Last weekend was mostly a series of dress rehearsals for BIG teams, and they largely stuck to the scripts, winning 9 of 11. Here’s a few
RUTGERS WINS! RUTGERS WINS! OH MY GOD, RUTGERS WINS! I was astonished when the Scarlet Knights went into their game with Morgan State as 41 POINT FAVORITES. They were bigger favorites than Ohio State was over Army. Turns out the spread was conservative, as Rutgers wiped out the Bears 65-0.
This clearly was a game that should not have been scheduled, but I’m okay giving the Scarlet Knights some slack-any win is a good one when you’ve lost 11 in a row. There was some genuine excitement about the performance of true freshman QB Johnathan Lewis, who became the first QB in Rutgers history to run for 4 touchdowns in a game.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
NEBRASKA LOSES! NEBRASKA LOSES! OH MY GOD, NEBRASKA LOSES! Ok, maybe the Huskers’ 21-17 loss at home to Northern Illinois isn’t OH MY GOD worthy, but I’m not sure Nebraska fans don’t feel that way. Then there’s their athletic director, Shawn Eichorst, who said “I’m angry, I’m frustrated, I’m disappointed.” This was less than a week after tacking a year onto head coach Mike Riley’s contract, extending out now to 2020.
The most disturbing thing is that the Cornhuskers seem to be doing whatever is needed to lose. Last week they were lit up for 42 points in the first half at Oregon. This week, QB Tanner Lee threw two pick-sixes in the first half, but the defense gave up nothing. That is, until Nebraska finally took the lead. At that point, Northern Illinois hit a long pass and marched in for the game winning touchdown. Three years is not too much for a school the size of Nebraska to pay off for a head coach-just sayin’.
Illinois was the only other BIG team to lose last week, taking a 47-23 beating at South Florida. BTW, why is South Florida in Tampa, which is actually central Florida, while Central Florida is in Orlando, which is south of Central Florida? SMH. The Illini may have been able to stay with the Bulls, who committed 13 penalties in the first half, if they hadn’t said “Ooh, those flags are pretty. We want some!” Illinois ALSO committed 13 penalties in the first half, and when the refs kept their hankies in their pockets, South Florida was just too fast for Illinois to keep up with.
There are some interesting games to look forward to next week:
Central Florida travels to Maryland after having their last two games cancelled due to hurricane Irma. The Terps are coming off a scheduled bye week. Let’s hope that this does not degenerate into a flag-fest due to the players’ lack of game action. The Terps won a tight 30-24 overtime game in Orlando last year, and I would expect a similarly close game this year.
A 3-0 start would obviously be great for Maryland, but just keep in mind they started 4-0 before the beatings commenced last season. With trips to Minnesota and Ohio State looming the following two weeks, we won’t have to wait long to see if that is a valid comparison or not. There is plenty of reason to hope NOT.
A game that has suddenly become interesting is Michigan’s trip to Purdue next week. It would have been reasonable for the Wolverines to chalk that up as a win before the season started. Now, not so much. The Boilermakers are on fire after a convincing 35-3 at Missouri.
Particularly troubling for Jim Harbaugh’s offense is their allergy to the goal line once they cross the opponents’ 20-yard line. Michigan has scored only one touchdown in ten trips into the Red Zone so far this season. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s bad, unless you’re place kicker Quinn Nordin because then you get plenty of work. He kicked five field goals against Air Force after four in their opening week win over Florida. School season records of 25 field goals made and 30 attempted could fall by Halloween at this rate-not a formula for the level of success that Michigan aspires to.
Penn State travels to Iowa for a prime time game. The Nittany Lions hammered the Hawkeyes 41-14 in Happy Valley last year, but Iowa then bounced back the following week to knock off Michigan 14-13. I’m not sure what that means except that Penn State would be wise not to take a win in Iowa City for granted.
BTW, you’ve got to love the new tradition they’ve started at Iowa home football games. At the end of the first quarter, the fans turn around and wave to children watching the game from the top floor of the Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. I’m sure the ABC cameras will capture that on Saturday-don’t miss it.
Finally, Notre Dame visits Michigan State Saturday night. With a win, the Spartans would match last year’s win total with a 3-0 start, and the Fighting Irish will be their toughest test yet. Not sure how much of a test Notre Dame actually is this year, and Michigan State is coming off a bye week, but it is still a rivalry game and an important one for the Spartans to win.
BIG Notes
I keep getting press releases about players on “watch lists” for different awards. Did you know there were watch lists for 16 different player awards?! I will give you a crisp, mint-condition dollar bill if you can name all 16 of them without looking them up like I did. I would then encourage you to get a life-seriously. Are we getting dangerously close to participation medals here? Do we really need separate Lou Groza (nation’s best placekicker) and Ray Guy (punter) awards, for example? Am I old because I remember watching Groza and Guy play?
Maryland’s men’s soccer team reached the #1 spot in the Soccer America poll this week, with Indiana #2-both teams remain undefeated. The Hoosiers are #1 in the coaches’ poll, while Maryland is #3 and Michigan State is #6. The Terps visit Michigan State for a big game on Friday.
Don’t forget, you can follow me on Twitter @The_BIGBlog and reach me by e-mail at big10blog@gmail.com. I also hang out on the message boards, mostly in the University of Maryland & NCAA sections, where I periodically post links to BIG news stories you might find interesting. You can also go there to find the Deified Dozen football national rankings by the experts (?) here at BSL.
My next column will review the first week of conference games in week 4, and look ahead to a larger slate of games in week 5 as things get more serious. Until then, live large and have a BIG week everyone!
Jim Johnson spent most of his life in Maryland, growing up with the Orioles, the Colts, Terps, and later Ravens. He started his sports writing career as “The Courtmaster,” covering the Terps and ACC hoops and was a frequent guest on Bob Haynie’s old WNST show and other sports talk across the region. He is currently in his second run at BSL. After previously covering Maryland and Big Ten Football, he now writes about the NFL, primarily the action in the AFC North. Jim covers both current and historic stories, seeking perspective and having fun in the process.