B1G Week 6 Recap

Week 2 of the conference schedule had a few more close games, and we are starting to learn more about most teams.  There a fewer surprises at this point of the season, and more realistic expectations.  There are only 2 remaining teams with unbeaten conference records in each division, and only 2 total that are eligible for the post season. 

The Good:

Urban Meyer has come into Columbus and installed his unique offense very quickly.  Any transition is made easier when you have the talent that Meyer started with, but the Buckeyes are no longer a vanilla Tressel led team.  Braxton Miller will likely be the conferences lone Heisman threat for the next 3 seasons.  He has fit perfectly into this new offensive system.  He racked up another big night with 300+ total yards against the paper thin Nebraska defense.  If Carlos Hyde finds the end zone 4 times, you know something has gone very wrong for your defense.

Aaron Burbridge finally seeing the field.  Everyone from the area heard his name a lot last year when he was still a high school senior.  Michigan picked up 2 of his teammates, but could not sway the talented receiver from the green and white.  Well Dantonio realized what the nation did in week 1, that the receivers at Michigan State are absolutely horrible.  If WAR was a football stat, theirs might be negative. I am not sure why it has taken so long to get Burbridge off the bench, but now that he is don’t expect him to see it the rest of the season.  He led the Spartans in catches and yards, and Maxwell finally saw what a receiver getting separation looks like.  He instantly makes Michigan State much more difficult to defend.

Matt McGloin continues to impress under the new O’Brien regime at Penn State.  He is making a case for all conference honors at quarterback.  If you watched football the past two seasons, you will realize how shocking that would be.  McGloin has gone from useless walk-on to a polished quarterback who would likely be starting on at least 8 of the conference teams right now.  It will be exciting to see how long he can keep this up.

The Bad:

Northwestern’s 4^th quarter defense.  An average Penn State offense scored 22 points in the final frame Saturday to come from behind and knock the Wildcats from the ranks of unbeatens.  Penn State ran the ball effectively, threw the ball with ease, and also broke a lot of tackles in their last few drives.  Northwestern will need a bounce back performance this week at Minnesota.

The vaunted Nebraska defense was abused in The Shoe on national tv Saturday night.  They are still struggling to stop the run, and have complete breakdowns when facing a mobile quarterback.  Every position group in the Cornhusker defense was over matched against Ohio State.  If they don’t find a way to turn things around, Bo Pelini might be looking for another job sooner than we thought.

Michigan State’s first half against Indiana.  I am not sure if Sparty was overlooking the Hoosiers and came out flat, or if Indiana had a good game plan.  The Spartan offense looked inept against one of the worst defenses in the entire conference.  That was to be expected for one half, as it takes some time for the offensive line to wear down an opponent and get Le’Veon Bell free.  What was more concerning was the defensive play from what most people thought was one of the best units in the nation.  Indiana had 250+ yards through the air, and Michigan State produced no pass rush to slow it down.  If the Spartans really do have the best defense in the B1G, look for them not to have any lapses like this past Saturday.  Since they were able to come back and win in the 2^nd half, it kept them from the ugly category.

The Ugly:

I have to go with Illinois for this week.  They are just plain bad in Champagne this year.  In the first 6  games this season, the Illini have 4 17+ point losses. Their 31-14 loss to the Badgers was their closest of the season.  I thought there was enough talent left from Ron Zook to carry this team to a bowl game, but at this point in the season it doesn’t look like Illinois will win another game.  I just hope Michigan comes out strong this week and puts them away quickly.

I would say that my conference rankings are as follows:

1.       Ohio State (no change)

2.       Michigan (up 2)

3.       Penn State (up 3)

4.       Northwestern (down 1)

5.       Nebraska (down 3)

6.       Michigan State (up 1)

7.       Iowa (up 1)

8.       Wisconsin (up 1)

9.       Purdue (down 4)

10.   Minnesota (no change)

11.   Indiana (no change)

12.   Illinois (no change)