Ho hum week in conference last week....
Minnesota played some defense I guess and ran all over Purdue. That was a stunning final score to say the least. The Boilers have had the definition of highs and lows this season. Basically they are right back to where they started. Nice win for Minnesota to at least have a chance to get bowl eligible. It looked bleak after the Illinois game, no doubt.
Michigan did what they needed to do at Rutgers. One miscommunication led to the huge play (thank goodness for the team total) but otherwise they went in and got about the final score I saw coming. Basically just wanted to get out of there without anything too bad happening. The injuries and concussion do not appear to be severe. Hill was in protocol Monday but rumor is he should be fine. We'll see.
Penn State gutted out a solid win at home. They can still achieve a solid bowl game send McSorley out with a nice Florida Bowl. Wisconsin simply isn't that good and it showed this year. Injuries have mounted, obviously. This game was pretty ugly in general.
Nebraska, aka Team Value, rolled over Illinois. This was no surprise. They still gave up plenty on the ground but the Illini had to be happy with the prior weeks win and couldn't keep pace with the Husker offense. This game was the definition of getting the point spread at the right times.
Maryland and Indiana was a close game. I saw none of this other than the scores scrolling by with weird numbers. Both teams are now 5-5 with chances to get to a bowl game. Remember that for capping their matches the next two weeks.
Michigan State and Ohio State was one or the toughest watches in football in some time. It was ugly. The OSU punter won the game, basically. I'll have more on Michigan State as it relates to this game and next week coming up... Solid road win for the Bucks.
I liked Iowa to roll, and I was wrong. I think they had their chances to get a few scores on the board but they could not capitalize on drives at all. Finally the seal broke, and NW got the lead. Good, old fashioned knuckler game. It was ugly but Northwestern just 'wins' games. Bottom line.
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Okay, we have an interesting dynamic with the Spartans. Lets recap and talk. I am going to be brief here so if I missed a part, forgive me...
Let me preface with saying that I was thinking Lewerke was hurt earlier in the year. Now, I am not saying it was bad then but he has had some bruises I believe. Okay, so something happened at Penn State? The Michigan game comes and he looked like hot garbage...but then again...every QB in conference this season has looked the same way versus them. After the game, Dantonio says that he didn't practice all week. The OC said he did practice. Lewerke himself seemed surprised at what his own head coach said and kind of just went with things. Okay, Lombardi starts versus Purdue and has a good game. Now, at Maryland, out comes Lewerke again. Okay, both played there and neither was great. Okay, then we have the Ohio State game and Lewerke starts again and is horrible. Lombardi enters, runs a solid 2 min drill that amounted to nothing huge. He then looks brutal in the third and Lewerke magically re-enters in the 4th quarter. He, again, sucks and looks bad....
So, after all that...
-Neither player wanted to comment or seemed happy
-Lewerke was motioning to sideline that he was hurt yet he was playing?
-Did Dantonio re-insert an injured player into the game in the 4th quarter? Did he play a guy with what could be a bad injury for the 2nd time in four weeks?
There are lots of questions and answers up in East Lansing right now.
And, that doesn't even take into account the fact they stopped trying to run the other day. The throwing from their own end zone several times was preposterous.
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One more Michigan State thing on a personal level for the SEMCON contingent...
I knew that this team was getting way too much hype entering the season. With that being said,
@HUNT got me thinking about their RSW total Under back in the summer. We went over each game and potential records. Looking at it as impartially as I could helped me get on board with this play but he was the definite catalyst on this one. So, big props to him on the Spartoons RSW under. It cashed with last weeks loss to Ohio State. So, yes, I was rooting for the Buckeyes on Saturday.
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As far as this weeks schedule....
Purdue needs to get bowl eligible. With that being said, this game has so many questions. That current number is nothing I would think about laying. This game is a good stay away, imo. Although, those that cap on the bowl eligible premise may be looking at this harder.
Iowa has to just be deflated. The losses to Penn State, Purdue and Northwestern were all heartbreaking. That doesn't even count the Wisconsin game a few months ago. Now, it is just about where they end up playing in December. Despite all this, they should wear down the Illini. My only advice here would be to look at the 2nd half line if this game is close or Iowa is trailing slightly. That is when Illinois seems to lose steam a lot.
Penn State and Rutgers holds zero appeal for me. That is whether it is betting, watching or even knowing the final score.
Northwestern has clinched their division with 2 weeks left. It is pretty impressive and also speaks to how the West is. Now, this is a potential letdown game for them in Minnesota. The thing is, even if they win out... what does it mean? It helps to see Minnesota rebound after the change last week with a big win. I don't see myself betting Minnesota but I would not bet Northwestern. For all you trap line types, this game reeks of it, right?
Nebraska and Michigan State is an interesting game. Last week was a big blow for MSU. They had designs on winning out and going to the Rose Bowl. That is what the fanbase had talked about for a few weeks going in. Now, they are going to get stuck in the Outback Bowl (oh please happen, please happen since they boycotted Outback last December) or something even worse like the Pinstripe Bowl. The 7th win will come next week in 'The Situation Trophy' game so this game is their chance to be playing for a 9 win season in a bowl game. As we talked about earlier though, what is going on up there? Then, there is Team Value on the other side. This is an interesting game of weaknesses vs strengths. I won't lie, NU is my lean as of now. I would not have said that a week ago.
Indiana always is a tricky game for Michigan. It just is. It doesn't help it is the week before The Game this season. I expect a solid enough performance where Michigan is happy to get away with a grind it out win that won't be too pretty is my guess.
Ohio State visits Maryland. Homecoming for Haskins, as Mars pointed out. This team is still trying to establish the run I think because without it they are a sitting duck in a few weeks. I think we'll see them play their best overall offensive game in awhile here. Now, Maryland should be able to run on them a bit but I think that OSU puts some points on the board. It might be a good game to finally look at a TT for them again. It has been awhile. Obviously, weather permitting.
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Hunt said the conference is bad...like 20 years in the making bad....
Lets think about it a bit....
I personally will say the worst the conference was in the last 30 years was in 2009-2010 or so. It wasn't pretty at all then. There were surrounding years there as well...
The big thing going into the season is you had 3 teams ranked too high. You know I said it about Wisconsin all summer. I wasn't high as most on Penn State as well. Add in that Michigan State was about 10 spots too high in the original polls.
Things change throughout the year. This year, and I was thinking about this the other day really highlights how important it is to have depth and good all-around coaching staffs.
The West is still not great. They keep knocking each other around while one team has just kept winning out there....the Cardiac Cats.
All of college football is down though to be honest. The 'vaunted' SEC has two great teams as we projected and then one very good team (LSU) and the rest of the conference is just like the rest of the Big Ten.
A lot has gone on at Ohio State, Maryland and Michigan State the last few years. That doesn't help things.
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I give Northwestern credit. They are not pretty but they win. They are well coached and a heck of a defensive team this year. The loss to Akron is mind-boggling. The loss to Duke highlighted maybe the one game where their coaches were not up to par. Otherwise, they have lost to the #4 team at home in a close game. There will be no layup here for Ohio State or Michigan in the Championship game.
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Alright, I'll add more throughout the week. Any questions, ask them up...
