We had a full docket last Saturday in the Big Ten with all fourteen teams in action across seven league showdowns. Wisconsin stayed in the Western race with a win at Iowa. Nebraska avoided a dreaded league loss before their back-to-back tough dates. Northwestern notched another win. Minnesota survived a pesky Rutgers challenge to remain viable in the West. Lastly Maryland got back in the win column, which added to MSU’s misery. Those were all before the massive prime time thriller in Western PA that saw an incredible fourth quarter rally by Penn State take down the Buckeyes and shake up both the league and national title races.
Team of the Week – Penn State – A+ – Sometimes it isn’t about how you play but who you beat and how you beat them that goes into the grade. After all Penn State was out gained, awful on third down, missed a kick, lost the time of possession by nearly 15 minutes and yet they won…against Ohio State. How? First their defense kept them in the game. It was 21-7 entering the fourth quarter, well within striking distance. Second they made all the plays in the fourth quarter. The most obvious examples were the blocked punt that resulted in a field goal and the blocked field goal that was scooped and scored for the game winning TD. But there were other key plays. The sacks on Ohio State’s final drive and of course the offense putting together the 90 yard drive. Awesome fourth quarter and a huge, HUGE win for Franklin as he tries to turn around this program.
Illinois – Incomplete – Illinois is a rebuilding team taking on legit playoff contender Michigan with their third string quarterback. This thing was over before it started as Jeff George Jr. was thrust into the starting role. Kendrick Foster ran well and had some nice work as a return man. I think the junior is setting himself up nicely for a huge season next year as this program continues to build.
Indiana – F – Hoosiers had a ripe opportunity to help their bowl push but they failed in the little things yet again. First the vastly improved defense was awful in the first half. TD drives of 70, 75, and 79 all in the first half. Then the offense was sloppy with two INTs. Credit the defense for not giving up any points after those turnovers but IU finished with over 400 yards so those two empty possessions loomed large. Lastly the running game just isn’t doing enough. Sub 100 yard days are killing the balance Kevin Wilson is looking for. Oh, one more little detail, down 24-12, IU had a drive stall on a sack making a manageable field goal a 53 yarder which was missed. Little details like that continue to haunt this team.
Iowa – F – Don’t let the final eight point margin fool you. Iowa was out gained, awful on third down offensively and defensively, inefficient passing, terrible rushing, and had 14 fewer minutes in T.O.P. Iowa fans have also pat themselves on the back for some decent rush defense. That’s a lie. Corey Clement had 134 yards on a Woody Hayes like 3.5 yards per carry. A couple sacks made the rushing day look worse than it was. Lastly the defense idiotically put linebackers on tight ends and running backs and routinely burned. Awful game plan.
Maryland – A+ – The offense got back on track with Perry Hills in action and the running game got their two stars in Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison going as each had over 100 yards. The defense…well…it wasn’t pretty yard wise but they held MSU off where it matters on the scoreboard, allowing just 17 points. Part of that had to do with two takeaways.
Michigan – A – Nothing was learned in this one because of Illinois being down to their third string quarterback but UM stayed focused, dominated, and had no major injuries. You love to see that in tune-up games like these.
Michigan State – D+ – It was better, I’ll give MSU that. The new starting QB, Brian Lewerke, didn’t solve all the offensive issues with a sloppy day passing the ball but he did provide a spark with his feet. Lewerke rushed for 79 yards on 10 carries. Lj Scott also had a much better day, too but the defense is just so depleted with injury and graduating so many good players that it didn’t even matter that the O showed some strides. Maryland put up 447 yards and was extremely balanced with both the passing and running game accounting for 200+ yards.
Minnesota – C – Talk about escaping! Minnesota kept their Big Ten West hopes alive, albeit it slim since they need to beat Nebraska AND Wisconsin to make up for two early losses, with a two point win at home against Rutgers. Let’s start with the good. The offense put up 34 and the ground game was incredible with 243 yards and a 4.5 yards per carry average to get there. As for the bad, the defense gave up nearly 400 yards, over 200 through the air, to one of the league’s worst offenses. Gophers got lucky to escape this one.
Nebraska – B – The injuries for Nebraska are startling but they continue to find ways to win over lesser competition. Can they keep this up against a team like Wisconsin? Maybe, especially if their rush defense stays this hot. NU held Purdue to just 24 yards on 22 carries. The defense also made great adjustments at the half as they held the Boilermakers scoreless in the final thirty minutes.
Northwestern – C – Pat Fitzgerald would be the first to admit they played poorly. Over 400 yards of offense given up, shutout in the second half, awful 2.8 yards per rush average, and a lousy third down percentage. But a win is a win and NU has now pulled off three straight to get into bowl position. They have a trip to OSU and Wisconsin next but finish with @ Purdue, @ Minnesota, and Illinois. Those final three are winnable but NU would love to pull off an upset in one of those next two games. With the way their offense has improved and their rush defense looked against Indiana, they have to think they have a fighting shot to stay in any game no matter the opponent.
