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B1G week 3

HUNT

CTG Partner
Staff member
What do you guys think of the big ten so far? Good or nah? Saw a few of the games myself.

Iowa still owns cyclones.

Ohio state needs to shore the d up obviously.. I like Stroud.

Penn state defense I guess is legit.

Wisconsin is Wisconsin. Don't seem to have that explosive back like most years.

Sparty can run. Physical. Tackle well.

Michigan. See sparty. Qb hasn't had to do much yet.

Lot of great games this week in the conference. Which ones are you looking forward to most?

GL.
 
I've actually thought this in weeks 1 and 2 as well, making adjustments means getting kicked while you're down but I still don't think they're even kinda good

I agree. They'll be exposed here
 
Penn state vs auburn is a very interesting one. Rarely ever see sec vs big ten with two big time programs early in the year.
I'm very interested in this one too. Is it a white-out game? I know Gameday will be there. No clue on AU so far, have played 2 terrible teams and they made a point to run it up on both, especially yesterday. They knew scoring 60+ in back to back games hadn't been done there in 80 years or whatever. It's such an AU thing to do, but also very smart for the new staff because the fans and alumni are eating it up. Haven't seen any of their games other than highlights, so no clue on scheme or anything new. Two comfy games for Nix to look like the 5 star he was, we'll see just how much they've been able to improve him from the last couple seasons. Penn St is ahuge step in competition, and I would think they have equal or better talent across the board. Any guesses to the line? I think I like Penn St slightly on a neutral, so with HFA I'd put it around Penn St -7.5. Anything less than that and I'll be on Nittany Lions
 
I'm very interested in this one too. Is it a white-out game? I know Gameday will be there. No clue on AU so far, have played 2 terrible teams and they made a point to run it up on both, especially yesterday. They knew scoring 60+ in back to back games hadn't been done there in 80 years or whatever. It's such an AU thing to do, but also very smart for the new staff because the fans and alumni are eating it up. Haven't seen any of their games other than highlights, so no clue on scheme or anything new. Two comfy games for Nix to look like the 5 star he was, we'll see just how much they've been able to improve him from the last couple seasons. Penn St is ahuge step in competition, and I would think they have equal or better talent across the board. Any guesses to the line? I think I like Penn St slightly on a neutral, so with HFA I'd put it around Penn St -7.5. Anything less than that and I'll be on Nittany Lions

Definitely a white out. Night game. I'd say it's psu - 6.5. Nix is dog shit. He will be back to Bo nix in this one. Might get that soft line because of those two games you mentioned for auburn.
 
I took Sparty +14.5 last week. You might be right, but I’m not sure Miami should be laying two tds to any team with a pulse

Good point too. I can see a 11-13 point win. I guess rolled a strong word. Just night and day in the competition though first two weeks. Sparty has played some pretty bad teams. Northwestern might be the worst team in the big ten right now.
 
Cincinnati vs Indiana. Another fascinating game. Cincinnati woke up in the second half Saturday. I still can't get over Indiana getting steamrolled by the Hawkeyes a few weeks ago.

I'll keep rambling throughout thread. Be in here most of week when I can.
 
I mean I’m already drunk for Purdue/ND but I was hoping for 10 to hammer. Good bit of weaknesses for both sides to take advantage of with their corresponding defensive lines in particular.
 
The B1G looks entertaining this year, but, I don't see any title contenders in there this year, primarily due to tOSU not having a defense this year.

Most impressive thing outta the B1G so far this season is that Iowa defense. They are tough, hard-nosed, smart, and very enjoyable to watch. I'd say they are definitely a top 5 defense in the country this year.
 
Cincinnati absolutely came out with their hair on fire against miami oh who just played minnesota tuff. Thing is I'm not sold on Ridder throwing the ball or the oline protecting. Cincy offense is not great if the run game is shut down. I think UC takes a loss somewhere this season and Indiana is a home dog off a loss. Is Penix hurt ? he looked bad. My initital impression is take cincinnati but indiana had a few fluky and correctable issues in that iowa game and may be much closer to last years team than we think.

The Iowa - Iowa State game is something because at the end of the season I don't think Iowa could play with the guys Iowa state is beating. Oklahoma vs Iowa ? Sooners

Nebraska is looking worse and worse the more illinois gets beat. I just don't think the corn are any good. Oklahoma in a route.
 
Alright, some scattered thoughts from myself...

I didn't see much after the 3rd quarter of Oregon and OSU unfortunately and still need to watch UM/UW in full...so take anything with a grain of salt...

The Iowa defense is damn good. Old friend tee dub said last week that is probably the best back 7 Parker has had... Now, their offense has faced what we believe to be two pretty good defenses so the jury is really out there... This looks like a 2 horse race in the West...

