Buckeye Blogger Network
It’s a great thing that I decided to stop keeping record of my success, or lack there of, according to the weekly weak picks. I was on my way to my first ever ‘ofer and was saved by the Cornhuskers.
#24 Northwestern @ TTUN. Prediction Nerds 21 to 17; WRONG TTUN 38-31
Purdue @ Iowa. Prediction Iowa 16 to 10; WRONG BOILERS 27 TO 24
Minnesota @ Illinois. Prediction Illinois 31 to 14; WRONG MINNY 17 TO 3
Wiscy @ Indiana. Prediction Hoosiers 21 to 20
; WRONG WISCY 62 TO 14
Penn State @ #16 Nebraska. Prediction Nebraska 31 to 17; RIGHT NEBRASKA 32 TO 23
Here’s one last look at the national race prior to the toppling of . . , oh wait, BAMA really didn’t fall out of the top five like they should have after losing at home to a new SEC team. aTm may have done all of us a favor but they didn’t really do it any good as all BAMA has to do is win out and they’re back in. Youre welcome Notre Lame haters.
National Race Last Week. #1 Alabama 9-0 (6-0); #2 Kansas State 9-0 (6-0); #3 Oregon 9-0 (6-0); #4 Notre Lame 9-0; #5 Georgia 8-1 (6-1).
#15 Texas A&M @ #1 Alabama. Prediction Tide 42 to 21. WRONG aTm 29 to 24
Now that we’re in the home stretch of the college football season and ready to play the most important game on the Buckeyes schedule(this week), lets take a look at this week for all of the B1G. Keep in mind that Wiscy is already headed back to the B1G title game in Indy, and the Buckeyes have clinched at least a tie for the Leaders division title via their two game lead in the division.
Nerds @ Sparty. Nothing on the line here as Sparty really has two weeks to become bowl eligible. The Nerds lost a heart-breaker last weekend at the hands of TTUN and back up QB Devin Gardner. I see a pretty good defensive game unfolding early but Sparty needs this win. Sparty 23 to 20
Hawkeyes @ TTUN. The Hawkeyes aren’t going bowling this year. They have played well in almost all of their games and have chances to win them but a little is a little to late. TTUN will not get caught looking ahead this week as they did last week, or maybe they will? Hawkeyes 21 to 17
Hoosiers @ Penn State. The hoosiers need to win their last two games to live up to some of the hype they created for themselves. At different times this season they have looked like giant killers, and well other times they just looked like a football team at a basketball school. PSU cannot go bowling until later this decade and are playing for pride. PSU 34 to 32
Purdue @ Illinois. This is the battle of the week, or maybe not really, but it will decide who is the bottom dweller trophy winner until next season in the B1G. Boilers have had their moments where they looked like the team that upset the Buckeyes at home last year(verified by the students who stormed the field) and the rest of the time they have struggled. Illinois and head coach Beckman just wnt the season over with so they can get started on rebuilding. Boilers 26 to 13
Minnesota @ Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are the team that I believed they were and will represent the Legends division in the B1G title game against Wiscy in Indy. They had one game they’d like to forget this season and it was their trip to Columbus. They have all but wiped the slate clean and save for the Buckeyes, are the best team the B1G has to offer. Minnesota is bowl eligible, but that is about it for this game. Cornhuskers 39 to 13
#6 Ohio State @ Wiscy. The Buckeyes are 10-0(6-0) and have already clinched at least a share of the Leaders Division title, which is all they can really win this season. We learned this week from Coach Meyer that going undefeated and the AP title was never a part of the team goals discussion. They wanted to go win as many games as they could for the seniors and to take care of the game at hand this week. What that means is absolutely no talking about the game rapidly approaching(TTUN) wink, wink. No matter what the coaches say, the players have all but confirmed this week that there is plenty bad blood between these two schools and as far as football goes, it is the secondary rivalry for both. Still wont predict scores for the team that I love but suffice it to say, the Buckeyes won’t need a last minute hail mary. Buckeyes all the way.
Kansas State is atop the National polls and have Baylor on the road this week. Oregon is the only top 5 that has a true test against Stanford and Georgia basically has a bye week taking on Georgia Southern. Notre Lame has Wake Forrest (go Jim Grobe!) and BAMA hosts Western Carolina (YAWN).
