B1G Week 1 Recap

The opening weekend of the season was a little more kind to the B1G in 2013 as compared to last year.  Could the conference be on the upswing?

Good surprise:
Indiana’s offensive outburst. I knew the Hoosiers had a very good offense, but I didn’t expect them to put up 73 points.  The Crimson and Cream could surprise some of the top end conference teams this season, and should be able make a bowl game.

Christian Hackenberg took over the helm at Penn State with an impressive performance against a power 6 team to open his career.  He finished 22-31 for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Even though the scholarship limits will greatly affect Penn State’s overall talent the next 4 years, they will have one of the best pocket passers in the conference.

Northwestern was favored heading into the matchup with California mainly due to the returning offensive playmakers (Colter and Mark), but when both went down with injury Trevor Siemian and Treyvon Green stepped up.  Siemian finished 18-29 with 276 yards and one TD, and Green finished with 129 yards on 16 carries and 2 TDs. The Wildcats have a very good 2 deep at QB and RB.

Nebraska’s forgotten running back Imani Cross looked like one of the conference’s best backs against Wyoming.  He finished with 105 yards on 13 carries while scoring 2 TDs.  

Bad surprise:
For the 2^nd straight B1G Week 1 recap I am going to list the Michigan State offense in this category.  I really thought that Andrew Maxwell was going to take a sizable leap forward in his second year as the starting quarterback.  He would also be helped by playing a weak WMU team. However, Maxwell looked like he had no confidence in his abilities and was constantly waiting to be replaced.  He finished 11-21 for 74 yards, and the Spartan defense outscored their offense.

Nobody thought Purdue was going to compete for the Leaders Division crown, but little thought they would compete with Illinois for the right to last place.  The Boilers traveled to a rebuilding Cincinnati and got their doors blown off by the Bearcats, 42-7.  In my preview I said if they could pull the game out then Purdue should be a bowl team again, but at this point it looks like 4 wins will be a struggle.

I expected the Cornhusker defense to be among the league’s worst, but I didn’t think that would mean giving up 34 points at home to Wyoming.  Nebraska was lucky to come out with a win against the Cowboys, and their defense is solely to blame.  The vaunted black shirt defense gave up 602 yards to a Big Sky team. Between Michigan State’s lack of offense and the Husker’s inability to stop practice dummies, the Legends Division might be a two team race if these two squads don’t show major improvements.

Week 1 conference rankings:
1. Michigan
2. Ohio St
3. Northwestern
4. Wisconsin
5. Penn State
6. Nebraska
7. Indiana
8. Michigan State
9. Minnesota
10. Iowa
11. Illinois
12. Purdue