2017 BIG TEN Football Week 2
BIG Ten Week 2…
September 9, 2017
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
Week 2 has some big games on tap… Who will remain undefeated? Who will get that first win? Big Ten went 9-4 record during Week 2. Many teams have opportunities but let them slip away. Who were the BIG rinners…
44
21
Jeff Brohm and the Boliermakers jumped out to a 34-7 halftime lead over the Bobcats. Purdue put up some massive numbers offensively, 558 yards, with a nice run/pass balance; 295 through the air and 263 on the ground. David Blough averaged an absurd 18 yards per attempt as the junior went 11 of 13 for 235 yards and three scores.
17
41
44
41 (overtime)
Always, we mean always a good game… Picture this: it was late in the fourth quarter and things weren’t looking so hot for the Hawkeyes then Akrum Wadley scored an incredible touchdown to tie the game and sent things to overtime. Iowa State kicked a field goal but then the Hawkeyes answered with a touchdown pass to hang onto the Cy-Hawk trophy. INSTANT CLASSIC!!!!
63
17
36
14
Wilton Speight threw for 221 and two scores, but continues to struggle with errant throws. Kekoa Crawford and Grant Perry were both on the receiving end of the touchdown strikes. Ty Isaac continues to look like the best option in the backfield, rushing for 133 yards on 20 carries.
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31
14
28
14
Another MAC opponent defeated by BIG TEN… what’s more incredible is the Spartans are 2-0… what a difference a year makes! Plus, Brian Lewerke has been showing off his legs this season, and he scored twice on Saturday; including a 61-yarder. L.J. Scott rushed for 86 yards and a score on 18 carries.
33
14
Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley, and Mike Gesicki led the way for the Penn State offense. McSorley ran and threw for 229 total yards with three touchdowns and an interception; Barkley ran for 88 and a score while adding another touchdown on a nifty 46-yard catch and run; and Gesicki hauled in two touchdown catches in the first quarter of play.
13
16
17
34
41 
35
Completing 21 of 25 passes for 313 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions is a hell of a game for a college quarterback, right? That was the half-time stat line for Oregon’s Justin Herbert and he’s a sophomore. WOW!
The Duck offense looked like what we’ve gotten used to seeing over the years, putting up 566 yards of total offense.
Tanner Lee wasn’t his best in Eugene. Lee completed just 19 of 41 passes for 252 yards with three touchdowns and four crucial interceptions. Tailback Tre Bryant and wideout Stanley Morgan Jr. both topped the 100-yard mark. Bryant scored once while Morgan found the end zone twice. The Huskers did rally back quite nicely after a 42-14 half-time deficit, but they fell short in the end.
31
16
Talk about a BIG loss… Game was tied at the half at 3-3. In the first 30 minutes, the Buckeye defense held their own against a highly explosive Sooners’ offense, but halftime adjustments were made, and the Sooners came out on fire.
OU quarterback Baker Mayfield came through on the field as well as made his name more known as a Heisman candidate, he ended the game throwing for 386 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-35 passing.
All momentum shifted in the fourth quarter, as the Sooners 17-13 lead turned into a 31-13 lead after a 10-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to Trey Sermon, and a 3-yard rushing TD from Jordan Smallwood. Those two TDs were part of a 21-point unanswered scoring spree for Oklahoma, who entered the game ranked as the fifth best team in the country.
7
20
Defensively the Illini played tough as nails Saturday night against Western Kentucky as they knocked them off. Linebacker Julian Jones returned an interception for the game’s first touchdown. The visitors could only manage 244 yards of offense on the day. On the other side of the ball, the Illini ground game held their own behind the play of Mike Epstein, who led all rushers with 111 yards on 21 carries.
48 
14
What a weekend of games for the BIG Ten! Next week’s slate brings very little excitement to the table. The Buckeyes will look to contain Army’s option attack (oof). Michigan hosts Air Force and the Nittany Lions take on mighty Georgia State. Those games should be sponsored by Red Bull.
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2017 BIG Ten Football Week 1 Recap
BIG Ten Week 1 Recap…
September 2, 2017
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
It’s that time… BIG TEN Football time!!!! Who snagged an opening day victory?
For the most part, the Big Ten took care of business in the opening weekend. The season kicked off Thursday night will league victories by Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin (Friday), while Rutgers came up short.
Then came Saturday…. teams like Michigan State, Northwestern, Illinois, Iowa and Penn State all took care of business against lesser so-called opponents—which, I suppose, is expected in the first game of the season.
But what about Maryland? The Terrapins went into Austin and stuck it to the Texas Longhorns, 51-41. More on this below, so let’s go around the league….
7
17
49 21
In front of a jammed packed crowd (Attendance: 52,929) at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, the Hoosier put up a good, solid fight against the nations number 2 team, Buckeyes, but came up short, 49-21.
The hometeam jumped out on top and held the lead until the second half and freshmen, J.K. Dobbins, stepped up on his debut, finishing the contest breaking a 15-year-old school rushing record with 181 yards on 29 carries. Quarterback, J.T. Barrett tossed three touchdown passes in the victory.
”I’m probably the only good thing going on in my town right now, so I just thought of it as bringing my city up,” Dobbins said after spending the past week watching the flooding in the Houston area. ”That’s why I came out and played hard like that.”
The Hoosiers were led by R. Lagow, who finished the game with 40 of 65 with 410 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Really nothing to hold his head down about. The biggest problem was rushing, where the Hoosiers had 27 carries for 17 yards. Receiver Simmi Cobbs Jr. had a career-high 11 catches for 149 yards and one TD. Luke Timian had 10 receptions for 72 yards.
