Monday, October 17, 2011

And then there were three...
We went into an important week of conference play with five unbeatens.  We came out with three.  Wisconsin and Penn State rule the roost in the Leaders, Michigan State in the Legends.  The race is still on in both, as Illinois has yet to play either Penn State or Wisconsin and will try and have a final say in the deal.  Ohio State can still play the spoiler too.  The Spartans, meanwhile, still have to go to Iowa and Nebraska - one loss teams hungry to stay in the mix.  And frankly, Michigan might have one of the easier roads with home games remaining against its toughest competitors.

It was a great weekend for football around the Big Ten.  The only game never in doubt was Wisconsin v. Indiana.  The rest gave us plenty of entertainment and water cooler fodder.

The good... Wisconsin. Although I am disappointed that the Badgers scored 24 less this year than last.  What's up with that?!  Michigan State.  Another year of containing D-Rob.  Conditions were nasty, so MSU got back to Pound, Green, Pound and looked great doing so.  Sets up a great game this week with UW.  Ohio State.  The Buckeyes ratcheted up the D some more and made Illinois look silly at times.  Iowa.  That's the offense that was sorely lacking at Penn State.  Then again, maybe it only appears against sub-par defenses?  Penn State.  Solid, if not at all pretty.

The bad... Purdue. But not really.  The Boilers played Penn State tough.  They just get this rap after a loss.  Them's the breaks!  Michigan.  Two-fold.  The vaunted offense again looked below average against MSU's defense.  And those uniforms?  H-I-D-E-O-U-S.  Burn them. Or donate to kids looking to dress as bumble bees for Halloween.  Illinois. Phew, what's that smell?  The Illini offense.  Northwestern.  Great offense.  Zero defense.  Hard to win in this conference without a good D.

The ugly... Indiana. Sorry but wow, are they bad or what?  Penn State's offense.  It is hard to watch. Ohio State's offense.  Not all of it though.  The Bucks can run, especially with Boom back.  But one completion on four attempts?  Holy old school Batman!  The dirty talk regarding MSU - UM.  Especially that from Chris Spielman on the broadcast.  Please.  MSU was penalized as the officials saw fit.  And don't go thinking that M was squeaky clean.  Right before the "punch", Will Gholston's facemask was in hand with his helmet being pushed to the ground.  Kudos to Michigan coaches and players for calling it what it was - physical domination and not dirty play.  Media and fans?  Bag it.  This is football not patty cakes!

Got Gamm? No one bested my 4-1 and that catapults me back to the top overall, in a tie with Phats.

This week...
Illinois at Purdue
Indiana at Iowa
Nebraska at Minnesota
Penn State at Northwestern
Wisconsin at Michigan State (Game of the Week)

5 comments:

Phats said...

Purdue 24 illinoi 10 (Yes, I am picking PU but I really don't think anybody in the Big Ten is that good besides UW)

Iowa 24 indiana 10

Nebraska 61 minnesota 3

Northwestern 21 Penn state 17

Wiscosin 35 Michigan State 21

mayo170 said...

Congrats Andy, but now I'm the one stuck at the back of the crowd with Dan looking at me thinking "heh, I'm just a couple bad picks from squeaking back into this thing..."

Illinoyze 31 (Phats, you misspelled it) at Purdue 27

Indiana 14 at Iowa 26

Nebraska 37 at Minnesota 13

Penn State 20 at Northwestern 17

Wisconsin 16 at Michigan State 19(Game of the Week) This will be a great game. I'm going with homefield advantage. Can't wait to see what these teams do to each other. MSU defense vs. Wisky offense should be an incredible chess game.

Dan Meyer said...

#1 in picking PERCENTAGE.

This week:
Illinois 14 at PURDUE 17--Blatantly biased pick. My first game at Ross-Ade in eight years--and Purdue's record in games I attend while NOT holding a season ticket is quite good. More importantly, I am counting on an Illini hangover from OSU last week.

Indiana 10 at IOWA 30--Not that impressed with the Hawkeyes but they are surely much better than this year's Hoosiers.

NEBRASKA 48 at Minnesota 7--Three weeks ago, Wisconsin "welcomed" Nebraska to the Big Ten. This week, the Huskers show the bottom half of the league what they can expect from Pelini and Co. going forward.

PENN STATE 24 at Northwestern 17--I am in NO way convinced that Penn State is a Top 25 team after last weekend; however, the Wildcats/ Pussycats have been quite disappointing; thus the Nittany Lions get one more week to bask before reality bites.

*WISCONSIN 35 at Michigan State 24--Probably last chance before the conference championship for someone to pin a loss on the Badgers and Sparty may be the only team capable of pulling it off. Not sure that the Spartan defense can hold up for 60 minutes against the Badger O-line, however.

Phats said...

Dan I will be there buddy I better hear you cheering!!

Mayo my grandma is from Chicago and she hated when people pronounced the S in Illinois so did that to honor her haha :) OK Not really but it's a better story than a typo

mayo170 said...

Probably the best long-winded explanation for a typo I've heard yet Phats!