National Race This Week. #1 Kansas State 10-0 (7-0); #2 Oregon 10-0 (7-0); #3 Notre Lame 10-0; #4 Alabama 9-1 (6-1); #5 Georgia 8-1 (6-1). #6 Ohio State
#13 Stanford @ #2 Oregon. Stanford has an opportunity just like aTm did last week and they have the defense to do it as well. The trick will be to get out early and to slow the Ducks down at a pace they can deal with. Marriota and Snoop Dog’s nephew are having fun running that offense so the Cards have to take the fun out of it and quickly. Definitely the game of the week nationally and should be a good one. Stanford 35 to 31
Hardware
Ohio State did not play on Saturday, but believe it or not, there were other games played around the Big Ten conference. Some of them actually meant something too.
The best game of the weekend was played in Ann Arbor as Michigan scored a 38-31 overtime victory against Northwestern.
The Wolverines’ prayers were answered as Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner–who was filling in for the injured Denard Robinson–heaved a 53-yard pass to Roy Roundtree to set up a game-tying 26-yard field goal with just two seconds remaining.
In overtime, Gardner scored on a 1-yard touchdown run as Michigan got the ball to being the extra period. The Wolverine defense held Northwestern on its possession to earn the win as Northwestern blew the game in the most Northwestern way possible.
Indiana’s dreams of playing in the B1G Championship Game were dashed rather quickly as Wisconsin buried the Hoosiers, 62-14. With both Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for postseason play, it will be the Badgers representing the Leaders Division in the conference title game.
Nebraska kept its hopes alive for a bid in the B1G Championship Game as it outscored Penn State 26-3 in the second half to earn a 32-23 come-from-behind victory over the Nittany Lions.
Nebraska owns the tiebreaker with Michigan as the Huskers beat the Wolverines head-to-head, 23-9. With games against Minnesota and Iowa remaining, it looks as if it will be Nebraska against Wisconsin for the conference title and a trip to Pasadena.
Purdue finally got off the schnide in conference play as the Boilermakers earned their first conference win, 27-24 against Iowa. The win snapped Purdue’s five game losing streak.
Purdue’s win leaves Illinois as the only winless team in Big Ten conference play. The Illini looked awful yet again as they fell 17-3 to Minnesota. The win was Minnesota’s sixth of the year, making the Gophers the fifth team from the Big Ten to be eligible for a bowl game.
Next week all eyes will be on the Ohio State-Wisconsin game and rightfully so. The Badgers-Buckeyes game is really the only notable game on the Big Ten slate this week. Even though Ohio State is ineligible for postseason play, it can still win the Leaders Division title and bring a trophy to Columbus in Urban Meyer’s first season as head coach.
Took a week off to get caught up on a lot of things and because there was so much going on around tBBC with basketball jumping into the mix.
No need to revisit the results of two weeks ago as we are in the home stretch! I will begin to cover the national race for the BCS as well as our B1G match-ups. The Buckeyes are resting this week so lets get started-
Legends Race. Nebraska 7-2 (4-1); TTUN 6-3 (4-1);Northwestern 7-2 (3-2). Cornhuskers control their own destiny because of the win over TTUN. Northwestern can help themselves alot this week with their game against TTUN.
Leaders Race. Ohio State 10-0 (6-0);Penn State 6-3(4-1); Wisky 6-3 (3-2). A Penn State loss to Nebraska this weekend clinches a share of the Leaders title for the Buckeyes but there is still work to be done in the coming weeks. Penn State loses and it opens the door for Wisky to step in and go to back-to-back B1G title games.
#24 Northwestern @ TTUN. The Wolverines need to keep pace with the cornhuskers and hope for some help from Penn State this week. TTUN got healthy and may have already decided to look forward a couple weeks and could get tripped up here. Nerds 21 to 17
Purdue @ Iowa. Purdue needs to win out just to be bowl eligible and Iowa has been streaky all season. Could be one of the better games of the weekend. Having said that, Iam sure it will be a low scoring affair. Iowa 16 to 10
Minnesota @ Illinois. Two of the reasons the nation believes the B1G is very weak are primarily due to these two teams. The Illini are beat up bad after their tussle with the Buckeyes in Columbus and the Gophers probably do not know which end is up. This is a toss up even though Minny has played better over all. Talent wins in this one. Illinois 31 to 14
Wiscy @ Indiana. We all know better than anyone that Indiana is a much improved team under my candidate for B1G COTY Kevin Wilson. They worked a great game plan to almost perfection when the Buckeyes were in town and Wiscy will be looking ahead to their match-up that could decide their season hosting the Buckeyes next week. Going with the upset here. Hoosiers 21 to 20 Read More
Who's Headed To Indy?