Coach Meyer is 16-0 all-time in season openers. The Buckeyes finished with 596 total yards, 292 on the ground, and forced three turnovers. Campbell had six catches for 136 yards.
OTHER GAME HIGHLIGHTS – CORSO HOISTED
ESPN broadcaster Lee Corso got a lift, literally, from his former players after receiving Indiana’s Bill Orwig Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the university by a non-alum.
After a video played and he was presented with a plaque, the players gathered round and hoisted him on their shoulders. Corso coached the Hoosiers from 1973-82 and led the Hoosiers to their first bowl win – 38-37 over No. 9 Brigham Young in the 1979 Holiday Bowl. He was inducted into school’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
UP NEXT
Ohio State: Heads home Sept. 9 for an even tougher match-up against No. 7 Oklahoma.
Indiana: Travels to Virginia on Sept. 9.
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30 
14 (final)
10
59 (final)
21
24 (FINAL)
This game was a lot closer than it should have been but was pure, old school grunt football as hometeam, Illini, held off Ball State with a 24-21 win. Illini were up at halftime and blew a nine-point halftime lead and wasted several scoring opportunities down the stretch and the visitors capitalized on it with a pair of strong showing third-quarter touchdowns to take the lead. True freshman tailback Mike Epstein found the end zone with just over two minutes left in the game and that was enough to give Illinois the win.
Illini quarterback Chayce Crouch threw for 145 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
“We got a lot of young guys out on the field today,” Crouch said. “I think some of our inexperience showed at times. But they’ll learn from it.”
Wide receiver Mikey Dudek was one of the country’s top freshman wideouts in 2014 and made his much-anticipated Illini return on Saturday and hauled in two passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.
In the end as time was expiring, the Cardinals were attempting a 54-yard field goal by Morgan Hagee to send the game in the overtime, but Jamal Milan was able to get up blocked the kick with his right arm.
“I actually saw it and I heard it,” Milan said. “It was pretty low. At first I couldn’t believe that I hit it. But at the same time, I could feel it. It was as loud as it can be.”
The Illini offense could only manage 216 yards on the day. They know they have to do a lot better than that in order to be competitive in the league.
Up next for Illini, they will host Western Kentucky; Ball State will play UAB.
3
24 (FINAL)
10
35 (FINAL)
0
52 (final)
51
41 (FINAL)
This game was straight out of arcade game… like vintage techmo bowl stuff!
Tom Herman’s debut did not go as planned for the Longhorn faithful as D.J. Durkin’s Terrapins put up half a hundred on a hapless Texas defense. Terps’ quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome ran and threw all over the Horns and Maryland was able to hold onto the lead despite losing the sophomore in the fourth quarter with a knee injury.
It’s difficult to describe exactly how bad the Longhorn defense looked after it took an interception to the house on the third play of the game. The Maryland offense pretty much did whatever it wanted in Austin.
The rushing attack averaged over six yards per carry and scored four times. Tailback Ty Johnson recorded 132 yards and a score on just 12 carries while Pigrome added 64 yards and a score of his own. After the Pigrome injury, true freshman quarterback Kasim Hill completed all three of his passes for 44 yards while adding 14 yards and a score on the ground.
The game literally ended with Texas fans taking out their frustrations by throwing debris onto the field. Not good, Tom.
20
31
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17
Florida basically suspended half of its team leading up to the opener against Michigan, and it was pretty obvious the Gators were missing something on Saturday. Truth be told, the offense has been missing something for years now, but the defense didn’t look like its usual self.
The Wolverines new uniforms were something to behold right? MAybe the uni’s gave them needed motivation especailly on D. The Gator offense put up just 192 yards, turned the ball over three times, and failed to find the end zone. Both of Florida’s touchdowns came on interception returns.
Wilton Speight finished the game completing 11 of 25 passes for 181 yards with one score and the two interceptions. The ground game got it done, though, tallying 215 yards and a touchdown. Surprisingly it was Ty Isaac – not Chris Evans – who led the way in the backfield. Isaac averaged over 10 yards per carry and totaled 114 yards on the day. Evans managed just 78 yards on 22 carries.
35 28
The Boilermakers nearly pulled off a major upset in Jeff Brohm’s debut as new head coach. Reigning Heisman winner Lamar Jackson put up some big-time numbers, but the Purdue defense prevented Louisville from firing on all cylinders.
Jackson totaled 485 yards of total offense and threw for a pair of touchdowns, but the Boilermakers forced three turnovers and limited the Louisville running game outside of its quarterback. Junior wideout Jaylen Smith had a big night with eight receptions for 117 yards.
Purdue split its snaps between two quarterbacks. Last season’s starter – junior David Blough – threw for 175 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Sophomore Elijah Sindelar added 118 yards, two scores, and an interception of his own. The running game never really got going as they rushed for just 51 yards on 21 carries. Jackson Anthrop caught seven passes for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Good showing Boilermakers!
36
43
Not a bad start for the Big Ten as the Maryland and Michigan victories were both big in terms of national perception (if you’re into that sort of thing), but the former was certainly the most surprising outcome of the weekend. Purdue looks like it may be on the right track under Jeff Brohm, and Rutgers wasn’t nearly as putrid as the world was expecting.
All in all, the Big Ten East continues to look like one of the best divisions in the country. From top to bottom—Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State (oh, and Rutgers)—each team is capable of making games extremely competitive.
This will be a fun season to follow.
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2017 BIG Ten Forecast
What’s in store for the BIG TEN?
