A losing streak was snapped! No, it wasn’t Michigan State’s to Northwestern (now at three straight). It wasn’t Nebraska’s (now at eight dating back to last year and five this season). It wasn’t Minnesota, either (now at four straight to Iowa). It was indeed Illinois. Lost in Rutgers’ woeful start to the season, some might have forgotten that the Illini went 0-9 last year in league meaning their win on Saturday was their first Big Ten win since 11/5 of 2016. The beard is working, folks!
Team of the Week – Northwestern – A+ – Desperate for a win, Northwestern left East Lansing with said victory. They did it with, well, it was baffling. They put up a lot of passing yards (373) but Clayton Thorson was also picked off twice. They rushed for all of eight yards. Seriously, it was a pretty ugly day but they gritted out 29 points and the defense bended in yards allowed, but did not break when it mattered, giving up just 19 points. It wasn’t an effort that can be counted on to win a lot of games but the Wildcats earn the A+ because they absolutely had to get back in the win column because the second half of the schedule isn’t ideal for putting a run together.
Illinois – A – Illinois didn’t pass for a whole bunch but they didn’t need to as they racked up 330 rushing yards on 43 carries, an outstanding 7.7 average. Reggie Corbin and QB AJ Bush Jr each had over 100 rushing yards and combined for three scores. They also forced three takeaways as the Illini snapped the league’s longest losing streak. Now at 3-2, the question has to turn to: can we scratch out three more victories for a bowl?
Indiana – C- – Hoosiers are always a bridesmaid, never a bride against Ohio State. Yet again they played well, moving the ball to the tune of 406 yards and scoring 26 points. Unfortunately the defense just couldn’t get off the field enough times against this deadly Buckeye offense. Shout-out to Patrick Ramsey who had himself a solid afternoon against an elite team. He would rather have the victory but he was a star in defeat.
Iowa – A- – It wasn’t a flawless performance, the 31 points, over 300 yards allowed, and two giveaways are evident of that but overall, Iowa was on fire. 48 points, a beauty of a trick play, 314 passing yards, four picks, and great day from the special teams had the Hawks humming in their Floyd of Rosedale victory up in Minneapolis. The two frequent Iowa questions then need to be raised: a) where was this last game?! And b) will they play like this again?!
Maryland – F – Maryland couldn’t pass or run the ball. Forget about one-dimensional, they were zero-dimensional. What is worse is the defense couldn’t find a way to keep them in the game. Against Texas, this unit had some timely stops and takeaways. No such luck in Ann Arbor. On the plus side, they get Rutgers next!
Michigan – A – 21 points looks like some success but one score made it 27-14 in the fourth quarter and the other made it 42-21 with under two minutes left in the game. The fact is Michigan dominated this game and shut down anything the Turtles tried to do. On the flip-side another efficient outing by Shea Patterson and Karan Higdon who had another hundred yard day.
Michigan State – D+ – It is hard to pinpoint what went wrong in this one. MSU had more balance, more yards, fewer turnovers, and for vast stretches were the better team. In hindsight the big plays allowed in the passing game ultimately doomed the Spartans. For example MSU needed nine plays to grind out 30 yards for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. Next drive, NU needed two plays for 75 yards and scored seven. Next NU needed just two plays to go 51 yards and take a 14-3 lead. Compounding the strange vibe of this game, down 3 with three minutes left, MSU went for a fourth and 1 at their own 11 yard line. They didn’t get it and NU was able to push the lead to 10 three plays later. Dantonio has a track record of nifty plays, but in hindsight that might have been even too risky for his Spartans.
Minnesota – F – Gophers started horribly, showed some flashes, then ended horribly. All in all way too uneven an effort to win a league game, especially one against a deeper and more talented team. The issues at quarterback are really starting to eat at this team as Zack Annexstad isn’t 100% with his ankle and making some young mistakes (e.g. three Iowa interceptions). To try and give Iowa a different look the Gophers lined up Seth Green several times at the wildcat positions and let him pass it twice. One of his two passes was also picked. Minnesota is young, yes. They are also not the deepest team in the league but the real shame is this club is also dealing with a third factor: injuries. This is by far the most banged up team in the league and it is really stalling any momentum P.J. Fleck hoped to build in year two.
Nebraska – F+ – Hey look, that awful defense gave up 533 yards and 370 rushing yards. Yet another UW back had a record-setting day on the hapless Huskers. The least disciplined team in the Big Ten was at it again with 10 penalties for 100 yards, so there is also that. At least they put up 518 yards of offense. The flashes are there but like a new driver trying to use a stick shift, there are a ton of stalls. Still a lot of work for Frost and his staff.
Ohio State – B+ – Yeah, yeah, they gave up some big plays put they put up 49 points and Dwayne Haskins had SIX more passing touchdowns. As a team they also had 154 rushing yards so I guess you could say things are humming. The 3 giveaways were a little surprising but all things considered this was a solid victory. The fact is this team is like some recent Oklahoma outfits. They will score a ton of points and they just need to get a couple of stops each half to win in a lopsided final. It is a formula that got the Sooners to several “playoffs” and appears to be getting the Buckeyes to one this year, too.
Penn State – Bye
Purdue – Bye
Rutgers – F – Defensive guru Chris Ash gave up over 400 yards to…ILLINOIS! Yeesh. Oh, his team had 3 giveaways, 10 penalties for 105 yards, and was lousy on third down. Fun times.
Wisconsin – B+ – Big day on the ground and 41 points is nothing to scoff at but the defense took a step back with over 500 yards allowed and 24 points. If the young Cornhuskers can put up numbers like that, what is Penn State or Ohio State going to do? Perhaps I’m overly worried because of that huge Michigan tango upcoming, but I cannot be the only person surprised that the Badgers only won by 17.
Game of the Week – Undeniably strange but ultimately exciting, the Northwestern win at Michigan State really did have a little bit of everything.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – Yeah it was a nice win for Illinois but why would anyone watch Rutgers lose by 21 to a team that hasn’t won a league game in six years?
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois at Rutgers, UI (-1.5)
Rutgers continues to pay out money as the Illini covered with ease.
- Indiana at Ohio State, Points (OSU -27.0)
I quote myself here, “Still might not be pretty and could end up being a 24 point blowout but this team and program are different than the Hoosier teams of old.” It was a 23 point blowout.
- Iowa at Minnesota, UI (-3.0), Under (42.5)
After two years of defensive grinders, Iowa exploded for 48 points and Minnesota chipped in 31 but still earn a split since the Hawks did cover in the rivalry match-up.
- Maryland at Michigan, Points (Mich -17.5)
You know, I don’t feel awful about this pick. It only ended up being a 21 point game. My gut feeling that the blowouts of Harbaugh versus his old assistant were done, but the new look Terps just couldn’t quite get that extra score.
- Michigan State vs Northwestern, Points (MSU -9.0)
Forget covering, the Wildcats picked up a huge outright win as they try and get back on track after a disappointing stretch of games after an opening day victory.
- Nebraska at Wisconsin, UW (-23.5), Over (55.5)
Another split as Wisconsin won pretty handily, but not handily enough as it would turn out but the 65 combined points easily cleared the over.
Week Record: 5-3-0
Season Record: 35-34-1
Big Ten and Counting 