What an insane Big Ten title game last week. As a UW alum it took a little while to get my head wrapped around it and even write about it. I picked Penn State to win, so the final outcome wasn’t shocking, but damn if the way we got there was jarring. To see the stout Badger defense finally have an off day at the worst possible time was disappointing. Still, with PSU not making the tournament it is clear that Wisconsin would have had next to no chance making the CFP, either. It is almost better to play in the Cotton Bowl against that solid Western team than to go to LA to take on red hot USC…so maybe a silver lining? Or I’m just grasping at straws.
Team of the Week – Penn State – A+ – Basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong in that first half for the Lions. Down 28-7, Penn State got a little spark scoring with under a minute to go in the half to go into the locker room down just two scores. For their explosive offense, they had to know that the late score gave them a shot. They came out guns blazing in the second half putting up 24 points. Trace McSorley was brilliant going 22/31 for 384 yards and an Abe Lincoln (4 scores).
Western Michigan – B – This was a rather strange game. WMU looked outstanding in the first half as they raced out to a 23-7 halftime lead. Maybe the ease in which they scored in the first half took the edge off or maybe Ohio was just extremely tight playing in the MAC title game but the Bobcats came out as a totally different team. They dominated the third quarter, winning it 14-3. The fourth quarter became a slug fest with each team only able to scratch out a field goal, letting the Broncos escape, 29-23. Every stat favored WMU by a pretty healthy margin, so how was the game so close? Well Solich’s squad did a fantastic job in rush defense, holding Bogan to just 78 yards. On the day Western managed just 114 yards on 44 carries. The lack of offensive balance sort of threw the Broncos out of wack and they had nine drives end with kicks – 5 field goals and 4 punts. Exchange some of those three point trips with six point trips and WMU would have won in a rout.
Wisconsin – D – Simply put, the defense got beat. It hadn’t happened all year, Badger fans weren’t sure it would ever happen, but it finally did. Still, look at the positives for this season. They came in facing one of the toughest schedules in the nation and won ten games. They came in as an afterthought with Iowa’s key returning players, Nebraska’s predicted improvement, and Minnesota’s laughably easy schedule. Wisconsin was facing a “rebuild” year where a bowl and a winning record were realistic targets. One crappy second half doesn’t undue all that good they did the other 12 games.
Gambling Report Card:
- Penn State vs Wisconsin, Points (UW -2.5)
I got the win but it didn’t play out the way I thought. I figured Penn State’s awesome offense would be able to put up 21-28 points and the UW offense which had been anemic against good teams simply couldn’t keep up. 38 points, 24 of them after halftime, in a 38-31 shootout was not what I was expecting at all.
- Western Michigan vs Ohio, WMU (-16.5), Under (58)
Take the split as the defenses pretty much did what I expected and made the total just 52 points but the Ohio offense was much better than I thought they would be and lost by just six.
Week Record: 2-1-0
Season Record: 82-81-2
Big Ten and Counting 