August 2017
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
A year ago at this time, 32 out of 39 Big Ten Conference media members in a Cleveland.com poll predicted that Iowa would win the league’s West Division. Hhhhm…. wonder how they feel about that now?
Then in the East Division, 31 of 39 picked Ohio State to rule the roost. Whoops!
Well, here comes our predictions. So if we misfire with our world-famous pick of Ohio State over Minnesota in the championship, don’t laugh (until December 3).
In all seriousness, Wisconsin is the odds-on favorite to beat out the likes of Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern and Minnesota. Now in the East, I’m hesitating to go against conventional wisdom and beloved Buckeyes. There’s some left over for Penn State, last year’s surprising league champion that brings just about everyone back. In the end, when all of the smoke clears, I’m going with the BIG Blue… as they will snap a five-game losing streak in the Ohio State series, winning an East tiebreaker for a berth in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.
By the end of the season, the inexperienced Wolverines should be peaking. And they’ll win a rematch of their Nov. 18 game against Wisconsin at Lucas Oil Stadium and represent the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff.
EAST DIVISION
1. Michigan
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Indiana
5. Michigan State
6. Maryland
7. Rutgers
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WEST DIVISION
1. Wisconsin
2. Northwestern
3. Iowa
4. Minnesota
5. Nebraska
6. Purdue
7. Illinois
Should be a fun, entertaining season…. we are only a few hours away from kickoff BIG TEN style… Who do you have winning it all?
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Time for 8 Team Expansion
How to Expand the College Football Playoff
December 11, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
As the subject states… it’s time to expand the College Football Playoff (CFP) from 4-teams to 8 like immediately!
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It’s the third College Football Playoff season rankings and Bill Hancock, the CFP’s executive director, reiterated that the system is working. “We are confident,” Hancock said Sunday, “that four is the right number.”
Is it? The Big Ten Champion is out of the playoffs… Big 12 leader is out… Undefeated Western Michigan is out…. but it’s working?
He went on to say “I don’t anticipate any discussion about expansion.” In a word, INTERESTING!!!!
So, wouldn’t you say eight teams would be much more solid as well as fun for the students! And it seems that the majority of fans want the playoff to expand! And every playoff in every major American sport has eventually grown bigger!
NOTE: FCS, Division-I, has been doing this for years
Speaking December 7th at the Learfield Intercollegiate Athletics Forum, Emmert said he prefers an eight-team format that includes automatic bids for champions of each Power Five conference.
And in case you didn’t know, NCAA Commissioner, Mark Emmert, doesn’t have control over the College Football Playoff format — the NCAA doesn’t run the Football Bowl Subdivision postseason and they always remind you of that — but “if” he did, he’d expand it to eight teams in a heartbeat.
However, as Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany noted on Wednesday, the field selection this year did not provide any movement toward an eight-team playoff. In so many words he shared ‘the tires have been kicked on an eight-team playoff, casually or otherwise, even before major college football had a four-team playoff. With the three-year-old postseason format paying out hefty sums of money, one can venture to guess expansion is coming at some point in the future.’
Why eight teams? Many believe, including the staff at Amateur Sports, eight is the sweet spot for the college football playoff: more national representation but not too much, and only one more round of competition. Even further…. win your conference (Big Ten, SEC, ACC, MAC, Big 12, PAC12, *AAC or *Sun Belt) and you are in – PERIOD!!! With one spot for a solid wildcard (highest ranked teams remaining including independent teams like Navy and Notre Dame, etc).
* best overall record between these two conference determines who’s in…
The case for expansion…
For the first two years of the playoff, one thing looked abundantly clear: winning your conference championship was important and all eight playoff teams in those two years were conference champs. But this year, Penn State messed things up by winning the Big Ten championship. Suddenly, the qualifying statements perpetuated by the “CYA” mission of selecting the “four best teams” began pouring in. Then came along the dialogue about the resumes between Penn State and Ohio State, which were not close but they won when they had to based on their schedule.
To be clear, this isn’t to say those statements are wrong. In many ways they’re right. But can anyone remember this much dismissing of conference titles last year? How about the year before? Funny how it emerges when it’s the team no one expects winning the conference.
And let’s not forget the efforts of Western Michigan who went undefeated including winning the MAC championship, and they are out too.
Additionally, two things fans love about March Madness take effect. There’s the Cinderella story, which would have been Western Michigan this year, and the team with the hot hand. No one denies that early-season losses by Oklahoma and USC matter, but it’s also true they aren’t the same teams now as they were in September. Expanding to eight at least allows for greater consideration of this.
The macro point here is that the first three seasons of the playoff have been filled with inconsistencies. Fans see this on a week-to-week basis with the mock rankings selection show. “Body clocks” is a pass one week and “game control” is a criterion the next. Flexibility is the beauty of having a human committee. It’s also what makes it extraordinarily frustrating. Having the Power Five conference champions as automatic bids absolutely takes away the drama, but it also takes away a lot of the frustration.
What would an eight-team playoff look like this season? This exercise is part reality and part subjectivity.
To acknowledge the selection committee members, we will use their top four: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Washington.
Now, the fun part: we pick the next four!
They are as follows: No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Western Michigan, No. 7 Michigan and No. 8 Oklahoma. Despite a 39-point loss at Michigan Stadium, Penn State is ahead of the Wolverines because of its overall profile (wins over Ohio State, Wisconsin, Temple and Iowa) and conference championship.
Unfortunately, the first four out would be USC, Wisconsin, Florida State, and Colorado. USC is very close to Oklahoma to us even though they didn’t win their conference or division but has two better wins — Washington and Colorado — than anything on Oklahoma’s résumé. Plus, outside of Alabama, USC is the team no one wants to play.
