It was quite the week in the Big Ten as Wisconsin and Minnesota each took a step closer to Indianapolis while Nebraska’s difficult stretch got worse with a lopsided loss in the Shoe. Penn State and Michigan remained hot against cupcakes Maryland and Iowa. Indiana’s bowl hopes also got a boost as they survived a sloppy 4 turnover game against Rutgers to notch their fifth win. Lastly Illinois picked up their second league win in a rebuilding year at the expense of the MASH unit Spartans. Let’s gives some grades.
Team of the Week – Ohio State – A+ – The Buckeyes were flawless against Nebraska, winning every possible metric in their dismantling of the Huskers. They held Tommy Armstrong Jr to just 4/15 passing and 19 rushing yards before his concussion. That injury may have made the game more lopsided than it would have been, but TAjr was doing nothing against these fired up Bucks. Stat I loved, 11/15 on third down. This team is downright scary when they are that efficient.
Illinois – B- – Talk about bending but not breaking! UI gave up 490 yards (gained 304). UI allowed 315 passing yards (had 140). Possessed the ball for 18:24, MSU had it 41:36. Yet the Illini won. How? First MSU had 10 penalties for 89 yards, Illinois won that metric. Second the turnover margin was +1 in Illinois’s favor as they forced a takeaway and did not cough up the ball. Lastly, the best player of the day was Kendrick Foster, the Illinois running back. Those factors allowed Illinois to keep some slim bowl hopes alive but show some potential as Lovie Smith reshapes this program.
Indiana – D – They couldn’t get out of their own way in a game with FOUR turnovers (-3 for the day) and went 0/3 on field goals. How in the world did they win? Well despite two INTs Richard Lagow had nearly 400 yards and 3 scores to help bail Indiana out. Another factor…Rutgers is the perfect opponent to play this poorly against and still hope to win.
Iowa – F – Iowa’s offense has been AWFUL this year and hit a low point. 30 rushing yards, negative rushing in the second half, and PSU players calling out their plays. Can’t let the defense off the hook though, 600 yards of offense by PSU and Saquon Barkley steamrolled the hapless Hawks. For the love of god, fire this staff the second the year ends.
Maryland – D- – The only reason I am hesitant to give this an F is because Maryland’s offense with a healthy Perry Hills is really good. He was knocked out of the game with a questionable late hit after a 4/4, 73 yard start. Once turnover machine Caleb Rowe came in (2 picks against UM, 27 in his career to 18 TDs) the game was all but over. Still, Hills doesn’t play defense and the Terp’s defense was Swiss cheese against big blue so let’s not put too much lipstick on this pig.
Michigan – A – 660 yards and 273 on the ground with a 7.0 average. The UM ground attack was their weak link a year ago. It is playing so much better this year. If they can get anything close to this balance against Ohio State, this team will be in Indianapolis without a doubt.
Michigan State – C+ – They played much, much better. In fact, as I highlighted in Illinois’s grade, they should have won this game based on stats only. The problem was they couldn’t rattle a young quarterback enough. Jeff George Jr had 2 TDs to 0 picks and was sacked zero times and hurried just twice. That lack of pressure won’t cut it.
Minnesota – B – Remember in the 90s when Northwestern was known as the Cardiac Cats for some insane games. Well Minnesota might need a similar name to describe this season. Down 28-23 at half, UM held Purdue to just 3 points in the second half to come away with the victory. Underrated Rodney Smith pin-balled his way to 153 rushing yards and 3 scores to bail the Gophers out as they stay alive in the Western race. Big sigh of relief in the twin cities.
Nebraska – F – They say physical teams can cause two losses so maybe that grueling OT game with Wisconsin made NU ripe for the picking by Ohio State but this team just didn’t look prepared. That was the most disappointing thing about this game. It was 31-3 by halftime and the blackshirts gave their offense, even before the Armstrong injury, little hope. Lots of soul searching this week in Lincoln, I’m sure.