That looks like a typical Wisconsin OOC boxscore...maybe even moreso impressive. You won't see many as dominating boxes as that one all year...

The Illinois defense is awful. Virginia basically did whatever they wanted all day. The season highlight may very well be Week 0...

Not much to gleam from MSU vs YSU. So far the Portal Spartans are playing well, with much better QB play and very good running.

I'm not gonna touch these other games...Rutgers won as I expected... Minnesota let Miami Oh get back into it... The games vs garbage teams went as expected...

So, we'll move on to UM vs UW...


In no shock to anyone, many Michigan fans are not happy with everything that happened on Saturday. What would that be? The passing game. Now, I get the concern here... but at the same time... you are running all over this team...AND.. no doubt the gameplan was to run a lot and to stay away from those UW corners...

Limit turnovers
Control ball
Wear em down in 2nd half.

Mission accomplished.

We can get much deeper about what I'd like to see this week in a bit... but overall that game went almost exactly as I had hoped...easy ass under...

As I said before the WMU game...they are gonna RUN a lot this year. Harbaugh has more of a hand in the offense this year...

Defensively...Aiden is a beast...glad he is healthy and just having a monster start. Dax has been great as well. Remember, this is a 5 star who flipped Michigan to Alabama and back....stud player...

Back in a bit to talk about this coming week...
 
Okay, lets talk about this week a bit...


Obviously we have a great old rivalry right away with Nebraska and Oklahoma...this game thought likely will get out of hand... but who knows? That OU defense looked rough vs Tulane. I played the GOY line back a few weeks ago at -20 and feel good with that bet. I'll likely be involved in a few others ways as well...

NIU played an absolute wild one with Wyoming the other day. Granted, a lot of that was in garbage time... but overall this NIU team is a bit better than expected (which was horrible). Rocky Lombardi won in A2 last year... had 3 picks vs Wyoming and isn't that good of a QB imo. This is definitely a letdown spot for Michigan...they have Big Ten play the following 2 weeks with pesky Rutgers and a huge game in Madison. Is this the week they work on the passing game? Does the defense have the mentality to shut down another team? We shall see. Good learning game. Personally hope that we get a nice lead to get JJ some more reps... I see the total here rose pretty quickly. I get it, and this would be the time to perhaps hit the over in a Michigan game. I haven't played it, but will monitor as the week progresses...

Maryland laying 7,5 at Illinois... not something I am anxious to lay...a weird 9pm eastern start...but...I may be interested in a Terps TT here...like to hear what @Timh has to say about Taulia and co... I've seen enough of this Illinois defense the last two weeks...

I'll tell ya what...I have NO clue about MSU and Miami. I really need to watch this game to get a good feel for both moving forward. This is a HUGE game for the Miami program, imo. On the flip, it would be a really nice win for Scotch Tucker and company. Even a solid effort in a loss and they can be encouraged. The GOY line that some like @survive&advance is very nice. Lots of options. In my head, I want to say we are getting a discount on Miami but I do not truly believe that. Just aa wait and see in this one for me...

I was pretty excited for this Cincy and Indiana matchup a few weeks ago. Some of my Penix luster is lost after the game in Iowa, but we are seeing how darn good that Hawks defense is. I want to lay it with Cincy and might play the ML...I'd expect they have some good fan support there as well. Still looking at this one... wish I had better data on Indiana from last week's win vs Sisters of the Poor...

I had a feeling Colorado would hang with the TAMU squad, and they did in ugly fashion. Now, they get the Gophers... a team they should hopefully have some more success against offensively. Minnesota was less than impressive overall last week(from boxscore capping). No leans here at all...

Talk to me @PaintCrew ! We see the Irish defense giving up some points. We also see Jack Coan being freed from a Wisconsin offense and playing pretty solid. This one should be fun...I'll defer to the expert here...

Iowa faces the flash at home, this is a stay away for me... just tough to get up for this one after the Indiana and ISU games...

How does Ohio State respond? I literally do not know. Give me a better read on Tulsa anyone that has it...

Ahh...the annual Duke and Northwestern game...NW is trash, but they will improve as the season progresses... no thanks here...

Auburn and Penn State in Happy Valley is obviously the marquee game. Pretty strong line here to be honest.... We have a PSU team that got outplayed in Week #1 but won the game...all that matters... last week went as expected vs Ball St... Auburn averaging over 60 a game but we are talking about Akron and Alcorn. Night game in Happy Valley is always an extra advantage... I am sure we'll get plenty of talk about this one here and especially in the SEC Thread @gps_3


More to come as more gets capped...

Looking forward to the discussion all...
 
This is the week I likely get too drunk and too emotional either way before taking the wife to a Zac Brown show that I’ll likely get us kicked out of.

