What is the answer to the age old question: how the west was won? Well, it was won by someone backing in and the team with the best path completely flatlining in the final month of the season. Classic Big Ten West stuff, truly.
Team of the Week – Penn State – A+ – In a week that saw many top 10 teams play down to their competition, top 15 Penn State obliterated Rutgers. The Nittany Lion offense continues to be dangerously balanced with 199 passing yards and 237 rushing yards. This club will fall short of making it to Indianapolis but they are building an outstanding foundation to be a true contender next year…as long as they get a quarterback to replace Clifford.
Indiana – B – It might not be pretty but a win is a win and this win was desperately needed. Losers of seven straight, the Hoosiers get a little fun in the late stages of the season with a rivalry trophy win over Michigan State. The defense was terrible outside the fourth quarter and the offense couldn’t pass worth a lick (2/7 for 31 yards) but they ran and ran and ran all over MSU and owned the second half 24-7 to force overtime. Once in OT the Hoosiers defense was strong and IU got the surprising victory. Huge lift for them. Now they look to take down a second straight rival in Purdue.
Illinois – A – They gave everything they could and then some….just came up short. In their 19-17 defeat in the Big House Chase Brown had a game for the ages with 140 and two touchdowns. Unfortunately after a 14 point third quarter to take the lead, the offense couldn’t get anything going in the fourth and saw Michigan hit three field goals to take the game. Sadly, playing this well against Indiana, MSU, or Purdue would have easily turned those games to wins. Now Illinois’s only path to Indy is if Nebraska AND Indiana both pull off final week upsets. It is a shame that this team had their season go so sideways when the Michigan game shows you the ceiling this club had.
Iowa – D+ – Whelp, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Iowa’s stingy D was gashed time and again by Mohamed Ibrahim as he put up 263 rushing yards and as a team the Gophers had 312 rushing yards. Yet only 10 points were allowed. Two critical fourth quarter takeaways saved the Hawks as well as extremely important field goals by Drew Stevens, including the game winner in the closing minute. QB Spencer Petras had his best game in ages, yet, Brian Ferentz remains a mystery as Kaleb Johnson rushed the ball just eight times. What the hell is that?
Maryland – B+ – Well Maryland did it again, giving Ohio State all they could handle in a narrow loss. Back in 2018 the two played an overtime thriller that UM came up just shy in. The shame is, the game plan and execution UM had against Ohio State would’ve knocked off Purdue, Wisconsin, and perhaps hung with Penn State. Why Maryland can only uncork these big time performances every so often is head scratching. Still, the damage is done, Maryland loses yet again in November under Locksley and fall to 6-5 on the season.
Michigan – C – Well that was less than ideal. The defense was stellar but the offense was far from efficient enough at scoring – just seven first half points and just 10 points through three – to feel particularly good. Even on the final drive just needing a field goal J.J. McCarthy threw some boneheaded passes. Worse, Blake Corum took what looked like it could be a nasty knee injury and…well…sort of walked it off. But his percentage health-wise is a little up in the air. It is really hard to see Michigan getting past Ohio State if they play like they did against Illinois.
Michigan State – F – Up 24-7 at half against a team that cannot pass and you….choke. You get outscored by 17 after half to be taken to overtime. You fall to 5-6 on the season and now have to beat rolling PSU to make a bowl. This was a disaster of epic proportions for a team that needs extra reps. Complete failure by the staff to adjust for the second half.
Minnesota – F – It is cliché at this point to say “Iowa doesn’t beat themselves” so you need to be perfect against them [unless you are way, way, way more talented like OSU/Michigan], but…the last two years of this rivalry really underscores it. Last year a momentary defensive lapse gave Iowa a critical 72 yard touchdown pass, UM missed a field goal, and failed on a game-tying two point conversion. This year Minnesota fumbled to end an 18 play, 88 yard drive, that ate up nearly nine minutes. Then after forcing a punt they threw a “pick six” – thanks refs. They also missed a field goal. The Gophers thoroughly dominated both games, yet went 0-2 the last two years and hasn’t won the rivalry overall since 2014.