Northwestern – C- – The defense acquitted itself very well, holding UW to just 333 yards and a less then spectacular 3.3 rushing per average. Unfortunately the offense couldn’t get much going. Clayton Thorson was called on to pass 52 times as the ground game did absolutely nothing. Outstanding back Justin Jackson was held to just 42 yards. Probably another moral victory but the offense still isn’t up to par against top end defenses in the Big Ten yet.
Penn State – A+ – Despite some insanely deep cracks in the foundation, Iowa did enter 5-3 with all three losses by 8 points or less. Penn State outclassed Iowa in every conceivable way. Trace McSorley’s growth continues to amaze as he tossed for 240 yards and 2 scores as well as chip in 40 rushing yards and another rushing score. He is going to get plenty of looks for offensive player of the year if JT Barrett has another off day or several Michigan players split the vote.
Purdue – C- – They played Minnesota really tough but just like last week, one team made second half adjustments and neither time was it Purdue. Worse this team is dangerously one sided as the running attack was held to 48 yards before factoring in David Blough. What did the QB account for? -24 yards as the Gophers had six sacks.
Rutgers – F – They were gifted 4 giveaways, IU special teams was hot garbage, Giovanni Rescigno wasn’t spectacular but had zero picks and yet Rutgers squandered one of their best hopes at winning their first league game. They won’t get many opponents playing as sloppy as Indiana did and Rutgers could muster just 27 points and was out-gained by over 200 yards. Yeesh.
Western Michigan – A- – In an absolute driving rain storm WMU struggled early with a 14-3 hole after the first quarter. Like good teams they adjusted and ended up pulling away. They won the final three quarters 34-7. One aspect of the storm was WMU was woefully unbalanced. Out of 412 total yards, just 83 were through the air. Nice win in very unusual circumstances.
Wisconsin – B- – As highlighted in the NU grade, Wisconsin’s offense wasn’t exactly a juggernaut but that defense was outstanding. They held NU to just 316 yards as the Badgers held the ball for 40:25. This defense is truly special.
Game of the Week – I loved the nip and tuck MSU-Illinois game but I’m going to take the Northwestern tilt with Wisconsin. It was such a tense defensive battle that the two TD final really doesn’t do justice with how tight it really was.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – This one was easy, I knew Iowa was going to get blown out so I went on a distillery tour during it. Didn’t watch a second of it. Self care is essential when your team is as sorry as the Hawks.
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois vs Michigan State, MSU (-7.5, Degenerate Pick)
Safe to stay the lesson from this one is just don’t trust the Spartans as degenerates drop this game thanks to Illinois winning straight up.
- Indiana at Rutgers, IU (-13), Over (58)
Earn a split as the two combined for 60 but Indiana’s four turnovers and three missed field goals really impacted their scoring potential.
- Iowa at Penn State, PSU (-6.5)
This was a foreseeable blow out. I don’t know who in the world would have taken the underdog in this one.
- Maryland at Michigan, Points (Michigan -30.5)
Note to self: when banking on Maryland by citing Perry Hills’s health, don’t. He got banged up again and only played a few snaps.
- Minnesota vs Purdue, Points (UM -17)
Minnesota just cannot cover big spreads this year and it is becoming easy money.
- Nebraska at Ohio State, Points (OSU -17.5)
I said OSU would explode at some point, I just didn’t think it would be against Nebraska. To quote the president-elect, “wrong.”
- Northwestern at Wisconsin, Points (UW -7), Under (41)
Another split as the two defensive teams combined for just 28 points but Wisconsin ended up covering with ease in a two-touchdown win.
- Western Michigan at Kent State, WMU (-21.5), Over (55)
Yet another split! The two combined for 58 points but Western’s slow start resulted in just a 16 point win.
Week Record: 5-6-0
Season Record: 57-71-0
Big Ten and Counting 