A nice little Saturday upcoming to say the least. The kids will be with the in laws. Neighbors warned that unnecessary shouting either positive or negative is to be expected.
 
This is the week I likely get too drunk and too emotional either way before taking the wife to a Zac Brown show that I’ll likely get us kicked out of.

A nice little Saturday upcoming to say the least. The kids will be with the in laws. Neighbors warned that unnecessary shouting either positive or negative is to be expected.
Enjoy it, Paint!
 
Purdue/ND thoughts

I had this game in the “unlikely but what if?” category before the season. Even with ND as a team circled to fade at least early with Freeman’s attempted overhaul on the defensive side.

Nothing new but this game comes down to finding ways to protect corresponding QBs with suspect offensive lines vs superior defensive fronts whom can apply pressure.

ND has taken a hit injury wise at the tackle position and according to Kelly mentioning it just now for the 124th time it seems they are down to their 3rd string and all should feel a bit sorry for them. It doesn’t bode well for Coan imo with Karlaftis moving around from left to right and a mix of blitzes from Lbs and Jalen Graham (S). Big george really hasn’t been blocked yet and I’d have to think one of the few times in recent memory outside of the Ryan Kerrigan and Sean Phillips days that Purdue has had an edge like this in the trenches. That being said as my preseason notes said Lambert will be living dangerously and some big plays in man to man bring pressure are possible and probably a couple likely. Purdue’s hopes likely are that just enough big time shots miss and that Mackey and Trice on the outside can break up a couple.

On the other side it’s much of the same. Purdue’s o’line has underwhelmed for the most part against inferior competition vs what they will face on Saturday. I’m a bit worried and while Toledo and FSU had clear success my fear is that it was with vastly more mobile QBs vs what Purdue has with Plummer. Plummer is going to have to make a lot of tough throws IMO as he gets hit. I do think Brohm has some options here and can take advantage of Freeman’s defensive aggression with throwbacks and misdirection. I loved Freeman at Purdue as a position coach and recruiter and he will get there but clearly some growing pains for him as a big time coordinator. I’d suspect all tricks to be on the table.

I won’t get into too much else. Weird stuff happens in this place and historically even with the occasional superior teams (this year I think it’s relatively even) Purdue has shot themselves in the foot. Drew Brews even got beat by a 3rd string TE playing at QB for the love of god (and my horror in attendance).


A LOT of potential variance in this one be it big defensive plays or busted coverages/plays leading to walk in TDS by either team.
 
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Purdue/ND thoughts

I had this game in the “unlikely but what if?” category before the season. Even with ND as a team circled to fade at least early with Freeman’s attempted overhaul on the defensive side.

Nothing new but this game comes down to finding ways to protect corresponding QBs with suspect offensive lines vs superior defensive fronts whom can apply pressure.

ND has taken a hit injury wise at the tackle position and according to Kelly mentioning it just now for the 124th time it seems they are down to their 3rd string and all should feel a bit sorry for them. It doesn’t bode well for Coan imo with Karlaftis moving around from left to right and a mix of blitzes from Lbs and Jalen Graham (S). Big george really hasn’t been blocked yet and I’d have to think one of the few times in recent memory outside of the Ryan Kerrigan and Sean Phillips days that Purdue has had an edge like this in the trenches. That being said as my preseason notes said Lambert will be living dangerously and some big plays in man to man bring pressure are possible and probably a couple likely. Purdue’s hopes likely are that just enough big time shots miss and that Mackey and Trice on the outside can break up a couple.

On the other side it’s much of the same. Purdue’s o’line has underwhelmed for the most part against inferior competition vs what they will face on Saturday. I’m a bit worried and while Toledo and FSU had clear success my fear is that it was with vastly more mobile QBs vs what Purdue has with Plummer. Plummer is going to have to make a lot of tough throws IMO as he gets hit. I do think Brohm has some options here and can take advantage of Freeman’s defensive aggression with throwbacks and misdirection. I loved Freeman at Purdue as a position coach and recruiter and he will get there but clearly some growing pains for him as a big time coordinator. I’d suspect all tricks to be on the table.

I won’t get into too much else. Weird stuff happens in this place and historically even with the occasional superior teams (this year I think it’s relatively even) Purdue has shot themselves in the foot. Drew Brews even got beat by a 3rd string TE playing at QB for the love of god (and my horror in attendance).


A LOT of potential variance in this one be it big defensive plays or busted coverages/plays leading to walk in TDS by either team.