Nebraska – F – Doing a fantastic Frost impression, Nebraska returned to the late collapse / one point loss mode that their fired coach excelled in. They generated just 170 yards of offense yet led most of the game until a 12 point fourth quarter saw the Badgers steal the game, 15-14. At least Casey Thompson was back? I don’t know, I’m grasping at straws.
Northwestern – D – It is a little impressive that NU only lost 17-9 on a day in which they threw the ball 20 times and only completed nine for 78 yards and also lost the turnover battle 3-0. Still, the result remained the same: ten losses in a row. Yuck.
Ohio State – B – The Bucks took a nice nap after going up 27-13 and assuming the game was over. Thankfully they woke up late after UM made it 33-30. Taking the foot off the gas the way they did will not work against a Georgia or a USC if the Bucks make the CFP. There are too many good offenses out there to get cute and mess around.
Purdue – C – They beat Northwestern to stay in the divisional title race, yay! The downside, they won 17-9 against the worst team in the league and generated just 299 yards of offense as well as just three points in the second half. Their performance left a lot to be desired. I’m not sure that level of play would get them by Indiana, honestly. I know they can still win the West but that was a slog against horrible Northwestern.
Rutgers – F – No one expected Rutgers to hang with the on-fire Nittany Lions but turning a 14-10 hole at the end of one quarter into a 55-10 final is not what they were hoping for. We all knew this rebuild would take a while, but a 1-7 league mark is not what this program needed. Falling short against Nebraska and no shows against Iowa, OSU, Minnesota, Michigan, and Penn State leave a pretty bitter taste in the RU fans’ mouths.
Wisconsin – D- – SIX WINS! The streak lives! That’s the only highlight of their 15-14 stinker against Nebraska. It sounds like the win and keeping the bowl streak alive is the proof they needed to pull the interim tag of Jimmy Leonhard so if that’s true, step one is…BLOW UP THE OFFENSIVE STAFF!! Woof. Step two, hire a full time special teams coordinator.
Game of the Week – The letdown felt inevitable, but god damn that Illinois-Michigan game was fun. The upset would have been such a shocker for Illinois but it just wasn’t meant to be. Honorable mention to the Hoosier comeback and overtime win at MSU.
Why Did I Watch This? Award – With Penn State up 28-10 at half, did anyone stay for the second half of the PSU-Rutgers game? No? Good, let’s move on.
Gambling Report Card:
- Illinois at Michigan – Under (41.5)
With the forecast plus two good defenses, I felt like points might be at a premium. I was sort of expecting a 21-0 Michigan win. It was way closer than that, but with just 36 combined points, we got a winning ticket from this one.
- Indiana at Michigan State – Points (MSU -12.0)
My logic is that MSU is too inconsistent to be double digit favorites against anybody. That has worked for back-to-back victories at the book.
- Iowa at Minnesota – Points (UM -2.0)
In hindsight, taking the under should’ve been done but with it at just 31 points I was thinking the game might hit something like 20-17. Still, the Iowa pick paid off.
- Ohio State at Maryland – OSU ( -26.0)
After two dreadful offensive performances I had written off the Terps. They lost but their 30 points kept them in the game until the very end.
- Wisconsin at Nebraska – Points (UW -10.0), Under (40.5)
Just like the Spartans, I don’t think UW is consistent enough to bank on a double-digit win. Combine that with temps in the teens, I expected a low-scoring grinder. I guessed 13-10 UW and wasn’t too far off as the Badgers won just 15-14.
- Northwestern at Purdue – PU (-17.5)
Not even close. Purdue only scored 17 points so this spread didn’t have a prayer.
- Penn State at Rutgers – PSU (-18.5)
Yeah, I won, just disappointed I didn’t take the over, too. PSU put up 55 alone when the over was in the 40s. Dang.
Week Record: 6-2-0
Season Record: 63-45-2
Big Ten and Counting 