Here’s how our hypothetical eight-team playoff would look this year.
NOTE: With the team with the higher ranking “host” to game on their home field.
No. 1 Alabama (13-0) vs. No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2)
No. 2 Clemson (12-1) vs. No. 7 Michigan (10-2)
No. 3 Ohio State (11-1) vs. No. 6 Western Michigan (13-0)
No. 4 Washington (12-1) vs. No. 5 Penn State (11-2)
NOTE: Losers are then slotted to the “already” predetermined bowl games ~click here for details on that. Notice in the column of team selection how it states conference and place in the standings.
CONCLUSION
Now to be fair, there is a case against expansion expanding…
What do you want to reward? The best team in tournament play at the time of the tournament, or the best team in the land?
In the modern era of college football, championships have been won by teams with superior talent and excellent coaching. Each year, you could make an argument that only about 13-16 teams in the country will fit that description at the beginning of the year, and many of those teams will fall from title contention because of injuries or ill-timed poor play. If the playoff is expanded, you gain the element of postseason drama but risk losing a worthy champion because of a bad break. Often you hear let’s leave the “Cinderella story” to college basketball and let college football crown its king with the four best teams in the country.
I also think expanding the playoffs would require increasing the scholarship limit or cutting back on the number of regular-season games. Expanding the playoff would decrease the urgency for conference championship weekend for teams that were “locks,” like Ohio State was heading into Selection Sunday this season.
I’m not great at math, but scholarships cost money, cutting regular season or conference title games means less money, and there isn’t enough impetus for this current crop of conference commissioners to go through the headache or reworking the letter of the law without knowing more regarding the future of finances (media rights) in college football.
Regardless of the “so-called” obstacles, isn’t it about the “student-athlete” and their efforts on the field? And these athletes can only play who’s on the schedule and in front of them. We also believe the NCAA should “own” one floating week on ALL D1 schedules each year, which they can force teams to play a real, out of conference competitor, but that’s in an upcoming article – Stay tune. We digress…
In the end, we’re going to watch and debate, but respectively speaking, it’s time to reward overall achievement not what we think will happen.
For fun, here is a 16-team playoff by our friends at SEC country – whew!… click here!
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BIG Ten Week 13 Recap
Time to clinch or is it?
November 19, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
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What a week of football last week as Iowa upset Michigan and Ohio State had their ‘i’ dotted by Michigan State, what could happen this weekend?
As a conference, the Big Ten faces more questions than perhaps any other in the country.
49
20
The Badgers were clicking on ALL cylinders this afternoon in West Lafayette as they cruised to a 49-20 victory over Purdue. Wisconsin scored 35 points in the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half to the Boilermakers 10.
In front of a slim, home crowd which was there to celebrate senior day, the home team got on the board with the only score in th first quarter on a 28 yard field goal by J.D. Dellinger. After that, the Badgers scored on their next five possessions.
Sophomore Alec Ingold got in the end zone on a 1-yard run taking the lead at 7-3 and from that, they never looked back. Ingold would score again later in the quarter, this time on a 19 yard pass from Bart Huston. Huston finished the shared duties as quarterback 5-6 102. One special highlight came on when junior T.J. Watt, younger brother of J.J., had a pick 6 on a batted interception by David Blough.
“What a play by T.J.,” Badgers coach Paul Chryst said. “To knock it down is a really good play. To get a pick is a really good play. To do both that changed (the game).”
Bradrick Shaw scored twice himself… both on the ground. One from 7 yards out, the other from 33. Now remember all of this is in the first half.
“We knew we had to win the turnover battle,” Purdue interim head coach Gerad Parker said. “Early on, our defense bottled up the football. We lost some things in that turnover stretch in the second quarter.”
Second half, the Badgers (9-2, 6-2) eased off the gas and score two more times on a 25-yard pass from Alex Hornibrook to Jazz Peavy in the third and their final score came from Corey Clement (27 carries, 112 yards) who scored on a 6-yard run. Hornibrook went 7-9 for 89 yards.
The Boilermakers (3-8, 1-7) did get in the end zone twice in the second half as DeAngelo Yancey caught a 75-yard pass and a 10-yarder from David Blough. Blough finished the game 14-30 for 206 yard with those two touchdowns and three interceptions. Yancey finished with 155 yards on 6 receptions.
The Badgers didn’t get the help they needed to wrap up the West, but the win certainly keeps their playoff hopes alive. But with this victory, Wisconsin can clinch the West Division title and earn a spot in the Dec. 3 conference championship game with a victory next weekend against Minnesota as they try to retain the Paul Bunyan Axe for the 13th consecutive year.
And for Purdue, they hope to snap a three-game losing streak against rival Indiana. The Boilermakers haven’t lost the Old Oaken Bucket in four straight years since the 1940s.
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16
What a game……
The Buckeyes survived a scare as the Spartans had a chance to win, but came up 1-point short, 17-16 at home. Michigan State running back L.J. Scott scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to bring the Spartans within 17-16 with just 4:53 to play. Mark Dantonio elected to go for the two-point conversion, but Tyler O’Connor’s pass was intercepted by Malik Hooker.
Michigan State got the ball on its own 20-yard line with just over 2 minutes to play needing just a field goal to win, but O’Connor’s pass was intercepted a-g-a-i-n by Gareon Conley on the second play.
