“Playoff” dreams still alive in Madison. Bowl hopes still going in Bloomington and West Lafayette. Illinois hoping to reach the winless plateau. Fun times.
Team of the Week – Northwestern – A+ – This was not the game I was expecting. Minnesota and Northwestern entered playing some really good football but only Northwestern demonstrated that in a dominating 39-0 victory that saw stud RB Justin Jackson 166 yards. The defense did okay too, they forced 5 turnovers and held the Goofs to just 139 yards.
Illinois – F—————– – I mean it was never going to be close but they had 89 total yards. EIGHTY NINE YARDS IN A COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME. Holy Jeebus.
Indiana – A+ – Holy offense, Batman! The Hoosiers racked up over 500 yards in their 41-0 depantsing of Rutgers. Morgan Ellison’s 149 yards and 2 scores along with Cole Gest’s 104 and a score demonstrate the running game went, um, well. Richard Lagow also had a nice day passing and the defense, well, the defense posted a shutout so you know they were flying all over the place.
Iowa – F – You. Need. To. Score. More. Than. 15. Points. In. Football. Games. To. Be. Successful. Iowa didn’t move the ball much worse than Purdue did (258 yards to 294) but one team manufactured 24 points and the other was Iowa. Pathetic offense, yet again.
Maryland – D – So many injuries for this team that it is tough to grade but the defense put in a nice effort. Problem is seven points isn’t going to cut it. Shame because this team looked so fun down in Austin.
Michigan – D – The defense held in there to give the team a shot but there is literally zero offensive consistency for Michigan and against a team with as good a defense as the Badgers have, it makes it extremely difficult to win.
Michigan State – C- – Normally 17 points and a 2/14 for 20 yards day passing spells infuriating loss but thanks to Lj Scott, the defense, and playing Maryland’s hospital team, MSU managed to get win number eight on the year.
Minnesota – F – Look, Minnesota is too good to go back to the Goofs nickname but for one week they deserve it. If you want just a single snapshot of how this game went, look at Demry Croft’s stat line: 2/11, 43 yards, 0 TD, 3 INTs, 0.9 QBR. Literally nothing went right for the boat rowers.
Nebraska – F – But, but, but we only lost by 12. Shut up Husker nation. You were down 42-10 at half and were down 56-24 in the fourth. Getting 20 (6 of which as time expired) against PSU’s 8th stringers hardly counts as you being competitive in this game.
Ohio State – A – You know my rule if you beat an FCS team you can’t get an A+. Wait, they beat Illinois? Eh, same thing.
Penn State – A+ – The score doesn’t show it because of some flukiness (see the NU grade) but PSU dominated this game. Trace McSorley had 300+ and 3 scores and Saquon Barkely had 150+ and 3 scores. Impressive performance.
Purdue – A- – I mean Iowa is shaping up to be one of the stranger teams in the league but a road win is always nice and the bowl hopes remain alive. Awesome day for QB Elijah Sindelar who tossed for 229 yards, 3 TDs, and was picked off exactly zero times for the Boilers.
Rutgers – F – So much improvement from Rutgers this season made this one look interesting on paper but I think we also see how much more growth is needed after a tough pill to swallow. Onward and upward, Rutgers!
Wisconsin – A+ – Alex Hornibrook had a nice day passing, Jonathan Taylor had a nice day rushing, the defense totally locked down the anemic Michigan offense and the end result is the same as the previous ten, a Badger victory.
Game of the Week – Wisconsin’s third quarter helped bust the game open – well as much as the defensive affair could be busted open – but the defensive talent and sound tackling from both squads made this game a very fun watch.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – There were two ugly shutouts this week but only one game was 28-0 after one quarter, 38-0 at half, and saw a team be held to 89 points. You’ve done it again Illinois!
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois at Ohio State, OSU (-41.5), Over (60)
Not only is Illinois a pox to watch but they are a joke for gambling. Thanks to somehow pulling 14 points out of their butt they cost us the spread. Had they just stayed at 7, it would have been a double up instead of a split.
- Indiana vs Rutgers, IU (-11.5)
You could have had me talk about this game for 10 hours and I don’t think I would have ever predicted a 41-0 laugher that Indiana got to enjoy. What a day they had.
- Iowa vs Purdue, UI (-6.0)
This is why I can’t have nice things. I give Iowa a little bit of slack and then they yank the cord knocking me down.
- Maryland at Michigan State, Under (45)
I knew this would be a low scoring affair and it was! MSU’s ten point win resulted in a measly 24 points being scored between these two clubs.
- Michigan at Wisconsin, UW (-7.0), Under (41)
An awesome double up as the defenses totally locked each other in to a 34 point final but Wisconsin managed to do just enough to have 24 of those 34 total points and give us the cover.
- Minnesota at Northwestern, NU (-7.0)
Umm, another game that I would never have guessed such a lopsided blowout. Great day for Northwestern and we are starting to get a nice day at the sports book.
- Nebraska at Penn State, PSU (-27.5), Over (59)
Thanks for nothing Nebraska. Your 20 pointless points meant a 32 point game turned into a 12 point game turning our double up into a split. Useless.
Week Record: 7-3-0
Season Record: 87-72-2
Big Ten and Counting 