Indiana

Well, sometimes you go all in on a team and it costs you.  That kind of happened to me with the Hoosiers.  In last year’s Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction, I had the Hoosiers going 7-5 but had their best case all the way at an 11-1 season.  I liked the hiring of Tom Allen that much.  Unfortunately three hard luck losses (7 points in OT to Michigan, 8 points at MSU, and 3 points at Maryland) put this club at 3-5 (0-5) and made getting to that bowl mighty difficult and the Hoosiers would ultimately fail in that pursuit, finishing the season 5-6 (2-7).

Where I went right

Tom Allen being a good coach.  The defense had some nice games and the offense eventually got most of their kinks worked out.  I was also right about Griffin Oakes being a stud of a kicker.  I just thought Indiana would be a bit more polished and after that rough first half of conference slate could settle down and knock off some teams like Maryland, Purdue, and maybe even a Michigan school.

Where I went wrong

The offensive woes, especially against league teams.  Richard Lagow just didn’t look as comfortable with this staff than he did with Kevin Wilson’s.

Season-Defining Moment

The annual Old Oaken Bucket game put two 5-6 ball clubs together.  Down 31-10 in the fourth quarter the Hoosiers scored to make it 31-17.  Then they recovered the onside kick, epic comeback time!  Unfortunately they turned the ball over on downs with under six minutes left and Purdue was able to hold on.

MVP

Simmie Cobbs, WR – The current Washington Redskin hauled in 72 passes for 841 yards and a whopping eight TDs.  He also had three double-digit catch games and three 100+ yard games.

Maryland

The Terps made a bowl two years ago and I had similar expectations for them, predicting a 6-6 season in their Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction post heading into 2017.  One thing my predictions can’t account for are injuries, and that is what derailed Maryland after a promising 3-1 start that included an upset victory at Texas would turn into a 4-8 (2-7) season when it was all said and done.

Where I went right

I called Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison III the best RB tandem in the league no one has heard of.  They played pretty dang well, so that felt good.

Where I went wrong

The injuries.  For just a snap shot, Maryland had four quarterbacks start at least one game in 2017.

Season-Defining Moment

Sadly it was probably during the opening upset of Texas because duel-threat quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome tore his ACL and was out for the rest of the year.

MVP

DJ Moore, WR – Despite all the upheval at QB, Moore had one of the best seasons in the league last year.  He racked up 80 receptions, 1033 yards, and eight TDs in his final season in a Maryland uniform since he will now collect checks from the Panthers organization.

Michigan

Possibly my best Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction post last offseason as I predicted Michigan to go 8-4 and they went exactly 8-4.  I got all of their games right except I had the Florida and Michigan State games flipped.

Where I went right

Outside the overall record, I highlighted a very young receiving corps as a problem facing a Michigan team with a very tough schedule.  This prediction was spot on as the leading receiver had just 300 yards and Michigan produced just nine touchdown passes.

Where I went wrong

Florida was way worse than I ever expected and Michigan State was much better.

Season-Defining Moment

After the narrow MSU game and PSU blow out, Michigan sat at 5-2 (2-2) but rallied to head to Madison 8-2 (5-2).  Up 10-7, Michigan’s defense had Wisconsin facing a 3rd and 13.  Wisconsin QB Alex Hornibrook connected on a 51 yard pass.  Later that drive Wisconsin had a 3rd and 16 but the Wisconsin QB hit again, this time a 24 yard TD pass as the Badgers took the lead and never gave it up.

MVP

Maurice Hurst, DT – One thing I highlighted last off season was Michigan having to replace 11 of their top 13 tacklers.  Michigan’s defense ended up being one of the league’s elite and Hurst’s monster season was a key reason why as he racked up, among other awesome stats, 13 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

Michigan State

Sometimes you can trick yourself into the wrong way of thinking and go wrong, REALLY WRONG, and that’s what happened to me in last year’s Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction with MSU.  I thought I saw a bad quarterback situation resulting in a bad offensive team combined with a what I assumed would be a distracted program after the heinous sexual assaults from two years ago resulting in a 4-8 (1-8) train wreck.  My best case prediction of 10-2 ended up much closer to the actual thing as MSU went 9-3 (7-2) before annihilating Washington State in the bowl.

Where I went right

Saying that MSU could turn things around in a hurry, because they did, winning 10 games in 2017.

Where I went wrong

Literally everywhere.  Probably no bigger spot than at quarterback where Brian Lewerke was the second leading rusher on this team with over 550 yards and was much more of an effective passer than I projected him to be.

Season-Defining Moment

This team knocked off Michigan and Penn State last year but that second half in Ann Arbor was vintage Dantonio.  His defense forced four turnovers, two punts, and kept Michigan from scoring as time expired to hang onto the 14-10 victory.