The Spartans came out fired up and took a 7-0 lead on Ohio State after just two offensive plays. Tyler O’Connor hit running back L.J. Scott on a 64-yard screen pass that found pay dirt just 46 seconds into the game. The Buckeyes responded, however, shortly thereafter with a five-play, 50-yard scoring drive. Quarterback J.T. Barrett hooked up with Curtis Samuel for a 24-yard touchdown strike with 7:56 to play in the first quarter to tie things at 7-all.
The teams traded field goals to enter halftime at 10-10, and only to score as described above to conclude this tough contest.
Michigan State out-gained Ohio State 334 to 310, but the Buckeyes narrowly control possession 30:53 to 29:07 and rushing, 224 – 207.
Now Ohio State can officially focus on The Game as they host ‘The” Ohio State next weekend at HIGH NOON. This is biggest Ohio State–Michigan game since 2006. The Wolverines traveled to Columbus that year and fell 42-39. Michigan, like Ohio State, is now 10-1. This will be “the” de facto playoff quarterfinal and technical the BIG TEN championship wink wink.
Maryland 7, Nebraska 28
Iowa 28, Illinois 0
Indiana 10, Michigan 20
Northwestern 12, Minnesota 29
Penn State, Rutgers – gametime 7p CST
Who will come out on top when Michigan and Ohio State square off at the end of the season? Can the Buckeyes make it into the College Football Playoff without a conference championship? Can the Big Ten qualify two teams in the CFP?
Most of those questions won’t be answered this week, yet Week 12 is filled with potential trap games for all the contenders at the center of those questions. Before Ohio State and Michigan can look forward to their match-up in Week 13, the Buckeyes and Wolverines must navigate games against Michigan State and Indiana, respectively.
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2016-17 BIG Ten Preview
BIG TEN Basketball Preview…
November 7, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
We are predicting that the Big Ten will experience a “changing of the guard” in 2016-17.
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The crispness of the fall air, the time change (fall back), and the squeak of basketball sneakers in gymnasiums across the country can only mean ONE thing – basketball is back! And the official start for the march to March Madness has started.
Here’s our look at the Big Ten:
As of right now, Wisconsin seems to have the greatest advantage. The Badgers return every key player from a team that regrouped under new coach Greg Gard to go 12–6 in Big Ten play. Meanwhile, teams like Michigan State, Indiana and Purdue will look for role players and secondary scorers to take the next step.
1. 
Five starters return, including Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig — key players with Final Four experience.
2. 
Tom Izzo has rarely relied on freshmen, but he will do so this season with Miles Bridges and Joshua Langford heading his best recruiting class.
3. 
If Pitt transfer Josh Newkirk delivers at point guard and OG Anunoby takes the next step, the Hoosiers could win the Big Ten title again.
4. 
Getting Vince Edwards and Caleb Swanigan to return was critical, but Matt Painter’s team won’t contend unless it finds a high-caliber point guard.
5. 
Keeping Derrick Walton healthy for the entire season is critical for the Wolverines, who have a nice first five but little experienced depth.
6. 
Melo Trimble is back for his third tour at Maryland. He will have to play like the league’s best point guard as the Terps try to replace four starters.
7. 
Transfers wiped out most of Thad Matta’s sophomore class, so depth and the maturity of point guard JaQuan Lyle are the primary issues.
8. 
With the addition of Pat Chambers’ best freshman class, the Nittany Lions will be able to win with talent as well as grit.
9. 
The loss of four starters plus memories of the Hawkeyes’ struggles down the stretch last season make Iowa the Big Ten’s biggest mystery.
10. 
Chris Collins has upgraded the talent every year, and he has the point guard (Bryant McIntosh) to compete.
11. 
Losing 19 games and facing a string of off-the-court issues have Illini fans wondering if John Groce can regain momentum.
12. 
Richard Pitino has failed to make the NCAA Tournament for three seasons and needs to impress a new athletic director.
13. 
Losing Andrew White in late June was major setback that coach Tim Miles did not expect.
14. 
The Scarlet Knights have hit the reset button — again. It’s Steve Pikiell’s turn. Big Ten Superlatives
Player of the Year: Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
Best Defensive Player: Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Most Underrated Player: Jae’Sean Tate, Ohio State
Top Newcomer: Miles Bridges, Michigan State
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2016 Big Ten Week 5 Recap
BIG Ten from Week 5 Recap…
October 1, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
This was a big week in college football and the Big Ten had one marquee matchup that turned into a bit of a dud. Here ya go!
Michigan 14, Wisconsin 7
I was really looking forward to watching this game, and then it started, and well, I started doing laundry… The most exciting moment for me was one of the better interceptions you’ll see all year and the goofy centipede formation by coach Jim Harbaugh.
The Wolverines went into halftime with a 7-0 lead thanks to a touchdown from fullback Khalid Hill. Wisconsin answered in the third when freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook connected with Dare Ogunbowale for a 17-yard touchdown strike. Michigan would recapture the lead midway through the fourth when Wilton Speight hit Amara Darboh for what would turn out to be the game-winning 46-yard score.
That’s it….
Building Men and Women via Athletics
Indiana 24, Michigan State 21 (OT)
I thought it was pretty silly earlier in the week when I saw that Michigan State was only favored by six points over the Hoosiers. Late last night I felt pretty silly myself for thinking that I knew more than the sharks in Vegas.
The Hoosiers’ victory allowed them to reclaim the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time in a decade. What exactly is an old brass spittoon? I have no idea, but it sounds pretty mysterious and I would love to have one of my own someday.