As rough of a year as it has been for the Big Ten, the conference currently has the only team in the country with ten wins.
After Ohio State’s 52-22 blowout victory against Illinois, the Buckeyes moved to a perfect 10-0 on the season, becoming the first team in the country to reach double digit victories.
With just three weeks left in the regular season, the race for a bid in the B1G Championship Game is starting to take its form. Let’s take a look around at week ten’s Big Ten action.
Nebraska went into East Lansing and knocked off Michigan State 28-24 when quarterback Taylor Martinez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Turner with just six seconds remaining. The win moves the Huskers to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten–tied for the Legends Division lead.
The Huskers are currently tied with Michigan–which defeated Minnesota, 35-13. Nebraska, however, beat Michigan last week. So, the Huskers own the tiebreaker and control their own destiny to represent the Legends Division in the title game.
Who controls its fate in the Leaders Division? That would be…Indiana. The Hoosiers defeated Iowa 24-21 to stay in control of their own destiny.
Indiana’s next opponent, Wisconsin, did not play this past weekend. But, the winner of the Wisconsin-Indiana game next weekend in Bloomington will represent the Leaders Division in the B1G Championship Game.
Penn State rebounded after its loss to Ohio State by defeating Purdue 34-9. Purdue and Illinois remain the only winless teams in Big Ten conference play. The good news for those two teams is that they play each other in week 12, so one of them will earn a victory.
As we mentioned earlier, Wisconsin-Indiana is the most important game in terms of the conference picture next week. But some other games to keep an eye on with the Buckeyes on a bye are Northwestern at Michigan and Penn State at Nebraska.
Both Northwestern and Michigan suffered losses to Nebraska. So if either of those teams want to make it to the conference title game, they will need the Huskers to slip up. I, for one, don’t see that happening, though.
It certainly hasn’t been the strongest year for the Big Ten as a whole, but the race to make it to the second ever conference championship game is reason to get excited.
And now, it starts to get interesting
After five weeks of Big Ten play, only one team remains unbeaten within the conference. Ohio State has won its first five B1G contests in addition to four out of conference games to put the Buckeyes at 9-0 on the season.
After a slow start, OSU cruised to a 35-23 victory against Penn State in Happy Valley. We all got a chance to watch the Buckeyes defeat the Nittany Lions, but let’s take a look at what else happened last weekend around the Big Ten.
In the other big game, Nebraska defeated Michigan 23-9. Wolverines’ quarterback Denard Robinson was knocked out of the game in the second quarter and was unable to return to help his team. He watched his replacement, Russell Bellomy, throw three interceptions and the Huskers outscored the Wolverines 16-3 in the second half. With the win, Nebraska is now in the driver’s seat to represent the Legends Division in the B1G Championship.
Just when it seemed like Wisconsin had its season figured out, the Badgers suffered a 16-13 overtime loss to Michigan State at home. After Wisconsin kicked a field goal on its possession in overtime, MSU quarterback Andrew Maxwell threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Bennie Fowler to earn the victory.
Northwestern earned its seventh win of the season as the Wildcats defeated Iowa 28-17. Northwestern has two tough road games in the next two weeks–against Michigan and Michigan State. If the Wildcats can win both of those games, they should win ten games on the year as they finish with Illinois. That’s not something anybody predicted at the start of the season.
After almost upsetting Ohio State last weekend, a few were wondering what Purdue would do for an encore? Well, it appears the crushing defeat to the Buckeyes will stick with the Boilermakers for the remainder of the season as they fell to Minnesota 44-28.
Illinois, like Purdue, remains winless in Big Ten play as the Illini fell to Indiana 31-17. Illinois won’t get its first conference win next week either as it takes on Ohio State.
