This was such a strange week in the Big Ten. Four teams were off, four teams played non-conference foes, and six teams were starting their league slate. Adding to the, well, strangeness was Big Ten contender Penn State being taken to the wire by a suddenly frisky Iowa team and both Maryland and Michigan State getting smoked at home in games no one expected to turn into routs. Outside of Michigan pulling away from Purdue as well as the Bucks and Hoosiers dominating, really nothing went according to plan this weekend.
Team of the Week – Indiana – A – Ahh, a twist! Yes, Iowa punched above their level but their offense was terrible in the first half and they lost. Penn State survived a road trip, but had too much sloppiness. This lets Indiana slip in as the TotW because they were practically flawless against Georgia Southern, even after coming off an unexpected delay due to last week’s cancellation.
Offensively the Hoosiers racked up big running play after big running play as Morgan Ellison had himself a day with a buck 85 and 2 TDs. The passing game was also efficient and, most importantly, was turnover free. The defense did some bending against the Southern option attack but did very little breaking. The biggest difference was in the third phase, hidden yardage and turnover margin as IU won the turnover game 3 to zero, had a special teams touchdown, and forced the Eagles into 13 flags for 108 yards. Awesome job in all three phases.
Illinois – Idle
Iowa – B+ – Keeping that game close was good, very good, and the defense was outstanding for most of that game until they were clearly gassed in the final few possessions. The problem for completing the upset was the lack of offense. The first half was a disaster, an untimely fumble in the second half, way too many dropped passes, and a poor day on third down cost Iowa the chance at pulling the upset. The good news is, this team feels like they can hang with anybody and the confidence that created bodes well for later in the season against Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Maryland – F – Yes, the Kasim Hill injury changed the complexion of that game but Maryland still deserves an F. Hill is a solid young quarterback but does he play defense? No, and UM gave up 428 total yards, 250 on the ground, and a 6.4 yards per rush average. Does he block? No, and UM gave up 5 sacks, 12 TFLs, and averaged just 1.1 yards per rush. No way to make excuses thanks to the injury and the bottom line is UM got outplayed by a wide margin and now has to find a way to rebound before three road games in four weeks.
Michigan – A- – Everything was just a tad better offensively against Purdue so it looks like UM is starting to get to where they need to be if they want to make a run for the east. The main reason for getting up to an A grade was the defense. They made Purdue’s day absolutely miserable as the Boilermakers were held to just 189 yards, 9 first downs, 0/12 on third, and a woeful 1.5 yards per rush average.
Michigan State – D – If you look at all the stats but three, Michigan State was playing well. They were good on third down, out-gained Notre Dame, put up a lot of passing yards, ran the ball well, and had the ball for eight minutes longer. So what are the three stats? The first is penalties: 9 for 97 yards. MSU isn’t good enough to forfeit 100 yards in flags. The second is turnovers: 3 (and lost the turnover margin 3-0). MSU isn’t good enough to cough up the ball that many times, let alone lose the turnover battle that lopsidedly. Lastly the score: 38-18. That reflects the sloppiness MSU had with the ball security and penalties. If Michigan State can clean those aspects up, they actually played a nice game against the Irish. It just didn’t matter once you took into account the variables of the sport.
Minnesota – Idle
Nebraska – C+ – A win is a win, right? After a long week that saw the AD fired, angry commenters following the NIU loss, and coach Mike Riley having to answer about his job security, the Huskers played a good game defensively and did just barely enough on offense to avoid another upset, this time to upstart Rutgers. The Tanner Lee watch though has gone critical. His stat line: 13/26, 109 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs. Yuck.
Northwestern – Idle
Ohio State – A – Tempting to give the A+ because it was 44-7 at halftime but UNLV isn’t good enough to earn an A+ for demolishing them. The passing game was much sharper and even though the Rebels don’t stack up, it should at least give that unit some confidence and some good tape to watch to see what they did right. Another reason they didn’t earn the A+ is 3 turnovers and 8 penalties for 85 yards. It is okay to be a little sloppy against a team like UNLV and when you are crushing them but one of those fumbles was at the goal line in the first half. Yes it turned into a safety but against a Penn State or a Michigan, you want 7 there, not 2.
Penn State – B+ – The opposite problem of Iowa. They had no problem moving the ball but didn’t take advantage enough times on their 579 yard day. A missed field goal, a blocked field goal, and settling for field goals all kept Iowa hanging around when, quite frankly, Iowa should not have been in the game. The final drive was great but against better teams not taking advantage for the first three quarters may create too big a hole to get out of.
Purdue – D+ – From the Michigan grade you know Purdue’s day offensively was one to forget but I’m not going to overreact, give them an F, and say the old Purdue team is back. They still did some good things. They played a solid first half of football defensively and had a 10-7 lead at the break. Yes, the talent and defensive strength of Michigan wore this team down but that will change with recruiting creating depth and more weapons for Purdue. This wasn’t a team that was under talented and out-coached like they were in years past. This was a team scrapping hard and hanging in against a team way above their weight class. Remember, despite losing 28-14, this was only a 14-10 game going into the fourth quarter. Purdue ran out of gas and that is fixable, they didn’t flip into a ditch and total the car.
Rutgers – C- – Much like Purdue, this Rutgers team did a lot of good things and even held a 17-14 lead in the second half. Also like Purdue they ran out of gas. Nebraska is a bit more talented and a bit deeper and eventually that catches up. The biggest thing for Rutgers in these final eight weeks is to develop some offensive pop. Despite hanging in there, 194 yards and a long day rushing the ball won’t cut it as the Knights continue to rebuild.
Wisconsin – Idle
Game of the Week – Iowa vs Penn State wasn’t just the best game in the Big Ten this week but was probably the best game of the entire day. What a dramatic, back-and-forth affair we got to see in Iowa City.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – Outside of people worried about the Buckeyes covering the spread and player parents, there was no need to flip to OSU demolishing UNLV.
Gambling Report Card:
- Indiana vs Southern Georgia, Indiana (-24), Over (52)
Start off strong with a double-up thanks to the Hoosiers hitting 52 alone and easily covering.
- Iowa vs Penn State, Penn State (-13)
I mean if picking against my Hawks will result in games like that each week, then I’ll gladly keep discounting them.
- Maryland vs UCF, Maryland (-4)
OOPS. What an absolute crap fest the turtles put on display in their last tune-up before a nasty trip up to Minneapolis.
- Michigan vs Purdue, Points (UM, -10.5)
Those 14 fourth quarter points combined with some nice Michigan defensive adjustments cooked us. Purdue played well early but they just, ahem, ran out of steam.
- Michigan State vs Notre Dame, Points (ND, -3), Over (54.5)
…Aaaaand this week concludes us trusting Michigan State in 2017 as they looked much more like their 2016 selves than an improved ball game. God that was ugly for the spread but worked for the over. The Irish hitting 38 points was key to earning a split in this one.
- Nebraska vs Rutgers, Nebraska (-12.5), Under (52)
A split as those pesky Knights only lost by 10 but the tight game yielded just 44 points. Think I’m getting a bit dialed in with these two teams.
- Ohio State vs UNLV, Points (-40.5)
A 34 point blowout has never looked sweeter. Thanks for finding a way to put up 21 points, Rebels. Now go back to Vegas and not waste another Saturday for Big Ten fans with your terrible team.
Week Record: 10-10-0
Season Record: 40-45-0
Big Ten and Counting 