Well that helped clear things up. Wisconsin’s win over Iowa clinched the west for the Badgers and the Ohio State win all but clinches the east for the Buckeyes. There is still some work to do but by moving to 6-1 with Illinois next and all the other contenders in the division at two league losses, OSU pretty much has it wrapped up. Elsewhere Northwestern remained hot, Minnesota embarrassed the children of the Cornhusker, and Illinois moves closer to that magical 0-9 mark. All that and more in this week’s recap.
Team of the Week – Wisconsin – A+ – Okay, the pick sixes were bad and gave Iowa sliver of hope but the rest of that game went all Badger red. Iowa was held to just 66 yards of offense and five first downs. Wisconsin put up nearly 400 yards on a defense that has been Iowa’s strength all season. Jonathan Taylor had another marvelous day with 157 rushing yards as the ground game generated 247 yards.
Illinois – F – Another week, another woeful performance by the Failing Illini. This week against a 0-6 in league Indiana team, Illinois mustered just 14 points, 294 yards, 10 first downs, 33 rushing yards (on 30 carries), and had 3 turnovers to boot. Until Lovie (or whoever they get after dumping him in a year or two) figures out how to actually move the ball, this team will remain pathetic.
Indiana – B+ – Can’t go to an A because the Hoosiers were dreadful on third down and their yards per play wasn’t to hot but they are in the win column! Yes it was against Illinois but 4-6 (1-6) with games against Rutgers and Purdue remaining mean the Hoosiers are still in contention for a bowl. Shout-out to that defensive front that produced 10 TFLs and 8 sacks, including lineman Jacob Robinson who had 2 sacks and 3.5 TFLs alone.
Iowa – F – Sixty-six yards of offense. That is all you need to know about this one. The two pick-sixes provided some nice cosmetics to avoid a shutout but the offense reached a new low this week.
Maryland – D – The 35-10 final is pretty ugly but the Terps actually did some nice things. Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison III each ran the ball well as the offense generated 340 total yards (35 more than Michigan) but the offense’s was undone by sloppy play. 2 turnovers – one pick was returned 80 yards, 7 penalties for 59 yards, and a terrible day on third down bared Maryland from being more competitive in this game.
Michigan – B – It was nothing flashy but the Wolverines got an efficient 35-10 victory to push the mark to 8-2 (5-2). The biggest issue in this game has to be that special teams. Another missed field goal by Quinn Nordin and some really bad punt coverage could have cost Michigan the game if the Terps hadn’t shot themselves in the foot so many times.
Michigan State – F – Under 200 yards, terrible day rushing, 3 turnovers, and lousy on third down. It probably didn’t help that Ohio State was beyond pissed off after losing that Iowa game so the Spartans faced a major challenge to hang in this game but falling down 35-3 at the half was worse than most people expected.
Minnesota – A – It was the Demry Croft show, folks. Despite still not being much of a passer, he put up 183 rushing yards and a score on just 10 carries as the Gophers humiliated Nebraska, 54-21. The win gets UM back to .500 ball at 5-5 so bowl hopes aren’t done yet.
Nebraska – F – Speaking of bowl hopes being over, the loss up in the Twin Cities dropped Nebraska to 4-6 on the year and their defense just keeps getting worse and worse. At this point there is just a few weeks left in the Mike Riley era.
Northwestern – B – It wasn’t the prettiest win ever recorded thanks to Purdue racking up the yards left and right, but the defense mostly bent but avoided breaking as the Wildcats improved to 7-3 (5-2). A big day passing the ball as Bennett Skowronek racked up over 115 yards and a score on 7 catches. Fitz has his club dialed in.
Ohio State – A+ – Talk about getting back on track in a hurry. Ohio State exploded out of the gate to a 35-3 halftime lead and never looked back. The running game dominated Michigan State all day to the tune of 335 yards on 42 carries. Amazingly, Mike Weber needed just nine carries to put up 162 yards and 2 scores. The Buckeyes are now have a stranglehold on the east.
Penn State – A – After back-to-back losses it was worth questioning Penn State’s confidence. A slow start against Rutgers showed some of that tentativeness but once they kicked it into gear against the Scarlet Knights, it was business as usual in the 35-6 victory. Trace McSorley was dialed in hitting 16 of 21 for over 200 yards and 2 scores and the defense was phenomenal.
Purdue – C – A fine effort in the snow as Purdue had more yards, shredded Northwestern through the air, had a nice day on third down, and played pretty clean ball all things considered in Evanston. The problem were too many empty drives. Elijah Sindelar racked up 376 passing yards and the offense had 438 yards total yet they generated just 13 points. A missed kick and 1 of 4 on fourth down contributed to the lack of pop on the scoreboard for Purdue.
Rutgers – D- – A lot went wrong and I mean a lot but the Rutgers defense continues to do some great things. Against Penn State they held the Lions to just over 300 yards as well as bottle up Saquon Barkley and hold him to just 35 yards on 14 carries. If this team ever gets some offense, watch out. They are 4-6 without getting squat from one side of the ball. That is kind of impressive.
Game of the Week – Do I really have to pick one? All were 10+ point games outside the Illinois/Indiana game and that had the fundamental flaw of featuring Illinois and the Northwestern/Purdue game which
Why Did I Watch This? Award – I never turn on Illinois games so that can’t win…that means it is the Ohio State game. Up 35-3, I didn’t feel the need to watch too much more of the Buckeyes throwing Michigan State around like a rag doll.
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois vs Indiana, IU (-10.0)
Ah, leave it to these two dog performers to do this to us at the book. Indiana’s 24-14 win gets us our money back and that is all. Thanks for nothing you two.
- Iowa at Wisconsin, UW (-12.5)
I felt like Iowa was going to sucker some folks in after that Ohio State game but not me. I picked the Badgers to cover the two touchdown spread and boy did they. The 38-14 final did not reflect just how dominating Wisconsin was over the Hawkeyes.
- Maryland vs Michigan, Mich (-15.5), Under (49)
I feel really dialed in on Michigan the last few weeks. That defense giving up next to nothing combined with the UM offense seemingly unable to get past 40 points makes for some easy picks.
- Michigan State at Ohio State, OSU -18.0
I have felt like MSU was more pretender than contender and was due up for a blowout loss. That didn’t happen against Penn State but it certainly come in Columbus as OSU easily covered.
- Minnesota vs Nebraska, Points (UM, -1.0)
Thanks for making me looks like a grade A moron, Nebraska. Good lord their defense is has no words to describe it. What is beyond pathetic?
- Northwestern vs Purdue, NU (-6.0)
I thought the Wildcats would win another tight one by a touchdown. Instead they got a nice ten point win in a fun little snow storm by the lake.
- Penn State vs Rutgers, Points (PSU -31.0), Under (58)
I have really like Rutgers defense this year and feel like even putting up 30 on them is a struggle. As a result I went with the points and thanks to two first half field goals, the Knights would lose by just 29. Also thanks to having no offense, the total points in this one was just 41. Awesome double up to end the week.
Week Record: 7-1-1
Season Record: 80-66-2
Big Ten and Counting 