Ohio State – F – Obviously the blocks, the penalties, and the pass protection were woeful but what is up with Curtis Samuel getting just two rushes all day? It is rare with Urban but the game plan was clearly lacking by only having two runs with Samuel. Still, MSU lost in November to a team that would end 5-7 and made the tournament so Ohio State losing several weeks earlier to a Penn State team that will undoubtedly go bowling isn’t the end of the world.
Purdue – D – Yeah, they played a lot better against Nebraska than most expected, as highlighted by their 14-10 half time lead. The issues on defense are still too great and sloppiness (2 turnovers) continue to plague this team even without their coach. Still, just like the Illinois win and Iowa game, this team is improving and whoever gets the gig next year might not have as big a rebuild as we thought coming into the year.
Rutgers – C- – Agonizingly close to spoiling Minnesota’s season. Three turnovers cost this team dearly but the offense showed tremendous strides with a new starting quarterback in Giovanni Rescigno. It will do wonders for Ash’s rebuild if Giovanni can keep up his good play and allow this team to have their QB situation set for next season. Rescigno is a junior so he can provide a whole year of relief for a younger option to develop in camp. Granted it would be awesome if he was an underclassmen but still, a year of development could go a long way and maybe, just maybe, Rescigno will rack up some victories next year and in the remainder of this season for RU to feel good about themselves. Solid game by the kid.
Western Michigan – B- – Honestly the thing I am most disappointed by in this game is that on the podcast I co-host I talked about how improved Eastern Michigan is but then ignored that in previewing the game. Eastern made some fantastic plays, especially in the passing game with 319 yards through the air. At the end of the day though the Broncos offense is just such a machine. 551 total yards and nearly 400 passing yards is so difficult to top. Zach Terrell finally threw his first INT in this game but he is up to 20 TDs to 1 INT, a 72.2 completion percentage, and 1995 yards through eight games. I wonder if he can get any attention for a national award because he has certainly played worthy of some attention.
Wisconsin – B+ – The missed kicks (2), the red zone fumble, and the long kick return to give Iowa a glimmer of hope drops this from an A game but every other statistical measure so favored the Badgers. I was at the game with my pops and he summed it up best, based on stats this was a three touchdown blowout. The only reason it wasn’t is football can be a strange, strange sport…but of course that is why we all love it.
Game of the Week – The Penn State upset had it all. Some great defense, some amazing special teams play, some good looking offense, a massive fourth quarter rally, and an upset at the end. Oh yeah, it was also played in one of the greatest environments in college football: a Beaver Stadium white out.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – Illinois was going to have a hard time making their date with Michigan interesting but once the Wolverines were up 31-0 at half it was pretty clear that this game was all but wrapped up.
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois at Michigan, UM (-38.5), Over (54.5)
Ah, a perfect start. Michigan’s 41-8 win was shy of both the spread and the over. What happened to the 78-0 potential, Michigan? Yeesh.
- Indiana at Northwestern, Points (NU -1.5)
I wrote that Indiana will, “find a way to overcome their occasional lapses and pick up the victory.” They didn’t overcome several lapses and lost. Whelp.
- Iowa vs Wisconsin, UW (-4.5)
Well the long kick return setting up a field goal and then the onside kick could have made this thing a tough beat but Wisconsin managed to maintain that eight point margin. Finally on the board.
- Maryland vs Michigan State, MSU (-3, Degenerate Pick)
I thought Hills would not play or be ineffective with that shoulder injury. I was wrong…again. A theme of this season is growing. I may finish my first year under .500 at the book. My bad folks, I had a good run.
- Minnesota vs Rutgers, UM (-18.5), Over (44)
Well, it’s a split at least. Seems like every time I take the Gophers with a two TD spread they let me down. At least the 66 point total allows some redemption. Key word: some.
- Nebraska vs Purdue, NU (-24), Over (61.5)
Cornhuskers barely even scored 24 points so I could not have been more wrong about this game. A double loss. This week is getting ugly folks. I feel like Biff going into the manure truck in Back to the Future.
- Ohio State at Penn State, Points (OSU -19.5)
Hey now, I got one back! I felt like a near 20 point margin was way too big in a white out game out there in state college. That proved to be a good call as PSU didn’t just cover but pull off the upset of the season in the Big Ten this year.
- Western Michigan vs Eastern Michigan, WMU (-22)
Ah, a one final slap in the face. WMU won by 14 but the over was easily cleared. If only I had made a bet on that. This week went about as well as your boss telling you Friday afternoon that you need to come in for a special project on Sunday morning. Umm…….thanks.
Week Record: 3-8-0
Season Record: 49-62-1
Big Ten and Counting 