A little Keith Jackson to get the blood flowing for this week. He is still the standard bearer for announcing in College Football and shows how bad things have really become in the broadcast game.
Before we move to this week, lets look back at last week quickly...
Nebraska got a key win for the home faithful. The season is over as far as a bowl game but these are building blocks for a promising future. Frost has not let this team quit at all through bad games, then some heartbreaking losses. All the credit to that whole staff and their players. Michigan State simply has one of the worst offenses we've ever seen among Power 5 schools. It is atrocious. Before the 'injury crowd' jumps in, lets remember that last year this team wasn't exactly cracking 20 points on the regular at all. When they were pretty healthy they were still struggling to score this year. The defense has been damn good the last month and they are wasting it. This team had potential for 8-9 wins, no doubt.
Iowa crushed Illinois. I was tepid to play as I mentioned in last weeks thread due to motivational factors but they started wearing them out right from the rip.
Northwestern took care of business up in Minny. That is very impressive. This team is focused and should not be discounted at all for December 1st. The line had moved so much it should have been bet out of principle, but alas...
Penn State looked kinda yucky at Rutgers. This will be an interesting Bowl team to be honest. I do not know what to expect other than a senior QB in his last game would like to go out with a bang.
OSU and Maryland was nuts. It was a very good game overall by pressing on the 2h tt. I am glad OSU won. I did not want them coming into this week with a loss at all. I could care less about clinching the division if it doesn't mean being that team. I am still not sure how Maryland didn't complete that game-winning 2pt conversion. My dog could have thrown that ball.
Just a brutal collapse for Purdue. They had a 2 TD lead and end up losing in what was a 4th quarter and OT classic. Things just are not going well. Can they get themselves off the mat this week and secure a bowl bid versus Indiana?
Quick Michigan notes-IU notes:
-I saw the Winovich step on calf. I would not call it a stomp or 'Suh' play at all. I honestly cannot tell if he was stepping over and missed or if their was intent. I also am more curious of when that was in the game and whether all the IU dirty stuff had started.
-Indiana played dirty. Anyone who doesn't think that was targeting at the end on Edwards needs their head examined. You all know I hate targeting but that play was just not even close to being debatable.
-The IU coach celebrating at halftime was hilarious
-The IU coach 'liking' all the dirty plays, etc on Twitter after the game is slightly creepy.
-Rumors are Michigan had a lot of guys sick last week, hence the lack of energy and all the cramping.
-Well, we found a guy to hit medium range FG's
-Indiana offense aquitted themselves well on Saturday.
Okay, rivalry week in the conference...
(Any lines I mention are current)
Maryland, IU and Purdue playing for Bowl bids. Obviously, two of those teams meet up.
Iowa and Nebraska should be a good game. Team Value getting double digits here. I do feel that Iowa may be a bit too physical for them but I won't put anything past them at all. the number is 10-53 current. I have no immediate leans in this game.
The Situation Trophy Game takes place at Spartan Stadium
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This game should be one of the ugliest of all Holiday week. We have a 27 point favorite and a total of 37 points. Yikes. Michigan State should start Theo Day since the redshirt rules are in effect in my opinion. You are looking at a 3 way battle in spring ball, so throw him the ball and see what he has. This game just feels like 24-0 final, maybe 27-3. It should be a very sparse crowd for Senior Day. Do your eyes a favor and watch this one on Gamecast.
Indiana and Purdue should be a great game with a bowl game on the line. This is the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket!
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Again, this is a tough game for me with Purdue. They have a lot on their plate. That game was a killer for their mindsets last week. Plus, you have the Brohm issues. I would lean Indiana at this point catching the 4 points.
Northwestern will win easy enough versus Illinois. I am not sure about the 18 points but they should win around 27-7 or so. That total seems way too high to me at 58. Thoughts? That could easily be an under for me.
Maryland needs the win and Penn State continues to sputter along. Again, how many times can the Terps get off the ground after getting knocked down this season? It is amazing. Penn State should be able to contain the run better than most teams. I wouldn't lay with the Lions but I would be a skeptic of taking the 13.5 right now. The total may be a tad high, but nothing outlandish.
One more trophy game between the Badgers and Golden Gophers.
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The game is lined 10/54. I feel like we'll see a low possession game with lots of running. Does a score of 24-17 seems about right? Definite lean, at this point to the under. Now, I do not like it as much as the other under but I still like it at first thoughts
One game left on the card and it is in the B1G East and will decide the rep of that division in Indianapolis. Two teams that are 10-1 but have went much different paths to get there. Obviously this will be a big focus of the thread... so let me do some quick notes...
-No idea on injuries. You won't know about Winovich till the game starts, in my estimation
-The kicking game is interesting, for Michigan.
-I am so glad we got the 'John O'Neill' game out of the way last week. He was a big part of the highway robbery two years ago in Columbus. As always, the officials will be interesting both ways.
-if Cowherd and NevadaBucks source (same guy apparently) is correct this is Urban's last game at the Shoe. That is an intangible in itself.
-Ohio State can be scored on easily. Michigan cannot squander opportunities in the RZ or be ultra-conservative
-Ohio State must not abandon the run. Last week they kept things mixed great from the 2q on. No doubt, it was the most points they have scored in sometime. If they get down and go strictly to passing... this game will be ugly for them.
So much more to cover in this game and will at all available moments this week. Lets wet the appetite a little more though and go from there...