MVP

Joe Bachie, LB – Man MSU can find some defensive studs.  The sophmore lead the team with 94 tackles and also racked up 8.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, and 3 INTs for the unit that would finish the year 9th in total defense nationally.

Ohio State

I’m not going to say making a Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction for Ohio State is easy, but when you can put up 12-0 (9-0) as a prediction, you know the team is going to be pretty good.  Ohio State wouldn’t end up flawless, but they did win 10 regular season games before knocking off Wisconsin in Indianapolis for the league crown and then bested USC in the Cotton Bowl to go 12-2 (8-1).

Where I went right

Knowing that OSU was going to be good.  I mean it was pretty easy.  They were young in 2016, returned basically everyone, had a senior stud under center, and recruit better than anyone else in the league.

Where I went wrong

Obviously the Iowa game.  This is most likely the result that knocked Ohio State out of the “playoffs” as the committee couldn’t justify a two-loss team when one of those losses is a 31 point laugher at Iowa.

Season-Defining Moment

In the definitive game of the eastern race, Penn State jumped out to a 28-17 half time lead.  In the fourth it was 35-20.  An OSU touchdown made it 35-27 and then the Buckeye defense held PSU to a field goal to make it 38-27 with just under six to go.  Another OSU score followed by a failed two point conversion made it 38-33 with 4:20 remaining.  A Penn State three and out forced a punt and OSU would score on the ensuing drive to take a 39-38 lead with under two minutes left.  The Buckeye defense would turn the Nittany Lions over on down, sealing the comeback victory.

MVP

J.T. Barrett, QB – Another outstanding season by this young man as he piled up the stats.  Last year he ended with 3053 passing yards while completing 64.7% of his passes and had 35 TDs to just 9 INTs.  He also added 798 rushing yards, second best on the team, and 12 rushing touchdowns, tops on the team.  I’ve always loved his game and I think the Saints have a superstar in the making to learn behind fellow Big Ten quarterback, Drew Brees.

Penn State

I thought going back-to-back for the Lions would be tough, especially with some nasty road trips in the division but I still had PSU going 11-1 (8-1) in my Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction last year and that wasn’t too far off as the Lions went 10-2 (7-2) in yet another strong campaign under coach Franklin.

Where I went right

With Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley back, it was a pretty safe bet to say that Penn State would be strong offensively.

Where I went wrong

The Penn State DL turned out better than I projected.  I can take a small “told ya so” victory thanks to OSU rushing for 201 yards on them, but that doesn’t give the whole picture.  PSU finished 14th in rush defense this year so they clearly got that DL unit working better than I projected they would.

Season-Defining Moment

Focusing on the fourth quarter comeback the Buckeyes had, when Penn State kicked the field goal to go up 38-27, a zoom-in is required.  PSU’s drive took off 5:30 in the fourth and worked its way all the way down to first and goal at the OSU 7.  First down was a gain of three.  Second and goal at the four.  Second down was a gain of one.  Third and goal at the 3.  Third down was a loss of three.  Get six there, and I don’t think even the Buckeyes have enough time to complete the comeback.

MVP

Saquon Barkley, RB – McSorley became the man later in the season but Barkley’s Heisman worthy numbers in the first half of the season were greatly needed to get the season going, including his Herculean effort in Iowa City to avoid the upset-minded Hawks in PSU’s narrow 21-19 victory.

Rutgers

I predicted some marginal improvement and had Rutgers going 3-9 (1-8) in last year’s Best Case / Worst Case / Prediction and I wasn’t too far off.  The Scarlet Knights would end up winning four games, three of them in league, and showed some real growth, even with the three ugly games to wrap up the season.  Despite the flat finish, progress was undeniably made.

Where I went right

I said Rutgers had quarterback questions galore and, well, none of them were answered.  The lack of passing pop was a season-long issue that resulted in Rutgers having one of the worst offenses in the league.

Where I went wrong

I highlighted the receiving duo of Janarion Grant and Jawaun Harris, making it sound like the passing game could still have some potential with these guys.  It never happened.  Grant had so-so numbers and Harris, um, well, he played safety.  Yeah.  Not sure why someone with his freshman numbers was moved, but that’s why Chris Ash makes the big bucks.

Season-Defining Moment

Sitting at 1-4 (0-2) the Rutgers season was shaping up to be another brutal one when the club headed off to Illinois.  Rutgers played some of their best ball and opened up a 28-10 second half lead.  When Illinois scored to make it 28-17 and have a glimmer of hope, Rutgers marched right back down the field to make it 35-17 and locked up their first league win since 2015.

MVP

Sebastian Joseph, NT – The big man in the middle of Rutgers’s well coached defense was an iron man, starting his last 49 games on campus.  As a senior he had 41 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, forced a fumble, and even blocked a field goal.  Now he gets to be paid for his hits…for a Super Bowl contender…in Los Angeles.  Nice treat to the end of a very productive college career.