Richard Lagow led the Hoosiers as he completed 16 of 26 passes for 276 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lagow was also on the receiving end of a five-yard score in the third quarter. Devine Redding led all rushers with 100 yards on 19 carries. Senior wideout Ricky Jones added 124 yards receiving and a touchdown.
The Spartans’ three-headed backfield of Gerald Holmes, Madre London, and L.J. Scott combined for 128 yards rushing while Tyler O’Connor added 36 of his own. O’Connor connected on 21 of 35 passes for 263 yards and three scores. R.J. Shelton had himself a day as the senior hauled in seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.
Michigan State kicker Michael Geiger missed a 49-yard field goal attempt in overtime. The Hoosiers returned the favor with a miss of their own, but the Spartans were flagged for leaping which gave Indiana new life. Griffin Oakes would then knock in the chip-shot 20-yarder to bring the Hoosiers to 3-1.
Nebraska 31, Illinois 16
Illini jumped out early and controlled the game until the fourth quarter when tailback Terrell Newby led the way in a fourth quarter that saw Nebraska score three touchdowns. The senior ran for 113 of his 140 yards in the game’s final quarter and scored twice on his own.
Tommy Armstrong completed 16 of 23 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also found the endzone once with his legs. Jordan Westerkamp led all receivers with four receptions for 65 yards.
The Illinois offense had a pretty lackluster day, totaling just 270 yards. Wes Lunt was 13 of 22 for 133 yards. Reggie Corbin led the Illini ground game with nine carries for 72 yards. Lovie Smith’s squad struggled to convert in enemy territory and had to settle for three Chase McLaughlin field goals.
Ohio State 58, Rutgers 0
Speechless even for me when talking about Ohio State…
With the win, Ohio State moved to 4-0 (1-0 B1G) on the season. The loss dropped Rutgers to 2-3 (0-2).
The Buckeyes will next be in action Saturday when they host Indiana at 3:30 p.m.
Penn State 29, Minnesota 26
Penn State steals a victory over Minnesota behind the play of the entire team.
Northwestern 38, Iowa 31
The Hawkeye fanbase has to be elated that the administration and athletic supporters elected to keep Kirk Ferentz around for another decade or so. Since the extension was announced less than a month ago, Iowa has fallen at home twice. Two weeks ago it was to North Dakota State of the FCS and yesterday’s loss came at the hands of a Northwestern squad that was 1-3 heading into the matchup.
Quarterback Clayton Thorson and tailback Justin Jackson accounted for all five of the Wildcats’ touchdowns. Thorson threw for 164 yards and a trio of scores while adding another with his legs. Jackson rushed for 171 yards and, with the game tied at 24, scored on a 58-yard scamper late in the third quarter. Senior wideout Austin Carr hauled in all three of Thorson’s touchdown passes.
The Hawkeye offense could only manage 283 yards on the day. C.J. Beathard threw for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interception. LeShun Daniels Jr. ran for 72 yards and a score. Akrum Wadley struggled to get anything going as the junior rushed for just 35 yards on 14 carries, though he did find the endzone twice.
Looking at the bright side for Iowa, they may be able to avoid about $2 million that Ferentz is set to bring home (over the length of his contract) if the Hawkeyes reach seven wins on the season. That could help to make a ridiculous buyout a little bit less absurd.
Note: Internet searches for “Kirk Ferentz buyout” peaked around 2:30PM yesterday.
Maryland 50, Purdue 7
The Terrapins are not as bad as many thought they’d be. In his first year at the helm, D.J. Durkin actually has Maryland looking like a solid football team, and his Big Ten debut was a memorable one. Yes, Purdue is awful, but the Terps were damn impressive on Saturday as they moved to 4-0 on the season.
Not a bad little weekend in the conference. The Hoosiers handing Dantonio his second conference loss was a bit unexpected. The Buckeyes obviously rolled over Rutgers and neither Michigan nor Wisconsin did anything that should invoke fear across the state of Ohio.
Next week’s conference slate can best be described as “meh.” Michigan is traveling to Rutgers where they will surely trounce the Scarlet Knights. The Spartans host BYU as they will look to avoid a third straight loss. The Hoosiers – who have been a tad bit pesky lately – will make their way to Columbus.
Are the Durkin-led Terps going to screw around and end up in the Top 25? A win at Happy Valley next week could certainly help their case.
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2016 BIG Ten Week 4
BIG Ten from Week 4 Recap…
September 24, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
Week 4…. Conference play kicked off this weekend…. Here ya go!
Wisconsin 30, Michigan State 6
Redshirt freshman Alex Hornibrook’s first start was a memorable one for the Badgers as they knocked off the Spartans. The Badgers – led by a defense that forced four turnovers – would go on to hold the Spartans without a touchdown.
Hornibrook tossed a touchdown pass and Corey Clement found the endzone in the second quarter to give Wisconsin the edge and they never looked back. The freshman ended the day 16 of 26 for 195 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Corey Clement found the endzone twice but could only manage 54 yards on 23 carries. Jazz Peavy led all pass-catchers with four receptions for 96 yards.
Word has it that the Spartans may be on the verge of a bit of a quarterback controversy, though their head coach is saying otherwise. Lima, Ohio native Tyler O’Connor was atrocious on the day. The senior was 18 of 38 for 224 yards and three interceptions and his performance has some fans clamoring for redshirt freshman Brian Lewerke. Lewerke came in on the Spartans’ final drive and was 2 of 4 for 26 yards.