Just like we all predicted, with four weeks left in the conference season, Indiana controls its own destiny to make the B1G Championship Game. Football is a crazy game, indeed.
In spite of the huge win in Happy Valley on Saturday, I’m feeling a bit of the blues are in order for this week’s recap. So, enjoy some Collins, Cray, and Copeland.
It’d be easy to say that this week was “spook-tacular”, and “scary” for a lot of top teams, but that would be way to easy. So, let’s just admit that Saturday once again proved that we’re fans of the greatest sport in the world; because anything can happen once the ball is kicked.
Whoops
As a promise to a “friend” that’s a Notre Dame fan who I’ve been justifiably ripping for the last ten years, we’re leading off this week with the Irish’s huge win in Norman over the Sooners. Like most of America who pays attention to the sport, I imagined that Oklahoma would stomp a mud hole into Brian Kelley’s team- Stoop’s defense, high powered offense… not exactly playing Air Force here. So, because the Irish emerged victorious, undefeated, and “relevant” enough to bump up to the third ranking spot in the BCS, I tip my journalistic cap to them- particularly their defense, which is playing lights out this season. Although they gave up their first* (non-official assisted) rushing touchdown to Oklahoma, they were able to keep Sooner QB Landry Jones guessing all night long. That’s not to say that we’re not without some controversy, as the “luck of the Irish” continued when Heisman Candidate Manti Te’o intercepted the Sooners late in the game to seal away the victory. Your perspective of the play will depend on your hopes prior to the game- Irish fans were elated, others thought that the initial play was a case of pass interference resulting in a ball that clearly touched the ground. At any rate, complaining about the officiating is better left to other fan bases; the Irish are undefeated, and have overcome all but one of the games that had people pointing to theirs as the toughest schedule in college football. Congrats indeed.
Although… How much of this gets pinned on Bob Stoops? “Big Game Bob”, as we’ve discussed before, has built a reputation on an early BCS championship and his ability to beat his rival. However, given the state of his rival over the past few years, is it really fair to continue to give him a pass for his team’s coming up short in these types of games? The loss to Notre Dame is the second at home this year… although, to be fair, both teams are undefeated currently. So, Sooner fans- enjoy that BCS win over Connecticut a few years back, and hope that things can get turned around in the B12 for your squadron in the near future.
Since we alluded to them, let’s talk Texas, shall we? It took some late game heroics by a McCoy (no, not that one) to keep from being beaten by Kansas. You read that correctly… the Jayhawks and their “Coach by weight” strategy were within seconds of beating the Longhorns and turning the heat even higher up on coach Mack Brown. I’m not one to jump on a dead bandwagon- check out the great “post a picture of our defense” thread on Shaggy Bevo- but I still can’t figure out how the flagship school in one of the most talent rich states in the nation continues to struggle on the field. Granted, it may be the competition in the conference and adjacent conferences, but you’ve got to think they’d be able to be successful whether or not there’s a prodigy at quarterback.
Also in the B12, Kansas State, the new #3 in the BCS continues to roll, playing even with Texas Tech for a half and then making the adjustment necessary to blow out the Raiders in Lubbock. Read More
Wardrobe Malfunction
Finished last week teetering on a bad record but the Buckeyes pulled it out in OT against Purdue and I finished 4 and 3 thanks to it! Lets look at the results.
Sparty @ TTUN. Sparty 27 to 24. WRONG TTUN 12 to 10
Nebraska @ Northwestern. Nebraska 35 to 13. RIGHT Nebraska 29 to 28
Minnesota @ Wisconsin. Wiscy 45 to 6. RIGHT Wiscy 38 to 13
Penn St. @ Iowa. Iowa 16 to 10. WRONG PSU 38 to 14
Indiana @ Navy. . US Navy 31 to 27, RIGHT US Navy 31 to 30
Purdue @ #7 Ohio State. Buckeyes blow up that annoying bass drum on wheels. RIGHT but not RIGHT ON, Buckeyes win in OT 29 to 22
S. Carolina @ Florida. South Carolina 21 to 17. WRONG Florida 44 to 11.
Its a good week of match-ups in the B1G, as the only game to help determine the bottom of the conference takes place between Indiana and Illinois. The rest of the games stand a chance at impacting the front runners chances in both divisions.
