The Big Ten conference is just flat out bad this season. If you remove Ohio State, who finally looked like they belonged in the top 5, the remaining 11 teams could barely fight their way out of a wet paper bag. I guess the Legends Division is still up for grabs, but even there Michigan State is clearly in the driver’s seat (even before the game with Michigan).
Good surprise:
Michigan State’s offense is getting healthy at the right time, which is exactly what every Michigan fan feared in September. The Spartans still haven’t scored over 30 points on an actual defense (and that’s if you count Iowa), but they managed to dominate the hapless Illini on Saturday. Connor Cook looks like an average quarterback when he feels comfortable in the pocket. In this one he finished 15-16, and the Illini were never close to pressuring him. If the Spartan offensive line can give Cook that much time in their remaining games, MSU will be headed to Indianapolis and possibly even a BCS game.
Minnesota looked dead in the water after back to back blowout losses to Iowa and Michigan, but have since knocked off Northwestern and Nebraska to put themselves back in the mix for the Legends Division. The Gophers racked up 430 yards of offense against the Huskers, including some crucial play action passes. The offense still has a long ways to go if they will push the Michigan State defense, but it is quite the improvement to be bowl eligible in Week 9.
I have to recognize Ohio State as a team. Most people thought Penn State would be able to compete a little bit in Columbus, but the Buckeyes dominated in every facet of the game. OSU pushed the tempo on offense, mixing run and pass plays, which tested the Nittany Lions’ lack of depth. On defense the front 4 were constantly in the backfield, causing terrible decisions and throws from the overwhelmed freshman quarterback. This was by far the most impressive win in the Urban Meyer era, and maybe they realize that even if they go undefeated again OSU will still be behind Alabama, Florida State, and Oregon so they need some style points.
Bad surprise:
I have to start with Penn State here. According to most PSU fans, they consider OSU the biggest rivalry on their schedule yet the team should have just stayed in Happy Valley. It was surprising to see a Bill O’Brien team so unprepared and overwhelmed. The depth issues really hurt the defense, and Hackenberg turning the ball over certainly didn’t help. This game just made me even more upset at the Michigan/ Penn State outcome.
The Nebraska defense has made a living in the bad surprise department this season, but Saturday might be a new low. Minnesota cannot throw the ball, and the Gophers don’t try either. Everyone on both sides of the ball knows they want to run power or zone option. Nebraska knew this, yet still yielded 5 yards per carry for the entire game. I don’t know what they were doing all week to prepare for this game. The Husker front seven continually got blown off the ball, and they missed tackles on top of that. At this point the two best teams in the Legends Division are Michigan State and Michigan, and one of them already has a loss before the tough November schedule.
Week 9 conference rankings:
1. Ohio State (no change)
2. Wisconsin (no change)
3. Michigan State (no change)
4. Michigan (up 4)
5. Penn State (up 1)
6. Nebraska (down 1)
7. Indiana (up 3)
8. Iowa (up 1)
9. Minnesota (up 2)
10. Northwestern (down 6)
11. Illinois (down 1)
12. Purdue (no change)
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