2017 Week One Grades

Happy Labor Day everybody!  Time to recap week one and quite frankly the Big Ten get off to a great start.  The league went 10-2 in non conference games with wins over ranked SEC and Big 12 teams and the two B1G teams that lost picked up moral victories as they kept their games much closer than anyone expected.

Team of the Week – Maryland – A – One aspect that factors into the grades is who you beat and where you beat them and UM edges, well, UM this week because the Terps’ win over Texas came in Austin while the Wolverines, although extremely impressive, did their damage at a neutral site.

As for Maryland, they got huge contributions from a whole slew of players.  Major special teams play, Kasim Hill coming in for an injured Tyrrell Pigrome (who was on fire), Ty Johnson and D.J. Moore were unstoppable, and the defense came up with some key stops and stoned the Texas rushing attack all day.  41 points allowed might make you skeptical of that last bullet point but trust me, the defensive effort was more of a net positive than a liability.  Awesome win for Maryland.

It is worth noting that the game did come with some injuries, most notably QB Tyrrell Pigrome and CB Antwaine Richardson.  Richardson took a scary hit and needed to be carted off the field.  He has tweeted that he is doing fine and would give more updates.  Pigrome twisted his knee and during the game tried to jog on the sidelines.  No word yet on his status but based on trying to get back in there, anything super serious like an ACL was most likely avoided.

Illinois – D – Can a team look uglier than Illinois and still win a game?  That feels next to impossible based on how the Illini looked in their season opener.  Ball State out gained the Illini, UI went 2 for 10 on third down, the running game (a possible strength) was limited to just 71 yards by the Cardinals, and the quarterback we all hoped to play for Illinois didn’t even see the field because of on going grade issues.  In fact based on reports since I previewed Illinois, it looks like Dwayne Lawson won’t be playing with Illinois at all this year.  Wonderful [eye roll].  Outscoring BSU in the fourth quarter 8-0 allowed Illinois to win 24-21 but this was by far the ugliest debut in the league.

Indiana – C- – Hoosiers played like one of my favorite movies last Thursday: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  Let’s go with the ugliest things to start: zero balance, zero defense, and turnovers, again.  IU scratched out just 27 rushing yards on 17 carries.  The defense gave up nearly 600 yards and was pretty even with 304 passing yards to 292 rushing.  IU lost the turnover margin 3-0 with Richard Lagow tossing two picks and fumbling.

The bad: The defense on third down.  Hoosiers gave up that much yardage because they couldn’t get off the field.  Buckeyes went 8/19 on third and 2/3 on fourth to extend drives and wear the Hoosiers down.

The good: Lagow, when he hit a teammate.  The IU quarterback had over 400 passing yards with Simmie Cobbs Jr and Luke Timian each having double-digit catches.  IU also put up 21 points against a good, potentially great, OSU defense.  I still think this team has a high ceiling but they need to clean up a lot: starting with those turnovers, specifically Lagow.

He was a turnover machine last year and him giving the ball away three times is not a good start.  Ignoring the last pick (it was 42-21 at that point) the two other turnovers were killers.  Up 7-3 and feeling good, pick followed by a field goal kept OSU around when they were really struggling in the first half.  The fumble came when down 35-21 and gave OSU the ball at the 11 yard line.  One play later the game was broken wide open.

Iowa – B – I texted a friend that perfectly summed up the game: “Iowa’s defense played really well.  Special teams looked good, too.  Some growing pains on offense but won it 24-3 so can’t complain about 1-0.”  I think that reflects the feelings of 99.999999% of Iowa fans after getting passed Wyoming.

Iowa’s defense held UW to just 233 yards and a wretched final of just 59 yards on the ground.  They also had two takeaways and the front seven harassed Jake Allen all day.  Meanwhile the Hawkeye kick coverage was great and Miguel Recinos looked good on a 44 yard field goal as well as hit all of his PATs.

As for that offense, well, 4 turnovers, some sloppy pass protection, just 8/15 for 125 passing yards and 3 fumbles (two lost) with a pick by new starter Nathan Stanley was troubling.  Thankfully there were also some promising flashes in the passing game.  Noah Fant scored twice and the 27 yarder was a beauty.  Nick Easley also had a great individual effort on a 45 yard touchdown reception.  Finally the running game was as advertised.  It put up 138 total yards, 116 for Akrum Wadley, despite having to absorb -23 yards on the Stanley sacks.

Michigan – A+ – Nope, not taking off for the two pick sixes because the defense was LIGHTS OUT.  They forced three turnovers (one in the end zone on a strip sack), held a ranked Florida team to 192 yards, and yielded just 11 rushing yards as the front for Michigan manhandled the hapless Gators.  Based on how exactly Michigan annihilated Florida, I don’t think the suspensions for UF even mattered.  Michigan is that good and frankly, Florida isn’t.