Building Men and Women via Athletics
Michigan 49, Penn State 10
In a yawner at home, the Wolverines dominated from the kickoff. Let me put it this way, it was pointed out to me that Michigan had more points (28) than Penn State had total yards (24). WOW! Nothing else to report. LINK TO BOXSCORE
Nebraska 24, Northwestern 13
Senior quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. put on a show Saturday afternoon which led to the victory against the ‘Cats. He threw for 246 yards and a score while adding a new career high of 132 yards rushing. Terrell Newby ran for 69 yards and scored a touchdown of his own.
Clayton Thorson led the Northwestern attack with 292 yards of total offense to go along with a pair of touchdowns. The sophomore was also picked off twice. Justin Jackson led the ground game with 79 yards while Austin Carr was the game’s leading receiver with 109 yards and a score.
With three losses already on the young season, the Wildcats have matched their total from last year’s 10-3 campaign.
Iowa 14, Rutgers 7
Minnesota 31, Colorado State 24
Wake Forest 33, Indiana 28
Purdue 24, Nevada 14
Next weekend’s headliner will certainly be the Badgers traveling back to the Mitten State to take on the Wolverines. The Buckeyes will host Rutgers and Michigan State will be looking to bounce back in Bloomington.
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2016 BIG Ten Week 3
BIG Ten from Week 3 Recap…
September 18, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
Week 3…. Big Ten stood strong when it needed to when they were in the national spotlight but for the others… it was ugly.
Here we go….
Building Men and Women via Athletics
Michigan State 36, Notre Dame 28
The Michigan State offense proved too much for the Irish as they had more than 500 yards led by quarterback Tyler O’Connor and the backfield duo of Gerald Holmes and L.J. Scott. Holmes rushed for 100 yards and two scores while Scott added 98 and another touchdown. O’Connor threw for 241 yards and a pair of scores with another 43 yards coming on the ground.
Even true freshman Donnie Corley got him some in the contest as he hauled in four passes for 88 yards including a second-quarter touchdown that got the Spartans on the board.
The Irish did fight back after the Spartans were up by 29 points in the third quarter. DeShone Kizer led the way for Notre Dame as the junior threw for 344 yards and four total touchdowns (2 rushing, 2 passing). Torii Hunter Jr. caught five passes for 95 yards.
Nebraska 35, Oregon 32
This game was an offensive juggernaut in which both teams combined for over 900 yards of total offense. But in the end, it was Tommy Armstrong’s 34-yard touchdown scamper late in the fourth quarter that sealed the deal for the Huskers.
Armstrong finished with 200 yards and two touchdowns on the day plus 95 on the ground.
Before the game, the Ducks paid tribute to Sam Foltz, the Cornhuskers’ fallen punter. Classy move by Mark Helfrich and Co.
Michigan 45, Colorado 28
The Buffalos flew out of the pasture on the Wolverines jumping out to a quick 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but things would happen, Harbough & Co. rallied back to go up by a field goal by halftime. Then in the second half, they scored three touchdowns to seal the game.
North Dakota State 23, Iowa 21
NDS proved why they are championship caliber team knocking off Big Ten’s Iowa squad 23-21.
In the end, it was Bison kicker, Cam Pedersen, who nailed a 37-yard field goal to give the Bison the win as time expired.
The Hawkeye offense struggled all afternoon as they only obtain less than 250 yards of offense. Quarterback C.J. Beathard connected on 50% of his passes while throwing for 152 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. The usually potent ground game that put up 212 yards against Miami (OH) and just shy of 200 against Iowa State was stymied on Saturday. LeShun Daniels Jr. – Iowa’s leading rusher on the day – could only manage 29 yards on 14 carries. As a whole, the team gained 34 yards on the ground.
Wisconsin 23, Georgia State 17
With under 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Badgers found themselves trailing the 0-2 Panthers. Paul Chryst elected to shake things up at quarterback when senior Bart Houston was benched in favor of Alex Hornibrook. The redshirt freshman took over in the third quarter after a number of errant passes from Houston. The Badgers found the endzone on Hornibrook’s opening drive under center, their first of the game.
Hornibrook finished the day 8 of 12 for 122 yards with a touchdown and one interception. Houston was 10 of 18 for 91 yards. Dare Ogunbowale led the Badger ground game as the senior rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
Northwestern 24, Duke 13
Finally…. The Northwestern Wilcats got a vicotry for the season as they defeated visiting Duke, 24-13. Clayton Thorson threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns while Justin Jackson added 94 on the ground. Senior wideout Austin Carr hauled in six passed for 135 yards and a score.
Maryland 30, UCF 24 (2OT)
It took two overtimes, but the Terps were able to move to 3-0 on the season. Quarterback Perry Hills accounted for 156 yards and a touchdown, but it was true freshman Tyrrell Pigrome who scored the game-winner in double overtime. Hill exited the game with a shoulder injury and the true freshman came in for his only play of the day.
Ohio State 45, Oklahoma 24
If Ohio State wanted to make a statement, well, mission accomplished as dominated from kickoff to the final whistle. With the win, Ohio State improved to 3-0 on the young season while the loss dropped the Sooners to 1-2. Saturday was the third meeting in the series between Ohio State and Oklahoma. The Buckeyes are now 2–1 vs. Oklahoma and 19–5–1 all-time against current members of the Big 12 conference.
Game Notes
– The win extends Ohio State’s road win streak to 19 games, the longest active streak in the nation.
– Ohio State is undefeated, 19–0, in true road games under head coach Urban Meyer.
– Urban Meyer is now 34–13 in his career vs. ranked teams, including 13–3 at Ohio State.
– J.T. Barrett completed 14 of 20 passes for 152 yards and four touchdowns, all to Noah Brown. Barrett now has 55 career TD passes, passing Braxton Miller (52) and Troy Smith (54) for third place on Ohio State’s all-time list. The record is 57 by Bobby Hoying.
