discussion. We all know the qb play isn’t great but with that defense and a commitment to pounding the rock, Gophers will be able to gut out some more wins.
Nebraska – F – Awful time management at the end of the game – a first down wins the game, so be aggressive and pass the ball! Conservative coaching rarely works. Even with punting it back, what in the world happened to the defense allowing 13 points in the fourth quarter. Complete meltdown.
Northwestern – F – When you give up the opening kick for six and lose 38-0 there isn’t much to say. The important thing for NU is to not let one bad day at the office spill over into next week’s game with Iowa. If they bounce back and win, they are in the driver’s seat to win the west.
Ohio State – B – Another ho-hum win for the disinterested Bucks. I think they are just going through the motions until a big game. The question remains, can they flip the switch if need be? Guess we’ll find out.
Penn State – Pass – With the two best players out for the Hoosier offense, Saturday’s game was simply a pass/fail. Lions passed it with ease thanks to a strong day by Christian Hackenberg.
Purdue – F – After a 6-0 lead, Purdue promptly gave up 41 unanswered to a Minnesota team that has shown zero flash on offense all year. Another brutal performance by the worst team in the league. Pathetic.
Rutgers – B – A much improved effort against what we all still think is a good team. Yes the end was ugly as a mix up of epic proportions resulted in a spike play to kill the clock on, ahem, fourth down but they had a lead, they tied the game after falling behind 10 and nearly pulled off a stunning upset. Despite a ton of adversity, no quit in the Scarlet Knights. Still a good shot for this team to make a bowl if they can duplicate the performance they had Saturday night.
Wisconsin – B- – It wasn’t pretty but the defense did a good job of bottling up Tommy Armstrong Jr. and forcing key stops to allow the comeback win. Huge road victory keeps the Badgers in the hunt for the west.
Game of the Week – Maybe I’m biased because I went to Wisconsin but their gutty road win had me glued to my chair. MSU-Rutgers was also fun but it always felt like a matter of time before the better team in terms of talent and coaching won.
Why Did I Watch this? Award – Zero reason to watch a second of Indiana-PSU once we realized that the Hoosiers were bringing the JV squad due to injuries. What a shame.
Gambling Report Card
- Illinois at Iowa, Under (46)
The irony of course is with a 26-20 lead, Illinois fumbled allowing Iowa to ice the game with another field goal. Making Iowa fans happy and gamblers….not so much. As an Iowa fan and gambler I’m torn. Guess I would’ve rather win 26-20 and keep my money.
- Indiana at Penn State, Points (PSU -6.5), Under (54.5)
Had I realized how dire the injuries were, I would have stayed away but in my mind day-to-day is pretty favorable, no? Did I miss that memo? Either way we get a split because the two combined for just 36 points.
- Maryland at Ohio State, OSU (-33), Under (54.5)
Yikes, brutal game…OSU didn’t come anywhere close to covering and thanks to UM’s 28 points, the over was crushed.
- Northwestern at Michigan, Points (UM -7.5), Under (35)
Another oh-for as Michigan’s 38-0 win obviously covered and adding insult to injury, singlehandedly cleared the insanely low over/under mark. Not shaping up to be a good week at the sports book, folks.
- Michigan State at Rutgers, MSU (-13.5), Over (54.5)
MSU’s late touchdown may not have covered the spread but it brought the total up to 55 points so by the slimmest of margins we get a split. Considering how this week’s been going, I’ll take it.
- Minnesota at Purdue, UM (-3), Under (45.5)
Another split. Gophers easily covered winning 41-13 but thanks to Purdue’s complete no-show on defense, they let Coach Kill’s club run all over ’em en route to a beatdown.
- Nebraska vs Wisconsin, Points (NU -1.5), Under (49)
A double dip, sweet gamblin’ Jesus a good game! Wisconsin’s last second field goal gave them a 23-21 win. Of course missing it still would have given us the double-up but since I’m a Badger fan, I’m happy it worked out this way. A good way to end an awful week gambling wise.
Week Record: 5-8-0
Season Record: 64-48-0
Big Ten and Counting 