Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Tuesday Afternoon Quarterback
What a great first weekend of college football. We had two of the little guys beat BCS powers (Boise State over Oregon and BYU over Oklahoma). There were great prime time games like the Alabama win over Va Tech and the Miami-FLA upset over Florida State. Punches were thrown. The Big Ten even got into the fray.

Was Ohio State looking ahead to USC? If Navy wasn't aiming for the scarlet and gray on the 2-point conversion try, we might have our biggest Big Ten upset since App State over UM. Then again, had Northern Iowa simply converted one of two tries from 40 yards out - in the final seven seconds mind you - we'd have an even bigger story on our hands.

Get Gamm was rather predictable, and since I added Minnesota-Syracuse to the list late (thank you BigTen.org for omitting the game to begin with), I gave that as a freebie to people who missed the pick. Executive decision on BruceS as well - I gave him the benefit if having been a poster here for as long as I can remember! St. Louis Sparty did get his picks on line in full, so he gets to pick with me this week. Jeff, look for the games in bold.

Before we get into Get Gamm for this week, here is a team by team look after one week of play...

Illinois - Okay, so that wasn't what most of us expected. Ouch. So much for a vaunted offensive attack. It was the fifth straight loss for Illinois to border rival Missouri and the pasting at the hands of the Big 12 was all the talk among the national pundits who think the Big Ten is about as good as the Big Sky these days...

Indiana - A six point home win over a FCS foe? Not a great start for Indiana in Bill Lynch's second season. The Hoosiers are going to need a much stronger showing if they expect to pick off a Western Michigan team that fell flat at The Big House in its opener.

Iowa - How in the world does a common sleeper pick in the Big Ten come that close to losing to a FCS opponent, at home? It took not one, but two blocked field goals to seal the win against in-state Northern Iowa and not once did the Hawkeyes look good in the win. Will this be another up and down year in Iowa City? Iowa fans simply have to hope for that common and expected big jump forward between weeks one and two or it could be a rough go...

Michigan - While I am not ready to christen this team a Big Ten contender like so many of the national pundits were after the solid 31-7 opening win, I will tell you that Michigan is a lot better than they were a year ago. The Wolverines are young but have more of the pieces needed to make Rich Rod's offense go and the defense was impressive in the opener. The training wheels come off Saturday when Notre Dame comes calling.

Michigan State - It was what it was. A good, solid, large margin victory over a FCS school. No glaring mistakes, no major issues. Both QBs played well and showed us why the decision isn't all that easy. Seven, count 'em SEVEN scholarship tailbacks saw action. It gets a level tougher this week and then really steps up in week three.

Minnesota - The Golden Gophers probably should have hammered Syracuse - the team with a former point guard at QB - but hey, a win is a win, and road wins are nice no matter who they come against. Minnesota wasn't as sharp offensively as expected and has some things to shore up before the stadium opener this weekend...

Northwestern - Not much to say when a team takes Towson to the woodshed. At least some of these other 1-AA teams are good for their level. But Towson? Still, it was a big win for a NU team hungry to take it to the next level.

Ohio State - The Buckeyes very nearly were knocked out by a game Navy team but withstood a hearty, Blount-like sock to the jaw to hold on and set up a battle with USC. The concern is, did OSU just get caught looking ahead or are they in for a very un-Buckeye like season?

Penn State - 31-0 at the half, 31-7 at the end but without the fanfare Michigan got. Joe Pa was back prowling the sidelines and everyone got to play. Mission accomplished.

Purdue - Purdue might have surprised me more than any other team this weekend. The offense exploded on Toledo and served notice (to me) that my last place prediction might be off target. Time will tell, but it was a very solid start to the Danny Hope era.

Wisconsin - The Badgers cruised early and then had to hold on, showing themselves (and the rest of us) that this is not an ultra talented UW squad. Northern Illinois is decent, but the Badgers needed to put this away when given the chance. The very fact that they didn't will probably bite them at some point this season.

Get Gamm - Week Two:
Here are the games to pick this week. Jeff, those in bold require commentary. Tiebreaker is UM - ND.