Michigan State – B+ – Spartans are in that A-/B+ range for what they did against Bowling Green but I’m going to the lower of the two options because of the sloppiness.  The offense looked much better than a year ago with QB Brian Lewerke tossing 3 TDs and racking up 250 yards.  The ground game was a by committee affair against the Falcons but as a team they put up 215 yards.  The problem I have is, I don’t think the Falcons are a very good team.  They will struggle again in the MAC most likely and MSU was loose with the ball.  They had 4 fumbles and lost three of them.  The 35-10 final looks great and there is some promise but I want to see them hold onto the ball better and duplicate that passing attack against a better defense.

Minnesota – C+ – Let’s start with the obvious positive: 7 points.  The Gopher defense played very well as they held the Bulls to just 7 points, made Buffalo one-dimensional by allowing just 51 rushing yards, and while they gave up 211 passing yards, UB attempted 42 passes and completed 22 of them to get to that yardage.

As for the offense, well, it wasn’t pretty for vast stretches.  Neither quarterback who played shined, and the running game averaged just 3.3 yards per and the reason is troubling: the offensive line.  I thought with a decent mix of promising youth and experience while all the starters being massive that UM could have a solid line.  That prediction may still pan out, but it was surprising to see Buffalo’s defensive front really get after the Gophers.  Lastly, the kicking game was a bumpy road with Emmit Carpenter going just 1/3 of field goals.

Nebraska – D+ – Offense was amazing, especially RB Tre Bryant finishing just shy of 200 yards and 43 points is good enough to win most games…but they needed it against the Red Wolves because the defense was about as useful as a fur coat in July.  They were shredded through the air to the tune of 415 yards and if the game had been about 90 seconds longer, I think ASU would have tied it up and then…who knows.  If not for two turnovers and a rash of penalties, ASU might not have even needed those mythical 90 seconds.  Have fun at Oregon next week!

Northwestern – B – Much like the team due west down interstate 88, there were a lot of positives for Northwestern.  They put up over 500 yards of offense, dominated time of possession, wore Nevada’s front down and sealed the victory with some late punishing runs in the red zone.  Also like Iowa, some things to clean up.  Two turnovers, 8 penalties for 90 yards, and up-and-down run blocking are the obvious ones but a promising start for the Cats, especially how they played in the second half.

Ohio State – A – I love how ESPN keeps talking about Ohio State and Wisconsin having slow starts.  It was week one!  You aren’t allowed to have a quarter or two to “figure it out”???  Well I for one don’t downgrade teams for looking a little sleepy for a quarter or two before dropping the hammer, especially when it is a road game against a league foe who is actually pretty good.

I spelled it out pretty well above for Indiana’s grade but I’ll reiterate some things I loved.  The obvious one is the balance: almost 600 yards of offense and a nearly 50-50 split between yards through the air and on the ground.  I loved J.T. Barrett chipping in with 61 rush yards to go along with a 300 yard passing day and a clean sheet in the turnover margin.  Finally, I loved the OSU defense reeking havoc with the takeaways.  They were stunned a fair amount with how good IU’s passing game is but they adjusted and locked down in the second half as well as forcing 3 turnovers, two of which (see Indiana grade) came at key points.

Penn State – A+ – I was tempted to just go with an A because it was Akron but considering how hard shutouts are to get and just how versatile the Lions were, I felt like I had to give them the plus.  The defense was fantastic, holding the Zips under 200 total yards.  McSoreley and the passing game had over 300 yards as a team (280 for the starter), and Barkley had 172 and 2 scores on the ground.  Even special teams came up with a score as Deandre Thompkins housed a 61 yard punt return.

Purdue – C – There’s a lot to unpack from this game so I’ll start with the obvious positives.  Defense forced three turnovers, solid play from both sides of the ball for vast stretches kept this game extremely close, and Purdue ultimately got an encouraging moral victory, only losing 35-28.

The issues that prevented pulling the upset however are alarming.  First and foremost, Purdue was a turnover waiting to happen last year and were again in Indianapolis.  As a team, 3 INTs (2 by starting QB David Blough)and 1 lost fumble (2 total).  Another issue from last year that cropped up again was imbalance.  It seemed like when Purdue could run, their passing was awful.  On days when the passing game looked good, the rushing disappeared.  That happened again.  On the ground Purdue eked out just 51 yards on 21 carries.  Simply not good enough.  Lastly, while the defense had some good stretches they weren’t able to play a full sixty and ultimately gave up 524 yards of offense, 378 of it through the air.  Of course on the plus side, they don’t face another defending Heisman winner the rest of the way.

Rutgers – B – Unlike Purdue’s moral victory which still exposed some flaws, Rutgers’s battle with Washington was a bit more encouraging.  First of all the defense gave up just four drives resulting in 16 points.  The other 14 UW scored came on a punt return for seven and an INT that set the Huskies up inside the RU 40.  The offense had some nice signs as well with 131 yards on a 3.9 yards per pop.  Not a huge number, but a respectable average against the Pac 12’s elite.  The passing game was also getting some good work in.  Kyle Bolin had a pretty nice day outside the two picks.  If Rutgers plays this well against the easier teams on their schedule, the wins will start coming in a hurry for Ash’s ball club.