Agree on this purdue seems like the side but alot of variance. Remember toledo had good fortune of a pick 6 and a couple fumbles. Nd defense i thought stepped up against the macs best run game and played pretty good. More concerning was the nd offense. Couldnt protect couldnt run. Whose to tell if one dimensional purdue doesnt have it going early then they likely wont all game and freeman is only going to rush 3 drop everyone else and you cant trust plummer.
Under could be a play with total around 59

Im very intrigued by maryland because i thought west virginia was going to be the tougher, better coached and better team. Wvu was upper tier big twelve. And maryland looked great. Dominated line of scrimmage battle which i didnt expect.
 
Interesting stat...

Ohio State has just 5 tackles for loss this year, 1 fewer than Kansas and tied with Akron!
That's in large part because the DC Coomb's game plan was not to be aggressive and rush but to focus on contain and stay in your lanes. Just don't think he's able to call good plays and the scheme is horrible.
There was a lot of hesitation from insiders when he was hired because he's never been a DC before, nor run the single high that Day wants. That's on Day of course. Coombs is a phenomenal recruiter and brought in great DB's. He got a pass last year due to Covid but things didn't improve.
Per Buckeye Scoop, look for Coombs to get demoted and a new DC brought in soon.
 
That's in large part because the DC Coomb's game plan was not to be aggressive and rush but to focus on contain and stay in your lanes. Just don't think he's able to call good plays and the scheme is horrible.
There was a lot of hesitation from insiders when he was hired because he's never been a DC before, nor run the single high that Day wants. That's on Day of course. Coombs is a phenomenal recruiter and brought in great DB's. He got a pass last year due to Covid but things didn't improve.
Per Buckeye Scoop, look for Coombs to get demoted and a new DC brought in soon.

I've heard people say he is a good DB coach. I was not aware that the single high safety D was a Day philosophy, thanks for that.
 
Good for Notre Dame:

defensive end Jordan Botelho will be back.

Botelho, a 6-2, 245-pound defensive lineman who plays the Vyper position was unavailable for the first two games. Botelho is an explosive athlete that was one of the team's best special teams players a season ago, and he was the defense's best pass rusher in the spring. If he returns this weekend it should give the defense a boost.

Bad for Notre Dame:

Carmody took over the left tackle spot after Blake Fisher tore his meniscus. Fisher is out for eight weeks.

Carmody sprained his ankle in the first half of Notre Dame’s 32-29 victory over Toledo. Tosh Baker, the No. 3 left tackle on the depth chart, played most of the second half.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Carmody’s ankle injury is a day-to-day injury. Carmody would have to block Purdue defensive end George Karlaftis at times. Karlaftis, who is a 6-4, 276-pound junior, is one of the best pass rushers in the country and is projected by many as a possible first round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.



The Notre Dame offensive line struggled against Toledo, giving up four sacks.

“We’re going to hold off on making a decision,” Kelly said. “He’s not going to play against one of the best pass rushers if he’s hobbling. We won’t put him out there. We are going to see if we can get him ready. If we can get him ready, we are going to play him.
 
I feel like MSU wins straight up. Then again maybe I’m baffled because I loved NW first week and watched them get rocked.

Not a King fan. There’s nothing consistent about that offense. Miami been broke for years.
I think this is a battle between two bad teams. Miami has the edge in athletes but is so poorly coached that it doesn't matter. King is an awful QB and there is a good reason why Lashlee has been a vagabond changing jobs every couple of years.

I think Michigan State wins this game but I can't say that with any confidence. As a Miami fan I hope they find a way to lose 6 games and fire Mandy.
 
I feel like MSU wins straight up. Then again maybe I’m baffled because I loved NW first week and watched them get rocked.

Not a King fan. There’s nothing consistent about that offense. Miami been broke for years.
Just remember NW had 3 empty possessions in the red zone, they moved the ball with a raw FR QB on that squad and a team with a pulse would have destroyed them. My curiosity is how good the MSU run game actually is but I'm on Miami big time
 
I'll have to get around to reading VirginiaCavs writeup on this game, but I am struggling picking a side in the MichSt-Miami game.

We think we know who Miami is, expect them to largely the same team they were last year, perhaps worse on O if King can't or isn;t ready to recapture his former self. And we know that Michigan State is better this year without a doubt, but they haven't been tested by anyone good. NW is a shell of their 2020 self and YSU was very overmatched. So up to this point, quite a bit has come easy for Michigan State. Miami on the other hand has played one super elite team and one very good team. Michigan St might not be ready for Miami, even if Miami is just still same-old-Miami, it is a big step up from what MSU has faced so far. Miami on the other hand certainly has played one team that is way way better than MSU and perhaps has played two that are better than them. The unknown is just how good MSU is, maybe this year's team can handle the step up vs a quality opponent. Brewers888 would bristle to call Miami a quality opponent, but compared to what MSU has faced to date the Canes definitely are.
 
Not much to add at this point UM wise...

New punt returner soon, if not this week...

About it.

No significant injuries last week.
 
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