First ever visit to Memorial Stadium in Illinois down and the verdict is…fun venue! Great jumbotron, nicely compact stadium, excellent parking situation. Concessions a tad slow. We were in row 29 and it felt a little low and hard to see some plays develop. Next trip back I’m going to try and get seats on an upper deck to have a bit better vantage point. Having said that…I will probably not be returning if Brian Ferentz is still on the sideline because Iowa is even hotter garbage than previously thought.
Team of the Week – Wisconsin – A+ – A week after hitting the re-set button on their program and season, Wisconsin came out with by far their best game in…years! I know it was against Northwestern so we will not know if this is a trend until a few more games are played but in terms of catharsis, blowing out the Wildcats felt damn good for all Badger fans. QB Graham Mertz played incredibly well and RB Braelon Allen had easily his best game of the year. With some play calling restrictions lifted for this offense, they finally looked like the Badger offense we all hoped to see. If they keep this up, they might just make it to Indy – albeit one of the strangest paths to a conference title game we have ever seen. Key phrase though: if they keep it up. Northwestern is the worst team in the whole league. Still, awesome first impression
Illinois – D+ – Survive and advance baby! The Illini survived 3 turnovers (2 of them on their side of the 50) to outlast Iowa in a game from 1922, not 2022. We know the Illini defense is no joke and they proved that time and again against Iowa, most notably after a turnover gave Iowa first and goal at the 5. The Illini held and all Iowa got out of it was a field goal. Offensively there were issues but two things to explain the struggles…1) Iowa’s defense is an elite unit. 2) Tommy DeVito hurt his ankle and missed most of the game. Word is it was a minor injury and he’ll be back in no time. I hope that’s true because without DeVito, the game plan went full blown turtle mode with no attempts down field. That won’t cut it against future opponents who can do what Iowa can’t…score!
Indiana – D+ – There is nothing worse than a “moral victory” but the Hoosiers get that this week. They played Michigan damn well, giving up 14 fourth quarter points to lose by 21 in a game that was way tighter than anyone expected. One of the reasons IU’s upset bid fell short was the ground game produced 19 yards on 0.8 yards per carry. Why were the stats so bad? Sacks. A lot of sacks. Connor Bazelak was hauled down 7 times for a loss of 61 yards. Seeing a terrible pattern, coach Tom Allen dumped his running game coordinator / OL coach Darren Hiller. Replacing him is Rod Carey who was outstanding at Northern Illinois and, well, equally awful at Temple. But NIU always seemed to have good lines when he was there. Probably too late in the season to turn the line around this year, but maybe, just maybe, Indiana can work some things out and set up for that bowl push in 2023. (Note, IU is 3-3 but their remaining games include Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Maryland so I’m projecting no bowl).
Iowa – F – Fire Kirk and his son into the sun. I honestly feel so bad for the players. The defense is balling out, even scooping and scoring a fumble (called back on review) to try and steal this game. The special teams is also strong…unless of course on a crazy windy day the offense refuses to even try to make a long field goal easier, thereby resulting in the predictable miss. The issue for this team IS THE OFFENSE!!! The play calling is horrendous (a reverse called right into a blitzing defender – no audible? No timeout called from the sideline? The Illinois dude was showing blitz the whole time). Then the players just have zero clue what is going on because their coaches are so bad. Case in point: on a third and long Iowa fell ass backwards into the right play call – a pass that included a wheel route out of the backfield by Gavin Williams. He was open, WIDE open. Easily converting the first down, probably getting another 10 yards or so after the catch. QB Spencer Petras has time (a rarity) and threw a perfect pass. One problem, Gavin never turned around and never looked for the pass. He was Forrest Gumping it down the field in a full sprint. This tells me one thing: in practice, Gavin is never targeted on this play. He must be a decoy or something and never expected Petras to ever look his way. If my hunch is correct, that is TERRIBLE COACHING!!! Lastly, Petras. Man you got to feel for this kid. His talent would have him be a backup at most power five schools – which, hey, free education, no shame in being a backup. He would probably start for some group of five teams. But really, he looks like the prototypical FCS quarterback. But because he is at Iowa where the coaching staff is stubborn to a fault, he won’t lose his job. The coaches have failed him. They haven’t taken his raw talent and made anything of him. They call horrible plays for him. They have a terrible line in front of him. His teammates love him and he does pressers after every game like a champion. He’s a great kid being thrown to the wolves. Shame on the cowardly Ferentzes. Pathetic job by Kirk and Brian…oh, and their boss, the worst AD in the nation, Gary “I’m a misogynist and kind of little bit racist or at least excuse it from my coaches, now please give me more money” Barta. Fire his ass, too.
Maryland – F – This might be too harsh, but hear me out. UM held Purdue to 13 rushing yards on 34 carries. UM had 3 takeaways. UM out gained Purdue. UM averaged over 8 yards per pass. Yet, they lost. How? Why? Terrible third down defense. Terrible pass defense. 3 more penalties than Purdue. Poor special teams. A failed two point conversion. ZERO points of turnovers while UM’s one interception set up a touchdown drive for Purdue. Lastly, not enough running plays called. In UM’s best performances of this year they either produce a hundred yard back OR run the ball so well that they have a million yards as a team (see: Charlotte box score) so no one has 100 but they would have if they played the whole game. Maryland is clearly better this year. They are a good team and would beat the snot out of my Hawkeyes…BUT, its the little things that this team still struggles with. It is what is keeping them from being a true contender in the East.