The I’s have it. Indiana @ Illinois. Both are 0-3 in the conference and 2-5 overall so this is the game to decide the bottom dwellers of the B1G. Neither team has had a good few weeks to start the conference off so something has to give. This is an easy choice because the Hoosiers have been so close the last two weeks losing by a combined 4 points. Hoosiers 37 to 21
Oh My Sparty. Michigan State @ Wisconsin. Need I really say more? MSU is 1-3 in the conference and in dire need of turning things around for the season to mean anything. Don’t think they’ll do it against a rolling Badger team. Wiscy 23 to 13
Oh Brother, Where are thou? Iowa @ Northwestern. The hawkeyes and wildcats both have 2 wins in conference so far and as games go, this might be one of the better games this weekend. Both needing to rebound from losses last week will be a good motivator. Northwestern 24 to 20
Big Bass Drum Stunned. Purdue at Minnesota. The Boilers thought they had the Buckeyes last weekend and a great thing happened, Kenny G. Purdue will have trouble rebounding from this after being stunned late in the game again. Minnesota 21 to 20
QB Showdown. #20 TTUN @ Nebraska. The Cornhuskers are probably gonna need to get their QB some help to win this gane now that Burkhead is out for the game. A great showdown between the two QB’s will come down to who gets more help. Still dificult to pick them but. TTUN 24 to 17
For the Leaders Title. #9 Ohio State @ Penn State. For all intents and purposes this game is being played to see who will really win the Leaders Dicision title and not go to the B1G championship game. The Buckeyes are on a mission even more so having avoided being upset by the boilers. No score as usual but the Buckeyes will roll in Unhappy Valley.
They Beat WVU Bowl. #15 Texas Tech @ #4 Kansas State. In consecutive weeks both of these teams D’s showed up and demolished the Heisman frontrunner and friends. This will be a game for the ages and most likely the game most expected when each played WVU. Offense all around and the team with the ball last wins. Kansas State 54 to 52
Eyes On The Prize
There was no shortage of drama around the Big Ten in week eight.
Ohio State-Purdue, Michigan-Michigan State and Nebraska-Northwestern all provided quality entertainment for Big Ten fans.
Without its star quarterback Braxton Miller, Ohio State was able to improve to 8-0 with an improbable come-from-behind overtime victory over Purdue. We all saw the drama that was the OSU-Purdue game, but let’s take a closer look at what happened in a wild week eight around the Big Ten.
Trailing 10-9 with just five seconds left, Michigan’s Brendan Gibbons nailed a 38-yard field goal to help lift Michigan over Michigan State for the first time since 2007. The victory was the 900th in the history of the Michigan program–making it the first to reach that milestone.
Not only was the win big for the history of Michigan, but it helped the Wolverines improve to 3-0 in the Big Ten as they now sit alone atop the Legends Division. The loss drops Sparty to a dismal 1-3 record in the conference and 4-4 overall.
Another thrilling game took place in Evanston as Nebraska downed Northwestern 29-28. The Huskers took the lead with just over two minutes to play in the game and were able to barely hang on as Northwestern kicker Jeff Budzien’s 53-yard field goal attempt missed wide right with roughly a minute to play.
The win for Nebraska sets up a huge game with Michigan next week in which the winner will be in the driver’s seat to represent the Legends Division in the B1G Championship Game.
Wisconsin won its third consecutive game as the Badgers defeated Minnesota 38-13. Penn State routed Iowa 38-14 and in non conference action, Indiana fell 31-30 to Navy. The win for Navy is its first against a Big Ten opponent since 1979. So thank you for that, Hoosiers.
Next week would be even bigger if Ohio State and Penn State were eligible to compete in postseason play. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are the only two undefeated teams in the Leaders Division and will meet next week in Happy Valley as the Game of the Week in the Big Ten.
The Michigan at Nebraska game will likely decide the Legends Division. While people were ready to write off Michigan after two early losses to Alabama and Notre Dame (both teams are currently ranked in the top five, by the way), the Wolverines have rebounded to get themselves to 5-2 overall and No. 22 in the country.
But playing a night game in Lincoln against a good Nebraska team is a very difficult thing to do. I’m excited to watch that one, and to see how the rest of the Big Ten season will unfold.