C. Michigan @ Michigan State
Eastern Michigan @ Northwestern
Fresno State @ Wisconsin
Syracuse @ Penn State
Western Michigan @ Indiana
Iowa @ Iowa State
Notre Dame @ Michigan
Air Force @ Minnesota
Illinois State @ Illinois
USC @ Ohio State
Purdue @ Oregon

6 comments:

Phats said...

Making sure to get my picks in on time this week! Can't believe I forgot.

MICHIGAN STATE 35 central mich 14

NORTHWESTERN 41 eastern michigan 14

WISCONSIN 21 fresno state 17

PENN STATE 51 syracuse 0

WESTERN MICHIGAN 28 indiana 21

IOWA 28 iowa state 24

MICHIGAN 31 notre dame 17

MINNESOTA 28 air force 14

ILLINOIS 42 illinois state 3

USC 35 ohio state 14

PURDUE 38 oregon 24(Why not? ha!)

Dan Meyer said...

Week 2 Picks:
Central Michigan 21 at MICHIGAN STATE 31--Don't let directional name fool you; this is NOT a cupcake for the Spartans. Green and white nevertheless are strong enough to handle the Chippewas.

Eastern Michigan 10 at NORTHWESTERN 28--Wildcats chose the correct directional Michigan opponent.

Fresno State 18 at WISCONSIN 20--Very tenuous home field pick for the Badgers--I would have picked the Bulldogs if the game was in California.

Syracuse 7 at PENN STATE 34--Even Boeheim vs. DeChellis wouldn't be automatic for the Orange this year but not much comparison on the gridiron.

WESTERN MICHIGAN 20 at Indiana 14--MAC breaks through at Bloomington as Broncho dung covers "the Rock."

IOWA 23 at Iowa State 20--A Cyclone win would be much worse than Mizzou over Illinois and could happen. I think that the Hawks barely prevail for the second straight week.

Notre Dame 21 at MICHIGAN 27--The winner probably is in next week's AP Top 25. Since I believe Western MI to be better than Nevada-Reno; I think Michigan got tested just enough extra last week to trimuph this week.

AIR FORCE 38 at Minnesota 31--Full props to Brewster; this is several levels tougher competition than Mason ever considered. Gophers keep it close, but can't quite break through.

Illinois State 10 at ILLINOIS 35--Bad week for the Cardinals to catch the Illini.

SOUTHERN CAL 38 at Ohio State 28--Would LOVE to see the Buckeyes win to silence some of the Big Ten critics, but the Navy game scared me out of picking the scarlet and grey.

Purdue 20 at OREGON 31--Part of me dreams, a la Phats, that the Boilers will find a way to pull off the shocker--and is does look closer to possible than it did four days ago. However, the Boise State fiasco makes this game a "gut check" game for the Ducks and their greater talent overcomes the heart of the Boilers.

mayo170 said...

C. Michigan 24 @ Michigan State 31
Eastern Michigan 6 @ Northwestern 27
Fresno State 29 @ Wisconsin 17
Syracuse 9 @ Penn State 44
Western Michigan 23 @ Indiana 19
Iowa 16 @ Iowa State 28
Notre Dame 22 @ Michigan 27
Air Force 31 @ Minnesota 26
Illinois State 24 @ Illinois 28
USC 38 @ Ohio State 27
Purdue 27 @ Oregon 31

Phats said...

haha Dan I never pick against my Boilers :)

Buckeye Nation said...

C. Michigan 10 @ Michigan State 28
Eastern Michigan 13 @ Northwestern 27
Fresno State 21 @ Wisconsin 23
Syracuse 14 @ Penn State 34
Western Michigan 24 @ Indiana 21
Iowa 20 @ Iowa State 24
Notre Dame 32 @ Michigan 27
Air Force 17 @ Minnesota 20
Illinois State 10 @ Illinois 28
USC 24 @ Ohio State 28
Purdue 13 @ Oregon 32

BruceS said...

Several good games this weekend. I'm going against some B10 teams.

Michigan State 34 Central Michigan 17
Northwestern 45 Easterm Michigan 10
Wisconsin 27 Fresno State 21
Penn State 49 Syracuse 7
Indiana 24 Western Michigan 20
Iowa State 24 Iowa 21
Notre Dame 28 Michigan 21
Minnesota 28 Air Force 24
Illinois 45 Illinois State 10
Southern California 31 Ohio State 21
Purdue 27 Oregon 21
GO GREEN