Ah yes, rivalry week where all the games are close and matter. Except in the Big Ten, where the average margin of victory was 32.286 points. Yep, it was that kind of excitement this week in the Big Ten.
Team of the Week – Ohio State – A – Well tied up at 14 had the crowd going bananas and then in the second half J.T. Barrett came out to injury so it is safe to say it wasn’t looking good there for a stretch. Fortunately for the Buckeyes the defense played very well in that second half and OSU found just enough offense to win. A win in Indianapolis will make for a compelling argument to let the Bucks back into the “playoffs” so winning in the Big House really was a case of survive and advance.
Illinois – F – Fun fact, Illinois was up 7-0 after the first quarter. Funner fact, Illinois gave up 14 points in each of the remaining quarters to lose 42-7. They have the added bonus of going 0-9 in league. All in all, fun times.
Indiana – C+ – Tough one for Hoosier nation as offensively they played well enough to win but the defense had a rough time stopping the run as Purdue racked up 272 rushing yards on a 6.3 average. Difficult to win when you take that kind of physical pounding on the ground.
Iowa – A+ – How many plays did it take Iowa to score 28 points in that decisive third quarter? Just 16. And I’m including the turnover on downs Iowa had between their third and fourth touchdown of that quarter. If Iowa can have more days like the OSU and Nebraska games next season on offense, they can push Wisconsin for the division. The issue for the offseason is finding some consistency.
Maryland – Incomplete – I just don’t know how to grade Maryland as they are the most banged up team in the league. The hope is some of those lofty D.J. Durkin recruits pan out and this thing can turn around in a hurry.
Michigan – B+ – This team just doesn’t have the offense yet to pull off upsets like this and the coaches, players, fans, and media knows it. Despite all that creeping into their brains, Michigan still rose to the occasion of The Game and played pretty well. 8-4 (5-4) wasn’t exactly the plan for this year but they kept fighting all the way until the end. Now, if they can just figure out how to score some damn points next year…
Michigan State – A+ – They held Rutgers to just 112 yards. ONE HUNDRED and TWELVE! A gobsmackingly bad 14 of those yards came on the ground. Awesome day for the Spartan defenders as they polished off yet another strong campaign in the Dantonio era.
Minnesota – F – First shutout in the rivalry since 1982 and first consecutive shutouts since 1950. The P.J. Fleck era still has a high ceiling but this was an ugly end to year one.
Nebraska – F – Losing 56-14 in their final game with Mike Riley was the perfect send off. In just 3 years he has given up 50+ five times including a mind boggling FOUR this year. Hell, Iowa became the third team IN A ROW to tally half a hundred. I’d say Nebraska gave up on the season but that feel like a massive understatement.
Northwestern – A – Am I allowed to give a team an A+ for demolishing Illinois? It feels too dirty. Whatever grade you want to give NU, it doesn’t matter. They steamrolled their in-state rivals and got to 9 wins, a very nice benchmark for a program like NU that has recruiting and facility hurtles that the other teams in this league don’t have. Awesome coaching job this year, Fitz.
Penn State – A – It is so tough to defend a league title and go back-to-back put Penn State put in a mighty fine effort and ended the year 10-2 by demolishing Maryland. Trace McSorley had another monster day as he looks more than ready to live in a post-Barkley world next year.
Purdue – A- – Probably not the thing of beauty the Boilermaker fans will remember for decades to come but they will remember what the victory meant: a bowl berth. Awesome day running for the home team but the defense really held IU in check until that fourth quarter. Strong possibility this is a spring-board win.
Rutgers – F – Much better record wise and the improvements were there but this week was yet another reminder how far RU is to being competitive in the east. There simply isn’t enough offensive pop in Jersey yet to scare a fundamentally sound defense like the one MSU has.
Wisconsin – A+ – Defense was amazing yet again as they held the Goofs to just 133 total yards. Alex Hornibrook had one of his best days and Jonathan Taylor did Jonathan Taylor things. Oh, Badgers also finish the regular season undefeated since 1912 so, no big deal.
Game of the Week – It was a dud of a week here in the Big Ten but the Michigan-OSU tango did produce some impressive defensive plays.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – To anyone who kept watching after Penn State went up 31-0 by halftime, well done, because I sure as hell couldn’t.
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois vs Northwestern, NU (-16.5)
Truly an easy one to pick as one team has a coach who cares, a team that cares, a program that cares, and the other is Illinois.
- Indiana at Purdue, Points (PU, -1.0)
Essentially a toss-up that went the wrong way. In hindsight I probably put too much stock into Indiana decimating Rutgers a week ago.
- Iowa at Nebraska, UI (-5.5), Over (51)
As I expected Nebraska gave up a TON of points again…did I mention this is the third straight game of 50+…as Iowa cruised to the big win. Love these late season double-ups.
- Maryland vs Penn State, PSU (-23.5)
One of the easier games to pick this season as Penn State is really, really good and healthy while Maryland is really, really rebuilding and injured all over the place.
- Michigan vs Ohio State, OSU (-11.5), Under (49), Both Degenerate Picks
Well I saved the public some money at the cost of some from my own pocket as OSU barely failed to cover, winning by 11 and the game barely went over as the rivals combined for 51 points.
- Michigan State at Rutgers, MSU (-14.0), Over (43)
Well, maybe I did put the right amount of stock into the Rutgers-Indiana game last week as I saw the Hoosiers outclass the Knights in every way and assumed MSU would do the same. The end result was a double up.
- Minnesota vs Wisconsin, UW (-18.5), Under (45)
I suspected Minnesota would not contribute a whole lot and they didn’t, getting shut out. That made the under very easy and we end a very good week on a nice twin city double up.
Week Record: 8-3-0
Season Record: 95-75-0
Big Ten and Counting 