Michigan – C- – Way too many wasted possessions. UM had the ball twelve times. The final time they took kneels to ice the game. So eleven “real” possessions. They had 3 punts, 1 missed field goal, 1 turnover on downs, and 1 interception. 6/11 drives with zero points. That won’t cut it against Ohio State. That might not even cut it against Penn State. On each of the punt drives, J.J. McCarthy had too short a pass or an incomplete on third down. He needs to do better on those money downs. On the failed fourth down conversion, it was a 4th and 2. Perhaps not trusting McCarthy, they ran it. IU sniffed it out and Michigan lost two yards. I know McCarthy is the better athlete and has a higher ceiling, I’m just wondering if the experience of Cade would help pick up more of these third downs or be more trusted on fourth downs…problem is, how do you switch quarterbacks at this point? This staff has got to get McCarthy right if they have any hope of making it to Indy.
Michigan State – Incomplete – I really don’t know how to grade MSU at this point. They lost…big. They were down 35-13 at half en route to a three touchdown loss. Is it a D because they didn’t lose by 100? Is it an F because they lost handily? Bottom line is this team is struggling in all phases right now and going up against Ohio State was always going to be a nightmare.
Minnesota – Off
Nebraska – D+ – Classic Nebraska: horrid on third down, outgained, couldn’t run, nine penalties, 2 turnovers and it was a one score game. What’s this? Nebraska won?? That’s right, NU played a wretched first half and, if I’m being honest, not a terribly amazing second half either but won at Rutgers 14-13. Shoutout to the defense with 3 takeaways, none bigger than the second interception of the second half that set NU up with a 27 yard field. They would score on the very first play for the go-ahead score.
Northwestern – F – By far the worst team in the league. This game was over quickly as NU was down 28-0 at half and trailing 35-0 before they even scored. At 1-5 they need to reverse their fate and go 5-1 down the stretch to make a bowl. Hmm, let’s look at their schedule. At Maryland? Nope. At Iowa? Maybe. Ohio State? HELL no. At Minnesota? No. At Purdue. Not happening. Illinois? Only if Tommy DeVito is out. Stick a fork in the bowl hopes, they’re done. Play the youth, get experience for next year.
Ohio State – A – They dominated the worst team in their division. Yay? Good? Congrats? I don’t know. If you want to nitpick, and I’m sure Ryan Day does, the third down percentage was under 50%. Room for improvement there.
Penn State – Off
Purdue – B – Just like last week, the stats deserve a C or D but the result was a big old A+ so we split the difference. At Maryland Purdue failed to get anything going on the ground and turned the ball over three times. It is a recipe for failure more often than not but they found a way to steal a game when they didn’t play nearly their best. How? Well a few things could explain it but 8/13 on third down was one stat that caught my attention. Purdue thrives when they are efficiently marching down field and their performance on the money down was, well, money.
Rutgers – F – 10-0 after one, 13-0 at half, and lose. Offensive coordinator fired shortly there after. One of the reasons the change had to be made was more idiotic QB rotation stuff from the Knights. Noah Vedral was back after a lengthy injury and looked good in the first half. But then Evan Simon gets some run. He tossed all three of RU’s picks. Combined the two QBs went just 12/30 for 233 yards. Why make the change? If Vedral can go, play him. If you’ve seen growth from Simon after having to go against Iowa and Ohio State, play him. Playing both equals one thing…Rutgers doesn’t have a quarterback they trust.
Game of the Week – Purdue and Maryland might be one of the bigger no duh answers for this award this season. The 31-29 shootout saw 26 points in the fourth quarter alone. Very fun game.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – God save anyone who stuck with Wisconsin and Northwestern after the first half. That thing was over.
Gambling Report Card:
- Iowa at Illinois – Under (36.5)
I was feeling very good about this pick when Iowa had a first and goal at the 5 after a turnover and preceded to march backwards and kick a field goal. Folks, there were 15 points scored. That’s it. 9-6, Illinois. It set football back about a hundred years.
- Purdue at Maryland – UM (-3.0), Under (59.0)
Double loser alert!!! Maryland failed to win at home, dropping the game 31-29. Worse that score adds up to sixty! Noooo. I need to start staying away from Maryland games…or Purdue games…or both.
- Michigan at Indiana – UM (-22.5)
Took a while for Michigan to shake off the cobwebs and get going but by that time it was too little, too late, and they only won by 21. Hat’s off to IU for playing well but it makes for a loser bet for us.
- Ohio State at Michigan State – OSU (-27)
Finally an Ohio State over hits…the week I don’t pick it. Still get the win as the Buckeyes won by 29 in their 49-20 road victory at the struggling Spartans.
- Nebraska at Rutgers – NU (-3.0)
In retrospect, why the hell didn’t I bet the under? Anyway, another loser as NU won just 14-13. Sickening. Not the gambling loss, the game. It literally made you sick watching.
- Wisconsin at Northwestern – UW (-10.5)
This one might go down as the easiest bet of the season. NU is wretched and Wisconsin was going to play hard for their new interim (but probably going to be the hire) coach Jimmy Leonhard.
Week Record: 4-3-0
Season Record: 41-25-2
Big Ten and Counting 