B1G Week 7 Recap

I am not sure that I write this post this week. The conference is an absolute joke when Ohio State doesn’t play. The one positive thing that I can say is that it constantly surprises me and contradicts itself.  A week after Northwestern clearly looked like the 2^nd best team in the conference, they forgot to show up in Madison.  I know I picked that upset, but I thought the Wildcats had more fight in them.

Good surprise:
Like most Michigan fans joked early, Michigan State’s offense is finding their footing just in time for the rivalry game.  The Spartans put up an impressive 42 points.  Of course you have to give recognition to their opponent, Indiana has the worst defense in the conference, but MSU struggled in the non-conference against far lesser opponents.  The Spartans had a balanced attack: passing for 235 yards and running for 238.  True Freshman Delton Williams is answering the critics who thought he should redshirt.  I don’t want to say this, but Michigan State is the clear favorite to win the Legends Division.

No matter how many times Wisconsin does this in a season, it is still impressive when they do it to one of the best B1G teams.  The Badgers ran for 286 yards on Northwestern at a 5.6 ypc clip.  Melvin Gordon continues to prove he is not only the best running back in the conference, but one of the best in the country.  I think he might be the most talented back to come through Wisconsin in a very long time, and he should be one of the few with a long NFL career in front of him.

Nebraska’s defense is still bad, but shutting out a B1G team until the final minute of the 4^th quarter is still something to be happy about.  I expected the Cornhuskers to run away with the game, but I didn’t expect the Boilermakers to be held under 10 points. Purdue was held to 216 total yards, and only 32 rushing yards. If this is a sign of defensive improvement, Nebraska might be making a return trip to Indianapolis.

Bad surprise:
I usually do not put items from the Michigan game into this post since I cover it in more detail for the recap post, but this week deserves a double mention. The combination of Al Borges’ play calling and the worst offensive line in my lifetime (possibly ever) has rendered the Michigan offense totally incapable (and unwilling) to attack the defense’s weaknesses. All of the opponents so far this year have a lot of those, yet the Wolverines are still trying to be a power running team.  If you remember from my Minnesota analysis, I was impressed that Michigan was able to use a B1G as a practice and force their will onto the Gophers.  Now it looks like that is just the Wolverine game plan.  Put 9 in the box, and don’t worry about the wide open short routes, Michigan will run right at you.  Fitz Toussaint had the one of the worst running days in the history of college football.  Yes, other backs have averaged 1 ypc or less, but the offensive coordinators are smart enough to limit the carries.  Fitz carried the ball 27 times on Saturday.  This is like trying to tunnel into the Bell Tower with a spoon when the door is unlocked.  Michigan has more talent on the roster than every team on the schedule, save Ohio State, but coaching has been the great equalizer. If something doesn’t change soon, the Wolverines will struggle to make a bowl. 

Northwestern’s entire team. A week after pushing Ohio State to the limit, they lay a complete egg in Madison.  The high powered offense scored 6 points and racked up 241 total yards (44 rushing). The Wildcats were overmatched in every facet of the game on Saturday.  Luckily they return home and welcome Minnesota this week because they need a pushover game.

Week 7 conference rankings:
1. Ohio State (no change)
2. Wisconsin (up 1)
3. Michigan State (up 2)
4. Northwestern (down 2)
5. Nebraska (up 1)
6. Penn State (up 1)
7. Indiana (up 3)
8. Michigan (down 4)
9. Iowa (no change)
10. Illinois (down 2)
11. Minnesota (no change)
12. Purdue (no change)