Wisconsin – A – But, but, but, the first quarter and a half.  Nonsense!  Badgers put 59 in a row up on the board and won the game 59-10.  Was it a sloppy start?  Sure.  Was it a slow start?  eh, maybe.  Honestly it just looked like a team knocking the rust off in week one when they weren’t sure what to expect playing at game speed.  Alex Hornibrook ended with almost 250 yards and if the score would not have gotten out of hand, both Jonathan Taylor and Bradrick Shaw would have ended with over 100 yards each.  The defense also adjusted extremely well after a few nice plays by Utah State early on and ultimately ended with 4 takeaways and barely 300 yards allowed.

Game of the Week – Once again Maryland and Michigan do battle.  In the team of the week I went with Maryland but for the game, I’m actually going to go with Michigan.  Pretty controversial since the Maryland game had a little bit of everything but this is a personal preference choice.  I was riveted by Michigan’s defense just collapsing Florida on every play.  It was a thing of beauty, especially in the second half.

Why Did I Watch This? Award – Penn State was the snoozer in the preview and it played out like it, too.  It was 14-0 after one and 35-0 at halftime.  Anyone who kept watching after the band’s show is either a die hard Penn State fan who wanted to know how the second and third units looked, had gobs of money on the game, or had a child on one of the teams because that thing was over in a hurry.

Gambling Report Card:

• Illinois vs Ball State, UI (-6.5), Under (O/U 55.5)

Whelp, don’t think I’ll be picking Illinois to cover the spread too often as they barely won, 24-21.  Got a split as the two teams barely hit forty,

• Indiana vs Ohio State, points  (OSU, -20.5), Under (57)

Huge swing and a miss.  I thought Indiana’s experienced defense combined with Ohio State’s talented one would give this game in the 20s, with maybe one team hitting the 30s.  Didn’t come close as OSU put up almost 50 alone and won the game by 28.

• Iowa vs Wyoming, Points (UI, -11.5), Over (49.5)
  

Oof, rough week shaping up at the book as I go 0-2 for a second straight game.  Iowa’s defense shined, holding the Cowboys to just three measly points en route to Iowa’s 21 point win.

• Maryland at Texas, Points (UT, -18.5), Over (56)
  

YES!  Back on track.  I felt Maryland was getting no respect heading into this one and actually matched up well.  I still thought Texas would eventually win, but didn’t think it would be a nearly three touchdown blow out.  Maryland’s awesome win, as well as the 92 combined points. gives me my first double-up of the year.

• Michigan vs Florida, Points (UM, -5.5), Over (43.5)
  

Earn a goofy split.  Michigan throttled Florida but two first half pick-sixes let the Gators put up 17 points, resulting in a total score of 50, giving me the over.  Probably won’t underestimate Michigan again anytime soon.

• Michigan State vs Bowling Green, MSU (-17), Under (53.5)
  

From my week one preview, “Gimme the favorite but I’ll take the under because I think MSU’s defense will stonewall Bowling Green” and my predicted score was 31-10.  I was totally dialed in on this one as the Spartans won it 35-10, giving me a double-up.

• Minnesota vs Buffalo, Points (UM, -26), Under (50)

This was one of my weirder double-ups in recent memory.  I thought Minnesota would win 35-10, giving the Bulls an extremely narrow cover but be a pretty healthy blowout for Minnesota.  Instead the Gopher offense sputtered resulting in a 17-7 final.  Don’t care how we got there, but it is money in my pocket.

• Nebraska vs Arkansas State, NU (-15), Over (46.5)
  

Man, I thought Arkansas State would keep it close but figured the Huskers would pull away late.  Instead the Red Wolves went toe to toe all day and only lost by seven.  The over was demolished as they combined for 79 points so I get a split at least.

• Northwestern vs Nevada, NU (-24.5), Under (60.5)
  

The Wolf Pack were surprisingly frisky, giving the Wildcats trouble before Chicago’s Big Ten team (their motto, not mine) put them away.  Got a split though as only 51 combined points were scored.

• Penn State vs Akron, PSU (-30.5), Over (66)
  

Earned a split as the Nittany Lions destroyed the Zips, 56-0.  In the future Penn State, kindly let your third and fourth string defenders give up a few points, thanks.

• Purdue vs Louisville, UL (-25), Over (68.5)
  

Moral victories are awesome for Purdue fans but bad for business.  Purdue’s narrow loss cost me the spread bet and the combined 63 points gives me two losing tickets from a single game.

• Rutgers vs Washington, UW (-27.5, Degenerate Pick), Over (52.5)
  

No more moral victories, please!  Rutger’s effort in a respectable 30-14 loss costs me big time.  You know in the middle of this recap, I thought I was going to have a decent week but the 0-4 in the Purdue and Rutgers games torpedoed that.

• Wisconsin vs Utah State, UW (-27.5), Under (52)
  

End on a split because Badgers had a 59 to zero run to blow the game wide open but also single-handedly clear the over/under.  At least I didn’t finish 0-6.

Week Record: 11-14-0

Season Record: 11-14-0