– Noah Brown tied the Ohio State record with four TD receptions. Dane Sanzenbacher (2010), Terry Glenn (1995) and Bob Grimes (1952) also had four in a game. Brown finished with five catches for 72 yards.
– Ohio State’s defense surrendered its fist touchdowns of the season Saturday, keeping opposing defenses out of the end zone for the first 9 quarters of the season. Ohio State is yet to allow a rushing TD on the season.
– Chris Worley led Ohio State with a career-high 10 tackles on the night.
Rutgers 37, New Mexico 28
Western Michigan 34, Illinois 10
Penn State 34, Temple 27
So, after a rough afternoon, things got much better for the conference as the day unfolded. Yes, Iowa fell to an FCS championship-style opponent and that’s never a good look, but Ohio State, Nebraska, and Michigan State all got it done Saturday evening.
The Buckeyes have a bye next week, but there’s two pretty interesting games to watch out for as the Badgers travel to East Lansing and the Wolverines are set to host Penn State.
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2016 BIG Ten Week 2
BIG Ten showdown schedule for Week 2
September 10, 2016
compiled by Prez Ro
follow back at @PrezRo365
Week 2…. Will weather play a role in these contest? Will there be an upset? On paper, these games seem a little boring, if you will, BUT, (channeling my inner Herm Edwards) that’s why you play the games….
Here we go….
23
48
NOTE: We will be LIVE for this contest in Champaign!
We are live for this contest and the energy was there on the field as well as from the fans, as the Illini faithful, sold-out the stadium for the first time in years…. Illini as tailback Ke’Shawn Vaughn opened things up with a 65-yard touchdown scamper but consistently, that was about it. Vaughn finished the day with 116 yards while quarterback Wes Lunt threw for 127 and a pair of scores. The Illini were hit with 13 penalties for 99 yards as the Lovie Smith Era moved to 1-1.
On the other side of the ball, Mitch Trubisky countered and found the endzone four times for the Tarheels. Elijah Hood led a UNC ground game with 88 yards and two scores.
UCF 0, Michigan 21
Michigan faced another tune-up school on Saturday which allowed them to fine-tune some things offensively and defensively, but not stron competition. Hech, the Wolverines special teams sparked their opponent in which they blocked/tipped four kicks – two punts and two field goals – and recovered a fumble on a kickoff.
Maryland 41, FIU 14 (FINAL)
Perry Hills threw for three touchdowns to lead Maryland to a 41-14 win over Florida International Friday night.
Wyoming 17, Nebraska 52
Tommy Armstrong and the Husker defense led the way as Nebraska dominated the Cowboys of Wyoming. Armstrong totaled four touchdowns and threw for 377 yards as Mike Riley’s squad scored 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Penn State 39, Pittsburgh 43
The Battle of Pennsylvania??? In the end, the Nittany Lions’ came up short.
Cincinnati 38, Purdue 20
Turnovers killed the Boilermakers on Saturday as they simply couldn’t overcome the five interceptions from quarterback David Blough. It was Cincinnati’s first road victory over a Big Ten school since 1957 in Bloomington.
Howard 14, Rutgers 52
No direct comment on this game as the BIG TEN destroyed yet another HBCU…
Indiana State 28, Minnesota 58
Yet another BIG TEN team dominated their opponent – the Golden Gopher offense gained almost 600 total yards. Mitch Leidner completed 20 of 30 pass attempts for 295 yards and four scores.
Illinois State 9, Northwestern 7
Now do you call this an upset? But we often fail to recognize I-State as a solid opponent since they are FCS and not part of the BIG boys in the FBS… it wasn’t sexy nor fancy but Redbirds did enough to hold off the home team Saturday afternoon… on the other side of the field, Northwestern is struggling. There’s really not a whole lot to say about this game except that it took the Wildcats two and half quarters to score any points against the mighty Redbirds of Illinois State.
Clayton Thorson threw for 191 yards and the lone Northwestern score. Tailback Justin Jackson was held in check with just 39 yards on 11 carries. The Redbirds were led by wide out Anthony Warrum who hauled in nine passes for 116 yards.
Tulsa 3, Ohio State 48
Speechless game as the Buckeyes did everything they wanted to in this contest.
Akron 10, Wisconsin 54
The Badgers used a balanced attack to dominate their MAC opponent with over 575 yards of offense, and only giving up 224 yards on defense. So, are the Badgers forreal?
Ball State 20, Indiana 30
MAC conference Ball State rallied late but came up short against Indy as they move to 2-0 on the season. Quarterback Richard Lagow threw for 266 yards and three scores; the majority of those yards going to wideout Nick Westbrook who finished with three receptions for 133 yards and a pair of scores. Tailback Devine Redding led all rushers with 110 yards on the ground.
The Indiana defense held the Cardinals to just a field goal through the first three quarters before surviving a 17-point barrage in the fourth. Ball State totaled 371 yards to the Hoosiers’ 453.
It was a costly victory for Kevin Wilson as Indiana lost starting wide receiver Simmie Cobbs and All-American guard Dan Feeney to injuries. Feeney left with a concussion while Cobbs suffered an ankle injury. After the game, Wilson indicated that Cobbs’ injury is likely to require surgery and could cost him the season.
Iowa State 3, Iowa 42
Battle of Iowa? Naw… NOT at all… best thing about this game was the weather and coach Kirk Ferentz received an extension through the 2025 season in which he will be making $4.5 million per year during that time period.
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